It appears as though Jack Miller’s move to the Ducati Team is now a matter of when not if. That, of course, leaves the question who is in line to replace the Australian in the Pramac Ducati camp from next year onwards. We recently spoke with Team Manager Francesco Guidotti to find out from the horse’s mouth who the leading candidates are to be onboard a Pramac Ducati in 2021.
Rumours are heavily linking Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jorge Martin with the ride but, according to Guidotti, a deal to secure the former Moto3™ World Champion is far from done. In fact, the Italian said Ducati would need "a miracle" to secure Martin’s services with both Honda and KTM also incredibly interested in bringing the 22-year-old to MotoGP™.
Guidotti outlined five riders from Moto2™ who are in contention for the seat: "There’s Jorge [Martin], there’s [Lorenzo] Baldassarri, [Enea] Bastianini, Alex Marquez was on the list and Jorge Navarro. They are some of the interesting young riders. In the last few days, a lot of journalists have called me about Jorge Martin but, to be honest, it’s Ducati dealing with the new riders and as far as I know, it’s not done with anyone.
"For sure, Jorge Martin is under the light of Honda because he won the title with them in Moto3 two years ago. I know they were really upset that he left them to sign for KTM, but I think they would have him back. And KTM, I don’t know if they would release him. If Ducati will be able to sign Martin, I think it would be a miracle. They have to be very brave and smart to get him."
Meanwhile, Guidotti says it’s likely that former Moto2™ World Champion Francesco Bagnaia looks set to remain with the team into next year. The Italian struggled during his first year in the premier class but a string of strong results at the end of the year, plus a positive pre-season, will surely see the Italian given more time to showcase his talent: "For Pecco, I think we have to give him one more year so he can get more confidence with MotoGP. Even when we come back to race this year it will be very weird, so I think he deserves to stay with us."