Ducati-Marc Marquez: contract renewal is complicated

Ducati and Marc Marquez will soon sit down at a table to negotiate the contract renewal of the Catalan rider, due to expire at the end of the 2026 World Championship: many factors will be considered in the face-to-face, from the totally dominated season of the number 93 centaur, a span above all his rivals, to the right shoulder injury that forced him to miss the last races of the World Championship that just ended. Marc Marquez to land in the Ducati family in 2024 and return to winning had sacrificed a huge contract of more than 20 million euros with Honda: his plan succeeded perfectly, but the future is still to be written.

Martino Davidi

In 2025 Marc Marquez won a seat on the Borgo Panigale company’s official team, blowing it away from Jorge Martin, and settling for a base salary of three million euros, plus win bonuses of up to four million, according to figures estimated by Motorsport. Now Marc Marquez according to rumors could ask for a higher salary by virtue of his strong position won thanks to a dominating season in which he overshadowed the official team’s other rider Pecco Bagnaia. According to Motorsport reports, the two sides have already had an initial confrontation shortly before the title win in Japan.

Another meeting may have taken place in Valencia: the goal is to reach an understanding soon. The arm problem has reportedly slowed negotiations, but for Ducati to retain Marc Marquez would take precedence over anything else, and the nine-time world champion himself has reportedly expressed his desire to remain linked to the team until 2028. Ducati will not be able to offer Marquez the monstrous salary he previously received with Honda, but Gigi Dall’Igna does not seem to be worried. “Every piece has to be in place, and that&#8217s the way it should be. We will sit down to manage the situation as best we can” are his words to Motorsport.

Negotiations with Marc Marquez could also affect the future of Pecco Bagnaia, who has already reiterated his desire to remain with Ducati. But the Piedmontese rider, unlike Marc Marquez, will have to prove something immediately at the’beginning of next season in order to snatch a contract renewal with the team that has been dominating in MotoGP for years.