Motorsport
MotoGP in 2024: Everything you need to know before the new season! Who has the best chance of beating World Champion Pecco Bagnaia?
Fans of the fastest machines on two wheels have finally arrived. The MotoGP series kicks off its 76th season this weekend, with the World Road Racing Championship celebrating 75 years of existence in June.
Fans of the fastest machines on two wheels have finally arrived. The MotoGP series kicks off its 76th season this weekend, with the World Road Racing Championship celebrating 75 years of existence in June. In the most prestigious category, Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia will attempt to defend the number 1 position for the second year in a row. Who all will take part in what is undoubtedly the most anticipated season in history? Where will MotoGP be this year? And what new things have been introduced for this season?
In a few days’ time, the 76th edition of the MotoGP series will begin. 22 riders, 11 teams and 5 factories will compete in a record 21 weekends. The World Championship circus will hopefully make its debut in Kazakhstan this time around. While the Argentine Grand Prix is taking a break for the year. However, before we get into this season’s performances, let’s take a brief look at what all took place last season.
The story of last year’s MotoGP season
Reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia kicked off the 2023 season with a double victory in Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s grand prix. However, he doesn’t remember his American journey in Argentina and the USA fondly. On both occasions, the Italian crashed out, throwing away a valuable 45 points in total.
Bagnaia bounced back impressively after these setbacks. And in the following seven grand prix he picked up two Saturday and four Sunday triumphs. Outside of the incident with Maverick Viñales at Le Mans in France, he always finished the race on the podium until the sprint in Catalonia. Thanks to this great run of results, he has built up a 66-point lead over Jorge Martín, already second in the standings.
However, a shocking crash in the Barcelona main race turned the championship upside down. Even though Bagnaia was still finishing on the podium for the most part in several other Grands Prix, Martín pulled away thanks to his untouchable form in the sprints. And even overtook Bagnaia in the overall standings after Saturday’s Indonesia GP.
However, Martín himself crashed in Lombok, with Bagnaia taking the win, returning the Italian to a championship lead he would not relinquish until the end of the season. While Martín continued to reign supreme in the sprints, Bagnaia consistently picked up solid points thanks to his podium finishes on Sunday. The collision between Martín and Marc Márquez in the Valencia GP definitely cemented Bagnaia as the third rider in the modern MotoGP era to defend his world championship title.
Who rode what… part one
The composition of the rider field changed on several fronts in the break between seasons. However, these are mainly just transfers of regular riders to other teams or stables, whereas there is only one new name coming into MotoGP.
Ducati is once again bolstering its eight-strong army for 2024, with the addition of one of the biggest icons in the sport’s 75-year history. Eight-time champion Marc Márquez has moved to Gresini Racing alongside his brother Álex after an 11-year stint with the factory Honda team.
The other two satellite Ducati teams have undergone rider changes. The newly renamed Pertamina Enduro VR46 has picked up the surprise of last season’s final races in the form of Fabio Di Giannantonio alongside Marco Bezzecchi. Pramac Ducati wasn’t left behind either, with reigning World Vice-Champion Jorge Martín joining another World Vice-Champion Franco Morbidelli from Yamaha.
On the other hand, there was no change in the factory Ducati. Two-time premier class champion Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini will lead the Bologna, Italy-based stable to another dominant run towards all three world championship titles among riders, teams and constructors.
While KTM hasn’t changed its line-up of four riders much from last year, it is the only one giving a brand new name in MotoGP a chance. And it’s not just any name. The GasGas team will be joined by a possible future legend of the sport, at the age of 19 already double world champion Pedro Acosta. Pól Espargaró has been brought in to take the role of ‘testman’. While Augusto Fernández, Jack Miller and Brad Binder retain their places from last season.
Aprilia hasn’t decided to take any more risks with the new faces. Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales in factory colours and Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández in satellite jerseys will represent a factory that has become a real contender for the world title in the last few years. There has only been a change of ownership and name of the satellite team, with the former CryptoData RNF becoming Trackhouse Racing, run by American investors.
Who’s on what… part two
Yamaha continues to have a very difficult time since its still relatively fresh triumph in 2021. The Japanese stable didn’t win a single grand prix last year, something that last happened in 2003. Despite its current performance position within the starting field, Yamaha continues to be confident in Fabio Quartararo, who will form a partnership with multiple MotoGP race winner Álex Rins this year.
Honda must be telling themselves that it can’t get any worse and their future must only be looking up. Not only did they finish last in the constructors’ table again last year, their star Marc Márquez has also left. In his place, Honda, or rather its factory section, engaged Luca Marini from Ducati. Similarly, the satellite LCR gave a chance to a rider from another factory. Johann Zarco will continue his three-race long LCR experience from 2019. Fellow Marini and Zarco will be joined by stalwarts in the form of Joan Miró and Takaaki Nakagami respectively.
Indeed, in the video embedded below you can see all 22 riders in their combinations this year.
What’s changed for this MotoGP season?
Aside from the arrival of Acosta and the transfer of some riders to other teams, there have been other changes for the 2024 edition. The most significant news for this season can undoubtedly be ranked as the advent of stricter penalties for violating minimum tire pressures.
Similar infractions for which drivers received time penalties last year will land squarely on their heads this year with disqualification. In order to avoid multiple disqualifications in any given race, tyre supplier Michelin has set the permitted value from 1.88 bar last year to 1.80 bar for this year.
Another significant change was the dropping of the Argentina GP from this year’s MotoGP calendar. The reason for the cancellation of the only race on the South American continent being the political and socio-economic problems there, highlighted by the recent arrival of a new Argentine president. This has reduced the total number of grand prix events from the planned 22 to a still record 21.
In the attached post below, you can see the revised Grand Prix schedule for this season, which, in a return to tradition, kicks off this weekend in Qatar. Will the Gresini Ducati triple desert triumph be managed by one of the Márquez brothers? Or will the reigning champion Bagnaia kick off the 2024 edition like he did last year with a double?
Source: MotoGP, Crash.net, X
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