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MotoGP 2024 Season begins: Qatar GP Review

A Weekend Review after enthralling Race and Sprint for the MotoGP fans at Qatar

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MotoGP 2024 Season begins: Qatar GP Review

We saw the 5 lights go off and riders go full throttle to start the 2024 season of Motogp under the night sky in Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit.
Qualifying, Sprint, or the Race – It was all packed with action and the MotoGP circus delivered.

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Jorge Martin Sprints

Motogp’s very own Mr. Saturday, Jorge Martin seems to love Saturdays the most.
Martin started the year where he left it, securing Pole position on a Saturday and then converting that Pole into a Sprint Race win. Martin got a good launch in the Sprint race and never looked back. Aliex and Aprilla also got their first podium in Qatar for the sprint race.
The Sprint race of the Qatar GP ended poorly for Fabio Di Giannantonio. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 rider suffered a dramatic crash that forced him to retire early in the Sprint.

MotoGP 2024 Season begins: Qatar GP Review
The Sprint Results


A Champion’s Ride for the Race

Continuing the ongoing trend in Motogp, Saturday is where Martin shines the brightest but when it comes to the main race or the race that gives the maximum points the 2 time MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia is always there to take those points.
We saw Pecco get a lightning start and was Super aggressive in early laps to take the lead. Once Pecco got in the lead he never looked back winning the race after starting P5 position and building up his title defense in Pecco style.


Top 7 – A Tale of 6 Ducatis and 1 KTM – Brad Binder

Brad Binder was right in the mix. Throughout the weekend we saw him challenging the Ducatis for podium places. That KTM in the hands of Brad Binder was no joke in Qatar and he made sure to extract everything out of that bike to be the only challenger in the Top 7 where 6 Bikes were Ducati.
We even saw KTM matching Ducatis on the straight with the help of a slipstream, it was in the right place to attack, however, Braking was where the KTM struggled against the Ducati but Brad made sure to try his might to take that 2nd position from Jorge Martin in a fight that went on for 11 Laps.

“I think the same as last year. We’re super close, but we haven’t shown that we can do it yet. For me, I feel like I’m a little bit pushing at 100% all the time. I feel like they have a couple of percent in their pocket when they want to use it. I’m waiting for this last little bit of help, and then we try again.” 

With that, Brad is now the only non-Ducati rider in the top 5 of the Championship standings.


Ducati Chapter begins for Marc Marquez

Yes, Marc Marquez started a GP not for Repsol Honda but for Gresini Ducati. On his debut for Ducati, Marc got a P5 in the sprint race and a P4 in the main race.
Qatar which has not been a strong front of Marc in the past was a successful race this time, Even though Marquez did not achieve podium places he performed within his expectation of being in the Top 5 and built confidence for his new challenge with the Gresini Ducati. Marquez is still getting to grips with the Ducati GP23 while trying to get rid of that Honda habit and the associated riding style.
After the sprint race, Marc said

“Of course, I could be happier if I finished more in front. But I’m happy”


Nobody is safe from the shark attack! Not Even Marc Marquez

P8 in the sprint race and p9 in the main race is a very good way to start your Motogp career. Pedro Acosta had everyone talking about him. He has the speed to go toe to toe with the veterans of the Motogp. The only concern was the tire management which cost him the the top six places in the main race which he will learn as he gets more and more time on the GP bike.
After the race, Pedro commented :

“It’s like when you lose your virginity everything starts to be good and it’s a disaster”

MotoGP 2024 Season begins: Qatar GP Review
Pedro attacks Marc for the Position in his first Race

A Case of Aborted Race Start

After a promising Saturday for Raul Fernandez and the Trackhouse Racing squad, Sunday was a day to forget for Raul after he had an electrical issue on the grid just before the first race of the year was set to burst into life. 
This resulted in an aborted Race start, after which the race was shortened to 21 race from 22, as the Riders had to take another formation lap after the hindered race start.
Raul had to start from Pitlane after the issues, where he changed his bike to begin the race.

