2024 MotoGP: Key points and updates about the season so far
Portugal and Indian GPs are subject to a contract extension, and Kazakhstan GP is subject to contract and circuit homologation.
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After a crackling 2023 season where Ducati Lenovo’s Francesco Bagnaia was crowned the World Champion in the final race of the season in Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, MotoGP returns in 2024.
Provisional 2024 Calendar
Testing
Apart from the GPs, there will be three pre-season and in-season testing held at different venues with the final Valencia test focusing on the 2025 season.
Rider and Team Lineup
Key Highlights
- Portugal and Indian GPs are subject to a contract extension, and Kazakhstan GP is subject to contract and circuit homologation.
- The MotoGP Selection Committee, comprising members of FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports, have decided not to select the CryptoDATA MotoGP Team for the 2024 season due to repeated infractions and breaches of the Participation Agreement affecting the public image of MotoGP. The Selection Committee will be reviewing applications for a new Independent Team, using Aprilia machinery and Aprilia contracted riders – Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez, to join the MotoGP class grid for 2024.
- A new system of concessions for manufacturers has been introduced, effective immediately as of the 28th of November, the first day of 2024 testing in Valencia. There are now two windows in which each factory’s performance is assessed: from the first event to the last event of the season and from the first event after the summer test ban to the last event before the summer test ban of the following season. This allows factories to more quickly gain, or lose, their concessions based on their most recent form – ensuring competition can stay as close as possible. A high-level summary as below:
- The first pre-season testing for 2024 has just concluded on the 28th November with Maverick Vinales claiming the top spot.
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Weekend Rundown
The full rundown of the weekend is as follows –
Friday
- Free Practice 1 (FP1): 45 mins
- Practice (PR): 60 mins, timed for entry into Q2
Saturday
- Free Practice 2 (FP2): 30 mins
- Qualifying 1 (Q1): 15 mins
- Qualifying 2 (Q2): 15 mins
- MotoGP Tissot Sprint (SPR)
Sunday
- Warm Up (WUP): 10 mins
- Race (RACE)
The Free Practice sessions (FP1 and FP2), as the name suggests, are the sessions that the riders, teams and factories can use to set up, dial in and anything else.
The Practice session on Friday afternoons will be the sole practice session timed for entry into Q2. This is when the riders need to set those fast laps to secure a place in the top ten and that crucial spot in Q2 qualifying. The ones who lose out on the top 10 will move to Q1 on Saturday.
The qualifying sessions will then be followed by a sprint race that covers half of the actual race distance and half of the points that are usually awarded during the Sunday race.
Trackhouse Racing, an American stock car auto racing organisation that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series will take their racing ambition onto two wheels as they join MotoGP as an Independent Team, partnered with Aprilia to run their RS-GP MotoGP prototypes that was previously managed and run by the CryptoDATA MotoGP Team.
They will run two Aprilia RS-GPs, ridden by Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez. The full 2024 livery will be revealed early next season but as part of the launch, the team unveiled a symbolic American flag-liveried bike, paying tribute to both previous testing colours used by Nicky Hayden and to the incredible motorcycle racing heritage of the USA.
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News Feed
- Ducati confirms Marc Marquez will ride Johann Zarco’s GP23, not Francesco Bagnaia’s or Jorge Martin’s.
The official statement –
“On the bikes of Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martín and Enea Bastianini we introduced some more evolutions, but they gave us some problems, both in terms of reliability and performance.”
“So we do not believe that these evolutions that we introduced are easy to use in private teams.”
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Why do I get a feeling the Ducati management doesn’t want to make life easy for MM93 from the get-go?
- “No member of the Marquez family can be in Yamaha” revelation leaked. Alex Marquez was supposed to debut on the Petronas Yamaha in 2021 but was denied a seat due to the MM93 – Rossi rivalry back in 2015.
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- KTM set a deadline to decide on running a second satellite team in 2025 but have their task cut out as the majority of the contracts in the MotoGP grid expire at the end of 2024.
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- BMW to debut the XM Label Red Safety Car that will replace the M3 Competition.
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News Feed
- Mooney VR46 (Pertamina Enduro VR46 for 2024) Team Director, Alessio Salucci, talks about Bezzecchi, Diggia and importantly, the path forward for the Tavullia based team. While they have the option to stick with Ducati for 2025-26, they aren’t particularly happy to play with the hand-me-down machinery, unlike the Pramac team that has access to the latest and greatest tech. Hence, a partnership with either KTM or Yamaha could be a possibility, Uccio says.
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Jorge Martin talks about his 2025 goal to ride for a Factory team and his frustrations on losing the factory Ducati seat to Enea Bastianini in 2022, and losing the championship by 39 points to Pecco in 2023. He feels, no matter what or how much he does, is never enough.
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