The Pramac MotoGP duo Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin will remain in the squad after signing contract extensions for one year each, it was announced on Thursday morning.
Both Zarco and Martin joined the Italian team this season – each with works contracts from Ducati – and have made a big mark so early in their tenure with the manufacturer’s official satellite team this season.
Zarco is currently in second place overall in the drivers’ standings – ahead of the two Ducati factory drivers – and has achieved a total of three podium places in the first six events in Qatar.
Martin, meanwhile, has a tough rookie premier class behind him after suffering bruises on his head, right ankle and right hand in training for the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao after only participating in the first two races of the season .
However, he managed to take a remarkable pole position and his first podium result in the second competition in Qatar. His early pace was enough to convince Ducati to keep him on board for another season.
Ducati Corse Sports Director Paulo Ciabatti says he is pleased with the way Zarco and Martin have “fitted” into Pramac so far in ’21 and confirms that they will continue to have a pair of factory-fitted Desmosedicis with updated equipment next year.
“Johann and Jorge have integrated very well into the Pramac Racing team this year,” said Ciabatti.
“For this reason, we have decided together with Paolo Campinoti and Francesco Guidotti to continue it until 2022.
“We will also provide both of them with the official bikes for the coming season. We are sure that they will give us a lot of satisfaction. “
Zarco continues to build his career after an unfortunate move to KTM for the ’19 season. The two-time Moto2 world champion raised his eyebrows with two strong first two MotoGP campaigns with the Tech 3 team on a satellite Yamaha.
On his way to two sixth places in the drivers’ championship, he finished on the podium six times, although his move to KTM ended six races before the end of the year after struggling to adapt to the Austrian manufacturer RC16.
A last minute deal to replace the injured Takaaki Nakagami at LCR Honda for the final races of the year resulted in a good performance and caught Ducati’s attention, resulting in a ride with Avintia for ’20 on a year old machine led.
A pole and a podium at the Czech GP in Brno was enough to convince Ducati to move Zarco to Pramac to replace newly promoted Jack Miller, while Moto2 rider Martin got the nod to replace Francesco Bagnaia, who himself after Andrea Dovizioso. had secured the second Ducati factory and parted with the brand.
Martin has since defected from KTM to join the Ducati family, as he has been competing in the intermediate class with the KTM-oriented Ajo team since graduating from the lightweight class after winning the title with Gresini in ’18.
He scored two wins in class in year 20 on his way to fifth in the points, despite missing two encounters after signing Covid-19 mid-season with Desmosedici for his rookie season.