“We had to jump on the other bike, but it had a super used tire and that was the race done then. I tried to finish the race but it was really difficult in the last five laps to manage the tyre, I couldn’t ride so I said we’re here doing nothing, so I had to stop.”
– Raul Fernandez

The Japanese Struggle

The pre-season test showed that both Honda and Yamaha were moving in the right direction, whether with the engines or the chassis. But come race day the story remains the same. Both Yamaha and Honda were in the lower part of the group. The highest-placed Japanese bike was of 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo followed by his countryman Johann Zarco and 2020 world champion Joan Mir. Takaaki Nakagami and New boy Luca Marini were placed 19th and 20th respectively.

“We are further last year. We have improved a little bit, but they are even faster. They are even better and faster than last year. So the gap between all the European manufacturers and us is bigger. Even to Honda, I felt that today we were missing something. They are also struggling a lot, but I felt like we were even worse today.” 
– Fabio Quartararo

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Both Honda and Yamaha have a lot of work to do if they want to catch their European rivals The first round of Motogp is done and dusted and we can see Pecco vs Martin part 2 for this year as well. Will other riders be fighting and will be in the title campaign like Brad Binder and Marc Marquez? Still, a long way to go in this season.

MotoGP 2024 Season begins: Qatar GP Review

MotoGP next heads to Portimao, on 22-24th March 2024 for “Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal”.

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MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend

MotoGP is back at Misano as the title fight reaches it’s climax.

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MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend

MotoGP once again returns to Misano for the second time this season. The original race was scheduled to be in India, then in Kazakhstan and finally in Misano. Join us as DRC previews an exciting weekend ahead of the 2024 Emilia Romagna Motorcycle Grand Prix. Read the last race review here.


Three-way MotoGP title fight brewing

At the start of the year, it looked like it would be either Jorge Martin or Francesco Bagnaia who would be the title protagonists. It looked like it was the case even in Silverstone. But with his recent return to form, Marc Marquez has also made his claim as a potential title challenger. With back-to-back wins, the last one on the same circuit in Misano, he is one of the favorites to win. Right now the Gresini rider sits 3rd in the championship, 53 points behind leader Jorge Martin. With a bit of luck and a lot of victories, Marquez surely has a chance at his ninth title.

MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend
Marquez celebrates his win in Misano. Credits: Cycle News MotoGP blog.

While Marquez needs some luck, the two at the front don’t. Both Martin and Bagnaia are 50 points ahead of the opposition and have dominated this year with all but 3 wins going to them. 7 points separate them with martin leading the championship by 7 points. A lot of pressure will be on him to outscore Bagnaia for some crucial points. Another big talking point will be how well can Martin handle pressure. Pecco has been very good at putting Martin under loads of pressure, which often culminates in him making a mistake or crashing out. Martin in the past has been vocal about how he needs to be better in the psychological battle against Bagnaia.

Francesco Bagnaia will come into this weekend as confident as ever after topping the Misano test right after the San Marino GP. He is the home-crowd favourite and has more wins than anybody else this season. Misano historically has not been his best track, with him winning twice in 8 starts since his debut.

MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend
Francesco Bagnaia topped the charts in the Misano test. Credits: Motorsport Images MotoGP blog.

Yamaha aim improvements

The last race at Misano was an excellent stride in improvement for Yamaha. Fabio Quartararo put his factory Yamaha in the top seven. And this was not just the rain mixing things up. Fabio was 6th and 9th in the practice sessions, got a straight entry into Q2 and qualified ahead of every single Aprilia. Alex Rins had a fantastic ride as well and was at one point fighting for tenth place when the rain came.

This is the first time in nearly a year that a Japanese bike has cracked a top-10 finish. Further, Fabio finished fifth in the Misano test earlier on and showed great improvement with the new tire compounds being tested. This was received by the community as a huge leap forward for Japanese motorcycle racing, and Yamaha has said with recent improvements they aim to be fighting at the top end by the end of the 2025 season. With Prima Pramac also switching to Yamaha 2025 onwards, the team will also benefit from having European expertise involved in the development process.

