MotoGP readying for title deciding Catalunya finale – Preview

2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 20 – Catalunya
Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona

MotoGP Preview

After 19 Grands Prix across the world, the paddock returns to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona – an event with a purpose beyond the pure sporting, and one where the highest sporting accolade in MotoGP will be on the table.

By the end of play on Sunday, we know we will have a World Champion, and it could even be before. We also know it will be Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) or Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) lifting the crown.

Betting against Martin – with his 24-point advantage and impressive pace throughout the calendar and the conditions – is a longer shot. Martin has seldom put a foot wrong in the past few weeks and looks like a different bet than this time last year. All the tiny details add up to a picture of a rider on the verge of sealing the deal. But his pace at the earlier Catalan GP wasn’t on a par with his key rival, Bagnaia, and nothing is truly over until it’s over. Millimetres separate glory from gravel in MotoGP and that line is even harder to walk when the moment truly has arrived.

For Bagnaia, meanwhile, the tightrope is purely on track. There’s no mental maths to do and no question about what he has to put on the table. It’s a binary choice: all-in or lose by default. And in those situations, something seems to unlock within the reigning Champion. “I must, therefore I shall”. Even in the Sprint in Sepang, the must was not winning, the must was taking the risk. So he did. Then, it didn’t pay off. On a different Saturday and at a different venue, maybe it will. With different pace from the rivals around them, maybe it will. With the tightrope for the rider he’s chasing now giving Martin a direct eyeline to the trophy, maybe it will.

There are two usual suspects that Martin and Bagnaia will be eyeing this weekend. In the purple corner, Martin will be hoping both Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) are unable to keep tabs on the title-contending duo. A repeat of Malaysia. Bastianini finished the race a little off the win and Marquez also admitted that he simply didn’t have the pace to get involved in the spellbinding battle, and then crashed out while trying to keep up.

Having Marquez and Bastianini out of the equation in both the Sprint and race is the dream scenario for Martin. Conversely, that would be a nightmare for Bagnaia. “I need Enea,” was the fact of it, confirmed by Pecco in the post-race Press Conference in Malaysia. Not for team orders, simply to take points away from Martin. The #1 could also do with Marquez doing the same. But unlike Bastianini, a fast and firing Marc Marquez could also work against Pecco. This dynamic between the Catalan GP top four from May will be a fascinating watch on Friday afternoon and in qualifying before we even get to showtime…

There may be far more protagonists to contend with too. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was a Sprint podium finisher in Barcelona and the rookie will be ravenous for a podium return before the year is out. Plus, there’s a good inter-manufacturer fight for P5 between the Spaniard and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). It’s 209 points vs 206 in favour of Acosta, so the South African – who hasn’t stood on a Sunday rostrum since Qatar – will be hunting podium form after a tough end to his Malaysian GP.

Pedro Acosta

“We got some rest after being around half of Asia, so it felt really good being back home! We are going to Barcelona for the final round, a circuit that I like, and where I feel comfortable and competitive. The main objective will be to finish the season as the best Pierer Mobility bike, and if it can be with a podium at home, all the better. We will give everything and try to offer the people a good show, and hopefully gather as much as we can for the people of Valencia. Let’s go!”

There’s another rider in the P5 picture too. Although it’s an outside chance, Maverick Viñales’ last weekend as an Aprilia Racing could see Top Gun end the year with the ‘best of the rest’ accolade before he switches his allegiances to the machines he’s hoping to beat this weekend. 20 points split Acosta, Binder and Viñales, so that’s a secondary scrap to keep our eyes on.

Maverick Viñales

“Montmeló is a track I love to race on, it’s very close to home and it’s my home GP. When I’m there I’m always very motivated. The weather will be unpredictable, with low temperatures. It will be a very special weekend: we’ll be racing for Valencia and it will also be my last race with Aprilia, so I’ll give it my all.”

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Elsewhere, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) will be aiming to back up his strong Sepang outing with a solid end-of-season ride on home turf. Fellow GP23 rider, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), didn’t enjoy the same success in Sepang and will be hoping his final race under the VR46 and Ducati umbrella springs greater results.

