Spanish rider Jorge Martín with Prima Pramac Racing was crowned Riders' World Champion, the first independent team rider to do so in the MotoGP era and first since Valentino Rossi with Nastro Azzuro Honda in 2001.[1] With 17 sprint and 19 Grand Prix victories from 20 racing weekends, Ducati dominated the season to take their sixth Constructors' World Championship, with the factory team taking the Teams' World Championship. This season also saw Japanese manufacturers struggling for the entire season as they failed to score a single race win for the first time since 1970.
Season summary
The season opener returned to its traditional home in Qatar, seeing Jorge Martín take the early championship lead with a sprint race win from pole position, before being eclipsed by defending champion Francesco Bagnaia taking the main race victory.[2] In Portugal, Martín re-took the championship lead with a sprint podium and race win.[3]Pedro Acosta became the youngest rider to achieve a podium in the MotoGP era (and third-youngest in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing) with a third place at 19 years 304 days.[4] In Austin, Maverick Viñales and Aprilia completed a perfect weekend, taking pole position with a new lap record, the sprint and race victories, and fastest lap.[5] With this win, Viñales became the first rider in the MotoGP era (and fifth overall in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history) to secure victories with three different manufacturers (Suzuki, Yamaha, and Aprilia).[6][7]
In Jerez, Jorge Martín took his second sprint victory of the season, in a race session notable for 15 separate incidents of riders crashing due to weather conditions creating unpredictable damp patches on an otherwise dry race course.[8] Francesco Bagnaia took the main
race win, ahead of Marc Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi.[9] In Le Mans, Martín achieved a perfect weekend to extend his championship lead, winning both the sprint and main races from pole position. Marquéz continued his streak of second place podium finishes in both races and moved into third in the championship. Bagnaia struggled in the sprint before retiring on the third lap, but managed to take the final podium position in the main race.[10] In Montmeló for the first of two rounds, Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaró announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2024 season at a special Friday press conference,[11] before achieving pole position and the sprint race victory on Saturday.[12][13] Bagnaia took the main race win, with Martín and Márquez completing the podium.[14] At Mugello, Martín started from pole, but Bagnaia took the sprint and grand prix victories (despite a three-place grid penalty) to cut the championship deficit to 18 points.[15] In Assen, Bagnaia completed a perfect weekend, taking pole position and both race wins, with Martín finishing runner-up in all sessions.[16] Martín initially dominated the weekend in Sachensring, getting pole position and winning the sprint before crashing from the lead on the penultimate lap of the main race, ultimately gifting the win to Bagnaia.[17] With this victory, Bagnaia re-took the championship lead for the first time since Portugal to enter the summer break with a 10 point advantage over Martín.
Returning to action at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, the 75th anniversary of the world championship was celebrated with special retro-inspired liveries for all teams in the Grand Prix race.[18][19] Ducati rider Enea Bastianini took the win in both the sprint and Grand Prix races. Jorge Martín finished both races in second position, while Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the sprint and finished third in the main race, allowing Martín to re-take the championship lead.[20] Bagnaia took both race wins ahead of Martín in Spielberg to reclaim the lead.[21] At Aragon, Marc Márquez completed a perfect weekend with pole position, sprint win, race win and fastest lap to mark his first victory with Ducati and his first wins in 1,043 days since 2021, when he won the second Misano round.[22] Martín took second place in both racing sessions to again leapfrog Bagnaia for the championship lead. Márquez took a consecutive Grand Prix victory in the first of two Misano rounds, while Martín topped the sprint podium. The cancelled Kazakhstan
Grand Prix was replaced by a second Misano round in consecutive weeks, which saw Bagnaia win the sprint but crash out of the main Grand Prix won by teammate Bastianini. Martín finished on the second step of both sessions to extend his championship lead to 24 points to end the European leg of the season. Ducati clinched their fifth consecutive Constructors' Championship (and sixth overall) with six rounds remaining.[23]