Honda on the other hand, are facing blow after blow. Both Repsol Honda riders sat out the San Marino Grand Prix due to sickness. Repsol also parted ways with Honda after a very successful partnership that saw them win 15 titles and score more than 450 podiums in MotoGP.

The LCR Honda team scored some points for the Japanese powerhouse, but the outstanding problems with the bike are still fixed. Zarco was the lead Honda in the Misano test in 18th place 1.3 seconds off the lead. Johann Zarco even went on to say that there were some problems whose cause have not even been identified as of now, and a “total postmortem” of the bike is necessary to make it competitive. He also went on to say that it is not that Yamaha and Honda are bad, just the fact that Aprilia, KTM and Ducati are way better.


KTM look to impress again, Aprilia try to bounce back

KTM were the team that took the challenge to Ducati here two weeks ago. Three KTMs were in the top three with Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro finishing ahead of every single Aprilia. The wonder rookie Pedro Acosta was also on point fighting for a potential 4th place but crashed out while duelling with Morbidelli and had to finish a lap down in 17th.

Acosta was once again the lead KTM in the Misano test, finishing a strong 4th by the end of the day. He was the leader of the pack until the final hour when Bagnaia, Morbidelli and Bastianini put in very quick laps to overtake him. Binder, Miller and Dani Pedrosa also impressed with the consistent pace.

MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend
Brad Binder was on pace in the Misano Test. Credits: KTM MotoGP Press Centre.

Aprilia have traditionally not fared well at Misano and it showed in both the San Marino GP and the test. The only Aprilia to score points last time out was that of Miguel Oliviera for Trackhouse. They were outpaced and outraced by the KTMs and hence dropped valuable points to them in the Constructer’s championship. KTM will once again try to jump on this opportunity to score more points than Aprilia. It is rumored that they may bring in Pedrosa as a wildcard in-order to score more points, just like they did with Espargaro last time out.


Weekend Schedule and weather report

This is how the weather looks like for the Emilia Romagna GP

MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend

This is the weekend schedule. All times are in IST. Races can be watched live on Eurosport and on Jio Cinema.

MotoGP 2024: MotoGP back at Misano for exciting weekend

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MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano

Marc Marquez won a chaotic flag-to-flag race in Misano as Jorge Martin gambles and looses out big.

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MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano

The 2024 MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix was a race of treacherous conditions, insane rides and vicious gambles. With uncertain weather conditions, this flag-to-flag race is already amongst the greats. Join us as DRC reviews a fantastic San Marino Grand Prix weekend. Read more MotoGP news, reviews and previews here.


What is a flag-to-flag race?

Before we get into the review, lets talk about what a flag-to-flag race in MotoGP is. Unlike Formula One or other forms of car racing, MotoGP or any Motorcycle Grand Prix racing employs other forms of pitstops. MotoGP pitstops work in the sense that there are different bikes with different sets of tires on them, so if you want to pit, you just ride into your box and hop onto another bike.

MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano
Marc Marquez pits to change bikes. Credits: Repsol Honda MotoGP team website.

In MotoGP, a rider can freely enter the pits during qualifying and practice, but only at certain times during the sprint and the race. This is during times where the weather conditions have drastically changed and it would be unsafe for riders to continue on the same tires. This is signaled to the riders in the form of a white flag, allowing them to enter the pits. This type of race with changeable weather conditions wherein a rider can use multiple bikes in the same race is called a Flag-to-Flag race.

MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano
A marshal waving a white flag during the 2017 Dutch TT at Assen. Credits: MotoGP on X.

Some famous flag-to-flag races in MotoGP include the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, the 2016 German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring and the 2015 San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.

MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano
Brad Binder wins a flag-to-flag Austrian GP in 2021. Credits: KTM Press Centre.

Marquez reigns in the chaos

Marc Marquez did not have a good saturday at all. After his comeback win in Motorland Aragon last week, the Spaniard looked quick from the get go. But his chances at pole slipped when he crashed out from a pole worthy lap in Q2. He would then start and finish the sprint in a lackluster ninth place.