Marco Bezzecchi

“It will be a weekend of pure emotion, first of all I want to send a big hug to the city of Valencia and to all the people affected by the flood. As for my last GP with the Team: they were five crucial seasons for my racing career and for me as a person. A beautiful chapter closes, I am ready to embark on a new sporting adventure, but many memories, many affections and friendships remain. I will give my best to close in the best way with a great race among the protagonists.”

Trusted Ducati Test Rider, Michele Pirro, will take over Fabio Di Giannantonio’s reigns for the final round of the season, which can cause a little Q2 stress for the rest on occasion.

Michele Pirro

“First of all, thanks to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team and Ducati for this great opportunity to close the season on a MotoGP. It is always nice to race in this category and then also with Valentino’s colors, whom I thank together with Uccio and Pablo. I send a big hug to Fabio, he was doing really well but not being 100% physically fit on this engine size is complicated and next year he really has a great opportunity with the GP25. It will be interesting for me to race on the GP23, I will be able to see where we have made some steps forward. I have no expectations for the race, but I am happy to race, also for all the people affected by the floods in Valencia, and I hope to honor the Team and the working group. See you on the track!”

You can throw in Franco Morbidelli as a serious threat too. Prima Pramac Racing could be seeking aid from the Italian if Martin ends up needing it, but can Morbidelli – who was in fourth place before crashing in Sepang – bring himself into the reckoning? And where will the VR46 Academy members’ loyalties lie if a situation arises? Another element to keep tabs on…

Meanwhile, keeping tabs on the front was the name of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP game in Malaysia. Fabio Quartararo’s Sprint P5 and Sunday P6 were both season PBs, and they weren’t delivered by luck. In fact, bad luck – with the Frenchman caught in that early crash on Sunday – almost worked against them. Alex Rins also carved out his best race result of the year with a P8, so can the Iwata factory back it up with more success in the curtain closer? It’s been a track where they’ve seen lots of speed and success before.

One rider who will be seeking a repeat performance from earlier in the year is the rider sat on the other side of the box to Viñales – Aleix Espargaro. The Catalan GP Sprint King is set for his final race as a full-time MotoGP rider, and although noteworthy results have been hard to find in recent weeks, Espargaro loves the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. And, as we know, if Espargaro is in a position to do so, he will likely be out to lend his close friend Martin a hand where possible…

Aleix Espargaro

“Barcelona is my home track. I like it a lot and it suits both me and the Aprilia well. We have achieved fantastic results here. We won three of the last four races and we also hold the track record. These are all signs which indicate that we can battle to stay out front. I would very much like to finish my last race with Aprilia competitively, with sights set on the podium. I’ll try to stay fully focused from the very first session and we’ll do our best to take home a good result.”

The Catalan GP was Raul Fernandez’s (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP) standout weekend of 2024 too. Leading the Sprint and collecting a P6 would go down nicely once more for the Spaniard on a track that traditionally suits the RS-GP, after it’s been a tougher run of late.

Raul Fernandez

“First of all, we will race for all the people affected in Valencia. What happened there is still a shock, so we will compete for them. Barcelona is a good track for us and although we will keep working for next year mainly, I would like to finish the last round of the season well. The result we had here, in Barcelona, last time makes me really optimistic. I would still like to stay calm, take it session by session and try to do my best.”

Fernandez and Trackhouse will also welcome back Miguel Oliveira after the Portuguese star missed the last five rounds through injury.

Miguel Oliveira

“I’m really excited to come back to racing MotoGP. My expectations are not very high because I don’t know how limited my wrist is until I get back on the bike and it’s a Grand Prix with mixed feelings for sure, but my aim is to leave the Trackhouse team on a high. We, obviously, will be racing to gather some hope and also funds for those affected by the catastrophic events in Valencia so overall – I’m looking forward to it!”

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be keen to put his Malaysian GP crash behind him on his farewell weekend with KTM, while the Australian’s Pierer Mobility Group stablemate, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), sets his sights on another positive weekend before a new adventure awaits the 2022 Moto2 World Champion.

In the HRC camp, Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) held the torch in Malaysia as the Frenchman impressed again, but P11 isn’t what he – nor Honda – come racing for. Can he and the Repsol Hondas of Joan Mir and Luca Marini grind out improvements? They have steadily been doing that throughout the season. And how will Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) fare as the Japanese star bows out of full-time MotoGP racing? It will be a swansong for him too, and likely an emotional one.

