Jorge Martín is rewriting history! the 26-year-old Spaniard became the new MotoGP World Champion, Bagnaia succumbed despite his best efforts

MotoGP celebrates a new premier class champion. Spaniard Jorge Martín pulled off a miracle in Barcelona, dethroning now former World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia with a third place finish in the final grand prix of the season. Although the 27-year-old Italian triumphed for the eleventh time this year in Sunday’s main race, too many mistakes throughout the year broke his back in the end and he ended up losing ten points in the final showdown. Marc Márquez took second place at the finish, which sent him to third in the riders’ championship ahead of Enea Bastianini.

• Jorge Martín became the new MotoGP World Champion, helped by a third place finish
• Pecco Bagnaia dominated Solidarity VC Barcelona, even eleven wins on Sunday were not enough to defend the title
• Martín wins his second championship, the first in the modern MotoGP era on a satellite machine

thirty-nine races have already taken place this season in the most prestigious category of the World Championship of road motorcycles. More than 700 points were up for grabs for the potential MotoGP World Champion. Despite these high numbers, the duo of Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia entered the final grand prix in Barcelona, Spain with such a small points difference that it was not until the 40th and final race that this year’s premier class champion had to be decided.

The 20th round of the 2024 edition took place for the second time this year at the 4.6km long Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This circuit took over as host of the season’s decisive race after the flood-hit Valencia.

The final mathematics before the main race was clearly in favour of the World Championship leader Martín. His 19-point lead allowed the 26-year-old Spaniard to finish the 24-lap grand prix in ninth place, no matter what position Bagnaia finished in. The reigning world champion, on the other hand, had no choice but to finish in the top two and hope Martín would make the biggest mistake of his racing career.

Bagnaia dominated Saturday’s qualifying and the subsequent sprint, giving himself an important, at least psychological, advantage heading into Sunday’s climax. The Italian was joined on the front row by the retiring Aleix Espargaró and eight-time champion Marc Márquez. Martín was starting the race of his life from fourth position.

Bagnaia sets the pace, Martín holds a safe podium position

The fate of this year’s MotoGP World Championship battle was essentially held by none other than Martín. Bagnaia, with the advantage of pole position, could have done everything in his power to win the race, but even that might not have been enough.

Bagnaia got off to a great start from his first position at the start. The same was true for both Martín and Marc Márquez, and both hooked up behind the still reigning champion after exiting turn one. Espargaró again failed to make the start and, as in the sprint, lost several positions. He eventually settled into fifth place behind Bastianini after the opening lap of the race.

Martín was able to finish in the top 9, so Márquez’s manoeuvre into the first corner at the start of the second lap could not upset him at all. Immediately afterwards, the 26-year-old Spaniard watched as the Gresini Ducati team rider hooked the rear wheel of race leader Bagnai.

Espargaró and Bastianini battled it out for fourth place over the next few circuits. Both riders were driven forward by their own motivation. For Espargaró it was the last race of his career, while Bastianini was still in contention for third place in the overall drivers’ championship.

However, the starting field was still very compact in the opening quarter of the race. Martín could not rest on his laurels, with the group behind him only 1.5 seconds behind the Spaniard until Marc Bezzecchi reached tenth.

A calm finale sums up the story of the season. Bagnaia at the front, Martín close to him

By lap seven, the gap between second-placed Márquez and third-placed Martín had stretched to one second. Meanwhile, Joan Mir had fallen off a lot, perfectly encapsulating the Spaniard’s tortured season on the hard-to-handle Honda.

Moments later, Bastianini failed his braking point into turn one. That mistake sent him into a group vying for seventh between Franco Morbidelli and Brad Binder. The end of the first half of the Grand Prix was mostly a battle for position between these drivers.

There was nothing major happening at the front at these moments. Although Bagnaia missed the apex of turn five on lap eight, he continued to lead the Barcelona VC ahead of Márquez. the 31-year-old Spaniard’s close ride behind the Italian detailed Bagnaia’s riding style for next season as teammates in the factory Ducati team.

👀 @marcmarquez93 MIGHTY CLOSE TO @PeccoBagnaia!

But the #1 is in control ✊#SolidarityGP 🏁 pic.KEPd7UGPy

– MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 17, 2024

The break into the second half of the race didn’t offer any significant on-track action either. Bagnaia led comfortably despite pressure from Márquez, with Martín circling safely in third position with an ever-increasing lead over the chasers behind him.

This scenario has characterised the majority of this season. With Bagnaia winning, Martín was able to limit the damage to the podium. Realistically, it was only the Italian’s lapses that decided that the number 1 on the hood would likely move from Ducati to Aprilia.

Martín celebrates his title with a third place finish, Bagnaia earns equal respect with his eleventh win

While the front of the field was content to ride out the positions, at least Bastianini and Acosta were providing some of the entertainment. The former was working his way through the field after an earlier mistake, and on lap seventeen he took on Acosta in a battle for sixth place.

It was the 20-year-old series rookie who struggled significantly towards the end of the race. First Bastianini got the better of him, then his stablemate Binder, and finally Morbidelli. All this happened in a single lap. This dropped Acosta to ninth place, with tenth-placed Bezzecchi also skimping on an extra championship point from the KTM rider.

The constant differences between the riders in the top 3 with a few laps to go had already confirmed not only the podium positions, but also the championship title. Espargaró and Álex Márquez were still fighting for fourth place. The latter finally got past the veteran on the penultimate lap.

By then, however, the Pramac garage was eagerly awaiting its hero Jorge Martín at the finish line. The entire contingent of this satellite team gathered in the pits and watched as the Madrid native approached his lifetime achievement.

Bagnaia did everything he could in the final weekend of the season. He dominated the sprint, pulling his deficit down to 19 points. But not even an 11th win in the main race allowed him to defend his title. Bagnaia ended the season with his third consecutive Sunday triumph ahead of Márquez, who finished 2024 in third place overall.

But all eyes at the finish line were on the new MotoGP world champion. 26-year-old Jorge Martín became champion for the second time in his life after his Moto3 title in 2018. 32 podium finishes from 40 races and a minimum of retirements ensured he became the first premier class world champion on a satellite machine in particular.

🔥🔥🔥 @88jorgemartin HAS OFFICIALLY TURNED INTO THE #MART1NATOR 🦾 pic.0jHlvuVMf

– MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 17, 2024

Barcelona Solidarity Grand Prix MotoGP results (Race 20/20, 24 laps = 111.768km; top 10 only):

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 40:24.740
2. Marc Márquez (Span., Ducati) +1.474
3. Jorge Martín (Span., Ducati) +3.810
4. Álex Márquez (Span., Ducati) +5.322
5. Aleix Espargaró (Span., Aprilia) +5.753
6. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) +7.081
7. Enea Bastianini (Ita., Ducati) +7.393
8. Franco Morbidelli (Ita., Ducati) +8.709
9. Marco Bezzecchi (Ita., Ducati) +10.484
10. Pedro Acosta (Span., KTM) +10.618

Final MotoGP rider standings for the 2024 season (top 10 only):

1. Jorge Martín (Span., Ducati) 508
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita., Ducati) 498
3. Marc Márquez (Spa., Ducati) 392
4. Enea Bastianini (Ita., Ducati) 386
5. Brad Binder (RJA, KTM) 217
6. Pedro Acosta (Span., KTM) 215
7. Maverick Viñales (Span., Aprilia) 190
8. Álex Márquez (Spaniard, Ducati) 173
9. Franco Morbidelli (Ita., Ducati) 173
10. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ita., Ducati) 165

Source: MotoGP, X