He was in ninth for a little while when the race started, but quickly picked off places from Fabio Quartararo, Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzechi before capitalizing on Pedro Acosta and Franky Morbidelli’s crash to move up into fourth. This was when the chaos started. A white flag was waved in leu of rainfall at the track. Jorge Martin was the first to enter the pits to swap bikes and Marquez moved upto third behind Jack Miller and Bagnaia. He would then pass both of them the next lap and win comfortably with a huge margin of 3.1 seconds.

Martin on the other hand, changed bikes too early and was racing with wets on a relatively dry track. He had to pit again and had to go a lap down, ultimately finishing 15th. Francesco Bagnaia followed his guts and managed to finish second ahead of team mate Enea Bastianini who once again, sliced through the field on a late charge to the podium.

This in Marc’s own words, was a ‘special win’ as he led Gresini to their first home win. He also dedicated his win to the late Fausto Gresini, in whose honor the team was running a special livery.


KTM and Jack Miller Impress, while Aprilia struggle

KTM was the main contender of Ducati in Misano instead of the Aprilias. Pedro Acosta was the lead KTM as he qualified fifth ahead of another KTM of Brad Binder, both the Gresini Ducatis and the factory Ducati of Bastianini. Binder would then show why he is called the ‘sunday-man’ after losing out in the start to utimately finish in fourth. Acosta the rookie was also impressive, dueling with the Prima Pramac Ducati of Morbidelli until he crashed from fourth place. Thankfully he was able to get back up but finished a lap down in seventeenth.

Another talking point for the weekend was Jack Miller. The Australian finished 8th, but there is more to that story. He was running as high as second, and even dueled with Bagnaia and Bastianini, but would then be passed after his tires ran out of grip. This is a much needed result for Miller, as he is without a ride next season and this race showcased just how great his racing skills are. Wildcard Pol Espargaro finished tenth, making it three KTMs in the top ten, ahead of every single Aprilia.

The Aprilias struggled for pace all weekend. Maverick Vineales was the lead Aprilia in Qualifying in 11th, while Miguel Oliviera was the only Aprilia to score points in the weekend when he finished eleventh in the race. Top Gun finished sixteenth, a lap down while Raul Fernandes finished eighteenth a lap down. Aleix Espargaro retired from the race in a pretty dismal weekend for Aprilia.


Fabio and Yamaha blitz out, while Honda No-Show

Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha have clearly taken their recent lump very seriously, and are hard at work trying to fix the bike’s problems. This weekend at Misano was a very good one for them. Fabio locked in his world title here back in 2021, and now he puts Yamaha in the top 7 this year. Quarataro finished 6th and 9th in the practice sessions, guaranteeing himself a spot in Q2. He would then outqualify the Aprilia of Maverick Vineales and then go onto to finish an impressive seventh in the race. Alex Rins was also running in the top 12, but finished 19th at the flag due to the downpour.

Honda on the other hand, had a mixed weekend. The LCR Honda team, who were running Stefan Bradl as a wildcard this weekend, finished 9 points at the hands of Johann Zarco, Taka Nakagami and Stefan Bradl respectively in 12th through 14th. The factory Repsol Honda team on the other hand was a no show. Both Joan Mir and Luca Marini were sick from friday and decided not to participate in the race saturday itself, with Mir set to miss the Misano test as well. This comes as a salt on wounds type situation for Honda, after Repsol ended thier partnership with them earlier this weekend.


Championship Standings and the next races

Following the San Marino Grand Prix, the championship looks like this:

MotoGP 2024: Marquez wins back-to-back in Magical Misano
Championship standings after Misano. Credits: MotoGP

The next race is also at Misano with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix taking place September 20-22.