Joan Mir

“It will be an emotional weekend, thinking of everyone in Valencia and throughout Spain who has been impacted by Storm Dana. I think that it is good that we are able to do something for them, to put the efforts of a Grand Prix weekend towards helping those who need it. As for the weekend from the sporting side, for us it is about doing the final checks before 2025. We had the race in Barcelona earlier and we have also had some tests, so there is a lot of information to check before we see what Tuesday holds for us.”

Luca Marini

“Of course the main point of this weekend is to do what we can to help those affected by what has happened recently in Spain. With the development of the Honda and myself, revisiting circuits from earlier in the year is helpful to clearly compare the situation. Barcelona is a track where normally you don’t have a lot of grip, so for us this is interesting to keep working to improve in one of the areas we have not been so strong in. Like always, we need to see how the weekend unfolds because the conditions will be quite different from May.”

For many it’s the end of an era. For others it’s chance to sign off on a high and get locked into a new challenge – with the test on Tuesday seeing so many changes. For the 2024 Championship, it’s one final weekend that will decide the destination of the crown and maybe the #1 plate too. Because Martin is another moving to pastures new.

Before all that, it’s 24 points, two riders… and 37 on the line.

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

With Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) wrapping up the Championship title in Thailand and Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) securing the runners-up spot in Malaysia, the attention turns to who will finish third in 2024 as Moto2 go racing for the final time this season.

Leading the chase for third place in the championship heading into the curtain closer is Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI). The Spaniard claimed second place behind Ogura at the Catalan GP, so can he collect the points needed to fend off the chasers?

With Fermin Aldeguer (Sync SpeedUp) returning from injury, four riders have the chance of leapfrogging Garcia this weekend. Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2) is level with Aldeguer on points and the gap between the Spanish trio is six points, with Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp) a further four points back in P6.

And with his Malaysian GP victory, Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) still has an outside shot at collecting the bronze medal. The Italian is 16 points behind Garcia in seventh, as we look forward to seeing who ends up finishing the year inside the top three after Sunday afternoon’s race.

Next in the championship order is Jake Dixon, who waved goodbye to Team Aspar as heads to MarcVDS in 2025.

Jake Dixon

“It is going to be emotional. I will try to enjoy this last race as much as possible, because it will also be a sad weekend. We have been together for four years, including 2019. These last three years have been incredible, with victories, with podiums… The Aspar Team has put me on the map, even if the end of this year has not gone as we expected. This is life, this is racing, we couldn’t have done more than we have done. The connection with my team, with Kike, Pippo, Stefano, Boris, Maikel… has been very important to me. I will give my 100% to try to make it my most memorable weekend with the CFMOTO Aspar Team and I will enjoy every moment before this chapter closes.”

A good final round could see rookie Senna Agius improve his standing to 15th in the championship.

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Another weekend, another David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) victory. And this one meant something more. The Colombian won for the 13th time in 2024, his sixth in a row, to hand his Valencia-based Aspar Team a reason to smile in what was an incredibly difficult weekend for everyone affected by the devasting floods in the region. Alonso, Aspar and the entire MotoGP paddock will race in solidarity with Valencia this weekend as the World Champion hunts win number 14 of the year. That would be an all-time record across any class.

David Alonso

“The last race of the year is going to be very special and very emotional for several reasons. We will be racing for Valencia and all the money raised will go to help the people affected. In addition, it is going to be my last race in Moto3. This weekend I simply want to enjoy my last kilometres on the Moto3. I want to finish on Sunday and know that I have given my best with the bike that has led me to achieve my dream of being world champion. The result will not matter, I just want to enjoy this last dance.”

Alonso won at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya earlier in the year, so he’ll take some stopping as he had done all season. Elsewhere, the fight for the silver medal took a twist in Sepang after Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) suffered a DNF, which meant Collin Veijer’s (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) P5 saw the Dutch star draw level on points with the Spaniard with one race to go.

Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) is mathematically still in with a shout too. Ortola bagged fourth place in Malaysia and is 19 points down on both Holgado and Veijer, so a big swing will be needed in Ortola’s favour if he’s to collect the runners-up medal come Sunday.

Joel Kelso looks on course to finish inside the championship top ten while rookie countryman Jacob Roulstone will be looking to defend his 15th place in the championship.

Moto3 Championship Standings