The Pacific leg of the calendar began in Indonesia, which saw the first Grand Prix victory for Jorge Martín since France in May, and a sprint win for Francesco Bagnaia.[24] At Motegi, Bagnaia took the top step of the podium in both racing sessions to cut Martín's championship lead to 10 points with four rounds remaining.[25] Martín took pole position and the sprint victory at Philip Island, but finished second behind Marc Marquéz in the Grand Prix.[26] In Thailand, Enea Bastianini won the sprint ahead of Martín and Bagnaia, while Bagnaia won the main race ahead of Martín and Pedro Acosta.[27] At the penultimate round in Sepang, Bagnaia started from pole but crashed out of the sprint while chasing Martín, who had taken the lead into the first corner.[28] The two title contenders swapped the lead multiple times in the opening laps of the main race, before Bagnaia built a gap to take the win ahead of Martín. This set up a final race show-down with a 24 point advantage to Martín for the final Grand Prix weekend.[29]
Flooding in the Valencian region caused the final round, normally held in Cheste in Valencia, to be replaced by a second round held in Montmeló in Catalonia at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.[30] Francesco Bagnaia completed a perfect weekend in Barcelona, winning both the sprint and Grand Prix from pole position, but two third places for Jorge Martín were sufficient to crown Martín as the 2024 champion, with 508 points to Bagnaia's 498.[31]Ducati completed the season with 722 points out of a possible maximum of 740 (97.6%) to win the constructor's championship.
Johann Zarco moved to LCR Honda from Prima Pramac Racing, replacing Álex Rins.[47] Zarco previously raced with the team as a replacement rider in 2019.
Luca Marini moved to Repsol Honda Team from VR46 Racing Team, replacing Marc Márquez.[49]
Mid-season changes
Álex Rins missed the German round after an injury sustained at the previous Dutch round and was replaced by Remy Gardner.[69] Rins also missed the British round for the same reason, but he was not replaced.
Yamaha planned to have Cal Crutchlow wildcarding at the Italian, British, and San Marino Grand Prix's. Crutchlow had surgery on his right hand and withdrew from Italy and was replaced by Remy Gardner for Britain as Crutchlow was still recovering from the surgery but no wildcard entry was provided for San Marino.
Miguel Oliveira missed the Japanese, Australian, Thailand, and Malaysian rounds after a wrist injury sustained at the Indonesian round. He was replaced for all races by Lorenzo Savadori.[35]
A new concession system for manufacturers has been introduced, classifying them based on their recent performance across two evaluation periods. The system encompasses multiple factors, such as test days, riders, wildcard entries, engines, aerodynamic updates, and allocated testing tyres.[71]
During the warm-up lap of a sprint or race, the white flag may be displayed by race direction, indicating that bike changes are permitted due to rain. Riders can enter the pit lane to change tyres or bikes and start the race from the pit lane without incurring additional penalties.[71]
Location of European Grands Prix in 2024. (: scheduled Grand Prix : cancelled Grand Prix)
Calendar changes
The Qatar Grand Prix returned as the season opener after being the penultimate round in 2023.[79]
The Kazakhstan Grand Prix is set to make its debut this season after its cancellation in 2023 due to homologation works at the circuit along with global operational challenges.[80] With the introduction of this Grand Prix, the German Grand Prix was returned to its traditional calendar slot in early July, after the Dutch TT and before the season's summer break.
The Kazakhstan Grand Prix was "postponed until later in the season" on 3 May, due to the on-going Central Asian flooding.[75] It was announced on 29 May that it will be held on 22 September,[76] the date which the Indian Grand Prix is scheduled to be held. It was also announced on the same day the Grand Prix of India will not be held in 2024 and will be postponed to March 2025.[77] On 15 July, it was announced that the Kazakhstan Grand Prix would not take place, and its date would be replaced by a second round at Misano.[78]
1 2 "M. Marquez confirms Ducati machinery for 2024". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023. ...Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Both, along with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Pramac-bound Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), are set to receive the upgraded 2024 version. Only four factory machines are available, meaning that Marquez will be riding an older-spec machine in the upcoming season...
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