MotoGP 2024 Season begins
A Weekend Review after enthralling Race and Sprint for the MotoGP fans at Qatar
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.
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.
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”
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
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 next heads to Portimao, on 22-24th March 2024 for “Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal”.
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