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Catalan GP 2024 – Top 5 storylines to look forward to

As the Moto GP camp returns to the city of Barcelona for the Catalan GP, here is the preview from DRC

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Catalan GP 2024 - Top 5 storylines to look forward to

The city of Barcelona has been a regular resident in the MotoGP calendar since the inception of the series. Now, we visit the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 6th round of the 75th edition of the MotoGP championship.

Here are the top storylines to get you up to speed before the race weekend:

The Big Three – title fight

Following the close racing action we witnessed between Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia, and Marc Marquez in France, it is safe to say the title fight is up and running. With Jorge Martin 38 points ahead of second place Francesco Bagnaia, it is statistically impossible to topple the championship leader. However, riders will use this weekend to close the gap as much as possible.

Catalan GP 2024 - Top 5 storylines to look forward to
The top 5 in championship standings after the French GP

Marc Marquez is the only rider within the top three of the championship to have won around here. With Martin placing 3rd and 2nd in 2023 and 2022 respectively, will 2024 finally be the year he collects the final podium trophy?

The Catalunya circuit is one of the few places where Francesco Bagnaia has yet to score a podium. With p6 being the highest position yet for the Italian, he would be more than eager to change this trivia.

The Second Ducati seat

With the MotoGP season progressing, the riders are staking their claim for the illustrious factory Ducati seat. Riders like Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez present a strong case for themselves. However, current Ducati rider Enea Bastianini is not far behind in the championship standings either.

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With Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna hinting they could announce the factory Ducati pairing by the next round at Mugello, the Catalan GP becomes the last possible showing available for the potential Ducati prospects.

Aprilia Ascendency?

The circuit of Catalunya favored the Aprilias the last time we visited the city of Barcelona. Aleix Esaparago of Aprilia won both the sprint and the Race last year after starting from P2 around here. Maverick Vinales had a strong showing as well. He qualified P4 and finished P3 in the sprint before making it a 1-2 for the Italian outfit come Sunday.

Sunday MotoGP Drama Catalunya GP - World Racing News
Aleix Esparago after winning the Catalan GP in 2023

With Maverick already holding a race and sprint win at COTA and another sprint wins at Portugal under his belt, Aprilia may continue from where they left off last year in Barcelona.

Honda’s Wildcard

With Joan Mir being the highest placed Honda at 18th position of the championship table, Honda is desperately trying to find answers. At the last outing in France, it was only Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami who placed in the top 15 and scored points for the Japanese constructors.

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Honda is also deploying a wildcard for this weekend in the form of Stefan Bradl. He will be gathering all the important data for Honda.

A ray of hope for YAMAHA

The French GP might not look like much of a successful points haul for Yamaha on paper, but it surely shined some light of optimism. With Fabio Quartararo qualifying for Q2 directly through practice and placing P8 in Q2, it was a positive start to the weekend for Yamaha. Come Sprint, Yamaha was still looking decently placed with Fabio finishing at P10. On Sunday, the no. 20 Yamaha was running in 6th position before an unfortunate crash that ended his race.

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This week Yamaha will be looking to continue their positive run of form and bag some crucial points.

Track Guide

Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya Track

The track in use this weekend is the famous Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

TRACK BY CATEGORY

CATEGORY LAPS TOTAL DISTANCE

MotoGPā„¢ 24 111.77 Km

Moto2ā„¢ 21 97.8 Km

Moto3ā„¢ 18 83.83 Km

MotoEā„¢ 7 32.6 Km

Catalan GP 2024 - Top 5 storylines to look forward to

Schedule for the weekend

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MotoGP

MotoGP Aragon: Marc Marquez Dominant at His Backyard

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Marc Marquez at the MotoGP Grand Prix of Aragon.
Credits: MotoGP

MotoGP made its way to Aragon, a place that is known as Marc Marquez’s backyard. Marquez demonstrated why exactly. A complete dominance from the Spaniard that saw him take the Pole and sprint win on Saturday, and then a win and the fastest lap of the GP on Sunday. Alex Marquez continued to be at the tail of his brother, finishing second, and Francesco Bagnaia scored a P3 on Sunday, a podium that will do a world of good to the confidence of the Italian before we head to his home turf in Mugello.

Read More: MotoGP Heads to Marquez’s Backyard in Aragon

Marquez Takes his 4th Win of MotoGP 2025

It’s not often you get to see a masterclass live, in Aragon, that is what everyone watching the Aragon GP witnessed. Marc Marquez had a perfect weekend, leading every session and every lap of the race. This win felt a long time coming, as this was Marquez’s first win since Qatar, which was all the way back in April. But before Qatar was Austin, where Marquez made a big mistake that resulted in him retiring from the race, Marc explained how those mistakes start to creep in and build doubts in the head.