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Moto GP 2024: Showdown of the Titans at Motorland Aragón

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Moto GP 2024: Showdown of the Titans at Motorland Aragón

The last time we were in Motorland Aragón, the year was still 2022 and Francescco Bagnaia was yet to win a Moto GP championship. Fast forward to 2024 and Bagnaia is the rider to beat this weekend as he leads Championship. All you need to know about the race weekend and what news has dropped since the last race, read it all in the weekend preview report from DRC.

5 points in it: The Title battle

Last time out at Austrian GP, it was a blockbuster show by the World Champion.

Moto GP 2024: Showdown of the Titans at Motorland Aragón
Francesco Bagnaia won both Race and Sprint at the Austrian GP; credits: Moto GP

After entering the weekend just behind Martin and a point to prove, Pecco put on a masterclass and won both the Sprint and Race. Now leading the Champion, Bagnaia still can’t rest as his nearest rival is just five points away. Bagnaia is also en-route to shatter his own record of most wins in a season. He is currently sitting at 7 wins which is equal to his record. Hence a win here will be one for the history books.

However, Bagnaia will not be the only one gathering eyes this weekend.

Moto GP 2024: Showdown of the Titans at Motorland Aragón
Jorge Martin; credits: Moto GP

Jorge Martin has proved time and again this season that he’s a force to be reckoned with. We have seen a number of times this season how the Championship leader gets changed after every other Race weekend. And with Martin just trailing to Bagnaia by 5 points, it is very likely to happen again.

The other protagonist in the title fight is Enea Bastianini. The last time around the Motorland Aragón circuit, Bastianini tasted the winner’s champagne as he just pipped Bagnaia at the last lap. (0.042s). A similar show by Bastianini would stregthen his hold at the title fight.

Marquez in desperate need of a come-back at Aragón

Marc Marquez is not having the best of form lately. After crashing out at the Silverstone Sprint, Marquez entered Austria with determination to do himself one better.

Aragon
Marc Marquez; credits: Moto GP

However, his Silverstone form was yet to leave him. He was running in P2 in Sprint after Martin had to serve his Long Lap penalty but he fell off his bike, throwing away a well points paying position. In the race, Marquez fell down the owing to a crash with Franco Morbidelli, but eventually did well enough damage limitation and finished fourth.

Marquez currently sits 4th in the championship, 83 points away from the table-topper Bagnaia. This gap is not impossible to claw back, however, Marquez will need to improve his Qualifying pace and rectify his mistakes in races to still have a chance at the Championship.

Driver signings, Private tests and more

The most recent signing in the Moto GP paddock is of Fermin Aldeguer to Gresini Racing.

Moto GP 2024: Showdown of the Titans at Motorland Aragón
Fermin Aldeguer; credits: Moto GP

He was signed by Ducati back in March and now gets the seat of the outgoing Marc Marquez. Currently sitting in P5 in the Moto 2 Championship, the Spaniard impressed the Ducati squad after finishing P3 in Moto2 in 2023 season. He has been signed for a period of 2 years.

In other news, Yamaha are coming into this weekend after conducting a private test last week at Misano. For the same, Andrea Dovizioso stepped up as a replacement for the recovering Cal Crutchlow.

Moto GP 2024: Showdown of the Titans at Motorland Aragón
credits:Moto GP

The tests seem to have brought some positivity into Japanese team. Fabio Quartaro exclaimed-

“We had the opportunity to try some new things at the private Misano test. At the test we noticed that the new items give us a small improvement. This weekend we’ll have another chance to try these items, but this time in a race-weekend setting.

With continued push by the Japanese team, Yamaha riders look in a better place to finally aim for better positions at the Motorland Aragón.

When and Where to watch

All the sessions from Motorland Aragón will be streamed on Eurosport (TV) and JioCinema (Web Broadcast).

The Schedule is as follows:

Friday

14:15-15:00 – Free Practice Nr. 1

18:30-19:30 – Practice

Saturday

13:40-14:10 – Free Practice Nr. 2

14:20-15:00 – Qualifying

18:30 – Sprint

Sunday

17:30 – Race

Make sure to follow DesiRacingCo to keep up with Moto GP at Motorland Aragón.

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