MotoGP hits Austria this weekend – MotoGP/2/3 previews and current state of play

2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 11 – Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
Red Bull Ring – Spielberg – Preview

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) is back in the driving seat on the road to the Red Bull Ring, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) on the chase, and a new name in third after a stunning Silverstone double: Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). And, despite this being home turf for KTM, this is one of Ducati’s most often conquered venues on the calendar.  And Sunday looks as though it will likely be wet, perhaps very wet…Are you ready?

The winner the last two seasons here – including a double last year – is Bagnaia. He’ll be feeling confident enough to attack that three-point margin with a record like that.

But Martin also has good memories here, the scene of his first MotoGP win, and won’t go down without a fight.

Meanwhile, Bastianini, having been somewhat left out of a few narratives so far in 2024, put in a masterclass at Silverstone to put his name into the hat. 49 points used to be a lot, but it’s less when 37 points are on offer every weekend now we have a Sprint Race on Saturday. It seems even less of a deficit considering it’s exactly the number Bagnaia pulled back on Martin between Catalunya and summer break…

Meanwhile Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) had a solid weekend at Silverstone. Despite a crash on Saturday – just like Bagnaia – Sunday was a good haul of points. But he’ll need to find something more to challenge for the podium again in Austria. However, the advantage that the newer GP24 bikes have has been growing all season to the point that now, they almost seem as though they are in their own race for the podium positions, while the GP23 riders, like Marc, Alex, Digi and Bezzechi are in another race of their own well behind the GP24 pilots.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) is impressing once again, however, and was closer to Marc Marquez by the flag at Silverstone than Marquez was to Bagnaia.  Digi will be looking to make an impression again in Austria on the back of his new contract too, and Alex Marquez will be looking to turn the tables. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) likewise, and he arrives from a solid British GP despite an incident at the start of the Tissot Sprint that saw him skittled by Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing). Bezzecchi was also on the podium in Spielberg last year.

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“I’m really happy to be back on track, after Silverstone we announced a great news that gives me a lot of extra motivation to do even better. We are getting faster, always constantly in the group of the strongest riders and our goal is very close. Let’s not say anything else, I like the Spielberg track, the Ducati have always been very strong here and I can’t wait to get back to the garage to start working with the whole Team.”

However good the record for Ducati is in Austria though, there is another factory that has taken to the top step – twice. KTM arrive on a tougher run as it stands but will be looking to start rebuilding their form in front of a partisan crowd, who will also have rookie superstar Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) to cheer on for the first time in MotoGP. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is now trailing the rookie through no fault of his own after some bad luck at Silverstone so will want to change that in Austria, whereas team-mate Jack Miller took solid points and wants more.

For Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), meanwhile, the rumour mill has now started to swirl regarding a test role for next year with another factory, but with nothing confirmed. One thing that is confirmed for Austria, however, is a wildcard for Red Bull KTM test rider Pol Espargaro, so his machinery will be of interest as the factory look to push back towards the front.

GASGAS Team Manager – Nicolas Goyon

“We are about to start the most important round of the year, the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, home to our two partners Pierer Mobility and Red Bull. Both Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez will be able to use all the data acquired by the test team during the tests done in Spielberg, to give their best, and perform in front of Austrian fans. In Silverstone, Pedro was back in his range of points, and I have no doubt that his fast learning ability and his good experience in Austria will help him fight at the top, knowing that a Pierer Mobility machine was on the podium both in the sprint and the main race last season. On his side, Augusto is still struggling, and still looking for a reference race. The hard-braking and the corners of the Red Bull Ring will be more suitable to our bike and his style, and it will for sure help him to be faster. The Austrian leg is always a great event on the calendar, and the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 is looking forward to getting it started!”

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At Aprilia, more may have been expected for Silverstone, but there was a Sprint podium for Aleix Espargaro from pole position. Maverick Viñales had a tougher one, however, and both will be aiming higher in Austria. It could be a tougher venue, however, with the Noale factory not yet having finished better than sixth – a result taken one apiece by both riders in the last two years. They’re the only factory missing a podium at the venue, but in the world’s most exciting sport that’s not an indictment of the then, it’s an opportunity in the now. Test rider Lorenzo Savadori will also be out to add more data with a wildcard.

For Trackhouse, meanwhile, bouncing back is almost guaranteed after a tough end to Silverstone as Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez crashed out together early on. As the centre of the rumour mill too, it was a spotlight Sunday and one they’ll be hoping to start reshaping with more points Austria – now both on 2024 RS-GPs too.

Raul Fernandez

“I am really looking forward to being back on the bike. I have to say that I’m very enthusiastic to get going again after Silverstone because it was a bit disappointing for us. Anyway, the Red Bull Ring is a very good track for us as I’m quite strong in hard braking points and this circuit has got a lot of these so, maybe that can help us. At the same time, I have to say that in the past, I haven’t been at my best there so far in MotoGP but, we need to continue working on the new bike to understand a lot more about it. We have two or three different ideas in mind to try and therefore we come to Austria with realistic expectations – I just want to work, to improve and understand which way to go with the bike.”

For Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) continues to bank some points but is not in a position to fight with the European machines. He has Yamaha’s best MotoGP result here, taken in 2022, and it will be interesting to see how their machine now takes on the less flowing, more stop go venue. We await news on team-mate Alex Rins in the meantime after the Spaniard withdrew from Silverstone.

Honda will also be an interesting watch. After a first point in Germany following a visible step forward for Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team), it seemed the Italian had more from Silverstone until a tyre pressure penalty. Still, the positives were clear. Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) led the charge, however, and took 14th, with team-mate Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) then promoted to that P15.

Luca Marini

“Our previous weekend in Silverstone showed the progress we have been making with the bike, everything is coming together better and better and I am able to improve and make progress during the weekend. The results are not what we want of course but we’re building and working. I think in Austria we will be able to make another step at a track which is very different to the rest, it’s all about braking and acceleration so we will need to focus a lot on these areas.”

Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) was forced to retire from the race at Silverstone with an issue, so fresh from a new contract he’ll be hoping more is possible in Austria – one of his very much favoured venues. The squad will also be joined by Stefan Bradl wildcarding with HRC Test Team to gather even more data.

Three points cover the duel at the top, Bastianini has chance to double down on his momentum, and Marquez is looking to stem the tide. The same can be said of KTM as the orange corner faces down Ducati on hallowed home ground.

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

Winning your home Grand Prix is something only a privileged few can say and on Sunday at the British GP, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) etched his name into Silverstone folklore as we were treated to a stunning fight for the win between the Brit and Aron Canet (Fantic Racing). Now, the Red Bull Ring beckons, with both riders hunting more success at a circuit that presents quite the opposing challenge to Silverstone’s fast and flowing DNA.

It remains Sergio Garcia’s (MT Helmets – MSI) in the hot seat in the Championship, but Dixon’s first victory of the season – his third overall – saw the Briton climb to seventh in the points standings, with Canet now eighth as the duo stand on 78 points apiece. The title might be out of reach, but hitting form at the start of the second half of 2024 could see both penetrate the top five – or better – come Valencia. For Dixon, three podiums in the last five are somewhat making up for the nightmare start to the 2024 campaign.

Dixon and Canet were in a league of their own at Silverstone, but plenty of other storylines were on offer. Celestino Vietti’s first rostrum in Red Bull KTM Ajo colours couldn’t have come at a better time ahead of the Pierer Mobility Group’s home race in Austria – and it’s the scene of the Italian’s last Moto2 win too. Meanwhile, in the Championship chase, the pendulum swung back in Garcia’s favour.

An incredibly classy comeback from as low as 26th on the first lap saw Garcia card a crucial fourth, as his main title rivals faltered. Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) – a third-place finisher at the Ring in 2023 – went from pole to 14th, Fermin Aldeguer (GT Trevisan SpeedUp) had a very quiet weekend and picked up a P12, while Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) crashed out of third. That means Garcia now leads Ogura by 18 points ahead of Spielberg, with Roberts and Aldeguer 37 and 48 points back respectively.

Senna Agius has been steadily adding to his points tally throughout the season and has added 16-points over the last three rounds to double his total to 32.  The highlight for the Australian was a fifth place at Catalunya and he will be looking to find that form once again this weekend.

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Another Moto3 classic was rolled out at Silverstone and for the second time in three races, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) emerged as the victor. Pole position to winning on Sunday signalled a perfect weekend at the office for the Spaniard in Great Britain, with Ortola clipping five important points out of David Alonso’s (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) significant Championship advantage.

But it was just the five as the Colombian finished a close second to limit the damage done. Interestingly, that’s Alonso’s first non-victory podium of the year and it keeps Alonso 53 points clear at the summit. It’s now seven podiums in 10 races for Alonso as he continues his supreme 2024 march.

Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) claimed his fifth podium of the year with a third place at the British GP, with Daniel Holgado’s (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) fourth seeing the top four in the overall standings pick up the first four positions at Silverstone. Three of the four – Alonso, Veijer and Holgado – race Pierer Mobility Group machinery, so they’ll be hungry to impress further on KTM home turf at the Red Bull Ring. For Ortola, Holgado and Veijer, points need to be taken off Alonso as soon as possible if they’re to retain any hope of reeling in the Aspar star…

Joel Kelso moved from tenth in the championship standings up to ninth off the back of his seventh place finish at Silverstone.

It has been a tough couple of rounds for Jacob Roulstone and he will be aiming to get his championship back on track after securing a contract extension with GASGAS that will ensure he is on the grid in 2025.

Moto3 Championship Standings