ā€œIf we want to fight for the Championship, we cannot have a weekend where we repeat mistakes like we did in Austin. The other ones, okay, but Austin was a big mistake and then today I was very focused. With six or seven laps remaining, I started to think about that mistake. I asked myself, ā€˜how should I manage the situation?’ But then I was looking the lap time and I was riding on low: 47s without full concentration. Then I decided to increase the speed to be focused again.”

MotoGP Aragon: Marc Marquez Dominant at His Backyard
Marquez takes the win in Aragon. Credits: MotoGP

Confidence Boost for Bagnaia Before Mugello

Bagnaia has been struggling with his GP25 from the start of the season, but the last two races have been very miserable. The Italian rider had a retirement and a 16th place in the previous two GPs, even in the sprint, he only had a lonely P6 in the previous one. However, a P3 in Aragon has done a world of good for Bagnaia. In his own words, he has a confidence boost heading to Mugello, a track where he has always been competitive.

Positives for Joan Mir and Honda

It was the first time for Joan Mir to get back-to-back points finishes riding a Honda. A P7 in Aragon was a very positive result for the factory Honda team, their best this season. It was also Joan’s best finish since his P5 finish at the Indian Grand Prix in 2023. After a few hard years, Honda now seems to be getting back to fighting for points more consistently. They would hope to continue this fight and soon move up the ladder.

Championship Standings

As things stand, Marc currently sits 32 points clear of his brother Alex Marquez at the top of the standings.

Up Next

MotoGP heads to Mugello next from 20-22nd of June for the Round 9 of the world championship.

Desi Racing Co.Ā is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us onĀ Twitter/X/,Ā Instagram, andĀ LinkedInĀ to keep up with the latest motorsport newsĀ andĀ updates.

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MotoGP Heads to Marquez’s Backyard in Aragon

MotoGP returns after a weeks break, this time in Marc’s backyard in Aragon. Will we see him return to the top step or will we get another unpredictable winner?

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MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon
Marc Marquez after winning the Aragon GP in 2024. Credits: MotoGP

The FIM MotoGP 2025 championship takes us to Spain for the Aragon GP, the eighth round of the Championship. Spaniard Marc Marquez, who won the 2024 Aragon GP, is heading back to what people call his backyard, currently leading the championship by 24 points. Marquez, famously known as ā€œel tro de Cerveraā€ (Thunder of Cervera), has won 7 races at the iconic track since its inception, once for Moto 2 and 6 times for Moto GP, including 6 poles.

Marc Marquez Looking to Get Back to the Top Step at his backyard

Marc Marquez last won a Grand Prix back in April in Qatar. Since then, he has finished outside the points once and on the podium twice in the 3 races that followed. Coming to Aragon, he would be looking to return to the top step. This is also Marquez’s spiritual home GP, as turn 10 has also been named after him to suggest his dominance at the track with his 7 wins and 4 consecutive wins in the years 2016, ā€˜17, ā€˜18, ā€˜19.

Marc Marquez at MotoGP GP of the Americas
Image credits: MotoGP

Can Fabio get his first win of the year in Aragon?

Fabio Quartararo is on an insane qualifying run, the Frenchman has scored 3 pole positions in the last 3 rounds. Sadly for him, he has converted 0 of them to race wins, even retiring in the last 2. He comes to Aragon after a heartbreak in Silverstone, where he had to retire from a comfortable lead in the Grand Prix due to a technical issue with his holeshot device. Fabio will be looking to finally get himself on the top step of the podium this weekend.

MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon

Luca Marini’s Absence in Aragon

Honda Rider Luca Marini, who crashed and sustained multiple injuries during the testing for 8H of Suzuka and was left in intensive care, will not be returning for the Aragon GP. Honda has also decided not to call in any of their reserve drivers, instead, the team will run only Joan Mir for the Aragon GP.

Bagnaia continues to struggle

Pecco Bagnaia is yet to match Marc’s pace in the factory Ducati, but for the last 2 GPs, he is not matching his own standards. Bagnaia’s results in the previous 2 GPs are a 16th-place finish in Le Mans and a DNF in Silverstone. Bagnaia has struggled with the GP25 from the start of the year and is yet to find his feeling back with the bike again, as he mentioned to the press earlier. But, Bagnaia is still full of confidence as he mentions 2022 when he was 91 points behind the leader and still won the championship eventually. He would be looking to get back to the front this weekend.

MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon
Image credits: MotoGP

Unpredictable as ever: 5 Different Riders have won the last 5 races

When the season started, everyone thought it would be a walk in the park for Marc Marquez after looking at his utter domination early on this year. But, MotoGP has lived up to its unpredictable nature, and we have seen 5 different riders take the win in the last 5 races. It is also important to note that we have also seen 3 different manufacturers take the win as well, including a satellite Honda, something not a lot of people would have placed their bets on. As we head into Aragon, will we get a 6th different winner?

Where to Watch MotoGP in India

You can watch all the action live in India on Fancode or Eurosport. The detailed schedule in IST is given below:

MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon

Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/X/, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

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MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro’s Search for a Win Continues

Marco Bezzecchi makes the most of Fabio Quartararo’s misfortunes as he takes the win in MotoGP British GP.

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Marco Bezzecchi celebrates after winning the MotoGP British Grand Prix
Credits: MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo did something that many thought would be impossible at the start of the year: he scored a hat-trick of pole positions riding the Factory Yamaha bike. However, he is yet to convert it into a victory. Despite starting 6 races from the front (3 Grand Prix and 3 Sprints), he is yet to stand on the top step of the podium. Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi made the most of Quartararo’s misfortune to take his first win of the season.

Read More: MotoGP 2025: Riders brace for unpredictable weather at Silverstone

Hattricks of Poles and a Brace of DNFs for Quartararo

When the season started, anyone, even Fabio for that matter, would not have expected to get 3 back-to-back pole positions on his Factory Yamaha, a bike that has not been the most competitive in the recent past. But to his surprise, and everyone else’s, Fabio put in a storming lap to go 3 tenths clear of the rest of the field and get his third Pole Position of the season. But, as fate would have it, he also scored a back-to-back DNF in the Grand Prix.

In Silverstone, it was looking good for the Frenchman, as he was leading the race ahead of Bezzecchi, but a ride height issue in the middle of the race forced the Yamaha rider to retire from the race. He tried half a lap to fix the issue, but to no success.

Bezzecchi Gets His First Win of The Season

Starting from 11th on the grid, not a lot of people would have had Marco Bezzecchi on their cards to win the British Grand Prix. But the Aprilia rider slowly and steadily picked off riders one by one to climb up to second position, and when Quartararo’s misfortunes hit, Bezzecchi was at the perfect place to make the most of it and cross the finish line in first.

A season with lacklustre results for the Italian driver, this win would do him a world of good. Before this race, his best finish was 6th; now the win has shot him to 7th in the standings.

MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro's Search for a Win Continues
Marco Bezzecchi wins the British GP. Credits: MotoGP

Another Weekend of Struggle for the Factory Ducati

Riding on a wave of success at the start of the season, the Factory Ducatis have been struggling of late. Marc Marquez is no longer the dominating force, as he has lost out on Pole Position in the last 3 races, and in the most recent one, he wasn’t even on the front row. Marquez has still managed to salvage the Sprint races, winning every single one of them this year except the one on British GP Saturday, where he finished second to his brother Alex Marquez. Meanwhile Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race after struggling throughout and dropping down the order before he went down.

Marquez struggled throughout this weekend, this has been a circuit where he does not go well historically either. His qualifying run put him on the second row in P4, Sprint was better as he managed to finish P2. The struggle paused for 2 laps at the start of the main race, where he took the lead of the race, before eventually crashing out of the race. A red flag due the another incident further meant the race would be restarted, but even then Marquez could only manage P3, after he dropped down the order outside the Top 10, then made a recovery ride to finish on the podium.

Back-to-Back Grand Prix Podiums for Zarco and Honda

Johann Zarco has been having a very underrated season this year. The last 2 races specifically, the French rider has managed to put the Honda on the top step of the podium in Le Mans and in second place in Silverstone. Throughout this season, Zarco has only been out of the points in one race. He currently sits fifth in the Riders’ standings with 97 points; for comparison, the next Honda rider is Luca Marini on 38 points in 13th.

MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro's Search for a Win Continues
Johann Zarco celebrates after finishing P2 in the British GP. Credits: MotoGP

Championship Standings

As things stand, the Marquez brothers still sit at the top of the standings with Marc ahead of Alex by 24 points.

Up Next for MotoGP

After a small break, MotoGP will now head to Aragon for Round 8 of the world championship from 6-8 June.

Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/XInstagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

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