The final race of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship took place in Barcelona last weekend, where Jorge Martin performed with caution to place third and clinch his first career world title for Prima Pramac. For 2025, Martin heads to Aprilia after failing to earn a full factory Ducati ride for next season, even though he has enjoyed current works bikes with Prima Pramac.
The last top class World Champ to leave his manufacturer after earning the crown was Valentino Rossi who jumped from Honda to the struggling Yamaha back in 2003, with immediate success.
Meanwhile, Pramac are switching to an affiliation with Yamaha, the only manufacturer not to have a Satellite squad in 2024. Pilots joining Pramac will be ex-KTM team leader Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira.
Two time and reigning World Champ Francesco “Peco” Bagnaia did what he could to make up his points disadvantage, winning both the Saturday Tissot Sprint (his 7th such success of the season) and Sunday’s feature (11th of the year) for the works Ducati Lenovo Team. But Martin wouldn’t be drawn into battle, needing only a ninth to be sure of his title: the final points standings were 508 to 498.
Pecco thus joins Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Mick Doohan and Giacamo Agostini as racers who have won 11 or more times in one year – three of these racers at least partially predate the modern four-stroke MotoGP era.
Third overall in points went to Marc Marquez, the seven-time World Champ and rookie Ducati pilot second on the day in a quiet race – Marquez passed Martin for second on lap two, and the top order was established.
Next season, former Honda star Marquez will join Bagnaia on the “A” Ducati program, taking up the ride coveted by Martin. Ducati took all but seven of the possible podium placings in 2024.
Experts wonder if Martin can contend next year aboard the Aprilia, a bike only occasionally competitive with the eight Ducatis on the grid during last season. Many are predicting that Martin is a “one and done” Champ.
In Barcelona, retiring star Aleix Espargaro had his best event in a long time for Aprilia, running up front and placing fifth, after battling the fourth place Gresini Ducati of Alex Marquez. Espargaro will join Honda as a test rider in 2025, as the once dominant builder works to recover from placing last in the 2024 Team Championship.
In 2022, the final race of the season was a title battle between an on-form Bagnaia and Yamaha’s outgoing Champ Fabio Quartararo, Bagnaia struggled in the race but was ultimately successful. Last year, the last round was a show down between Ducati aces Bagnaia and Martin, with Martin getting tangled up with Honda mounted Marc Marquez. This year, things were far calmer, even if it looked like Marquez might make a late race push to pass his team-mate, and likely title rival, for next year.
In the second season of Saturday Sprint races, consistency was key to earning the Championship, and Martin seemed to learn from his unforced 2023 errors, especially later in the year. Out of forty weekend points paying races, Bagnaia fell seven times, four times by himself and three times in collisions with others – twice with a Marquez brother! Pecco also had one, unexplained mechanical issue, likely electronics-related with a hurriedly repaired Ducati in France.
In the now traditional trackside champion helmet presentation, Martin got his gold Alpinestars lid out of a shattered glass case (he fired a gun to simulate the breakage) and a set of leathers referencing the Terminator movie and his “Martinator” moniker. With the Champ leaving his team and the team departing their manufacturer, the emotions displayed might have been more sincere than is sometimes the case.
The teams stayed in Barcelona for the traditional post season test, held Tuesday in cool but dry conditions and headed by Alex Marquez on the Gresini Ducati. The 2025 Ducati factory machine made its debut, body in white, piloted to third best time by a relaxed Bagnaia – a bad indicator for the rest of the works teams.
Interrupting the expected pattern in testing was Quartararo on the Monster Yamaha, placing second best and confirming the recent progress of the other struggling, once dominant Japanese manufacturer.
Yamaha are rumored to have a new configuration power plant on the way, and new chassis and aero updates are typical for the teams at the back of the standings who receive rules concessions to update their machines with far fewer restrictions than Ducati must deal with.
Marc Marquez is expected to fight with Pecco for the Championship next season and was fifth quickest in his first outing on a true factory Ducati – even though he previously was using a slightly detuned 2023 Ducati while at Gresini. A positive sign at the last official 2024 event was Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia in fifth overall, just ahead of the top KTM of Brad Binder.
Having done significant private development during the season due to allowances for teams that are struggling for results, Honda didn’t bring much that was new to the test, and the top RC213V was the Castrol LCR entry of Johan Zarco in tenth. Late in the 2024 season, Zarco often battled Quartararo for top Japanese machine honors during Sunday’s main races. Next best Honda was first time rider Aleix Espargaro in his debut on the HRC Test team entry, 14th best just ahead of the next Honda, luckless Joan Mir in 15th. A total of 24 racers set times, including three MotoGP rookies.
Monday at Barcelona featured Harley-Davidson bagger testing, with works bikes shipped in from the MotoAmerica series. Rumors suggest that in 2025 the Milwaukee-based American twin manufacturer will back a one-make series with five or six races placed with the MotoGP tour – no word on any Indian participation. In MotoA, the Baggers racing features small grids that centre on the battle between the two legendary “American iron” manufacturers.
