Jorge Martin crowned 2024 MotoGP World Champion – Reflections

Jorge Martin

2024 MotoGP World Champion

Having taken a 24-point lead into the title-deciding weekend at the Motul Solidarity GP of Barcelona, the Spaniard held his nerve to perfection to win his first premier class title by 10 points and become the first Independent Team rider to win the title in the MotoGP era.

Jorge Martin made his debut on the world stage in 2015 with Mapfre Mahindra, moving up after taking the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. He scored his first point in the season opener in Qatar and became a regular top 15 contender, ending his rookie year in 17th overall. The following season, the rider from Madrid took another step forward – including his first podium in the wet at Brno – but he also missed a couple of races through injury, therefore ending the season just one place further forward in 16th overall.

2017 saw Martin cement his place at the front as he moved to Del Conca Gresini Moto3, beginning the year on the podium in third at Qatar. He took nine pole positions and eight further podiums that season – but it was a long wait for one to be a maiden win. The Spaniard wrapped that up in the season finale at Valencia; his first trip to the top step setting him up perfectly for an assault on the crown the following year and seeing him take fourth overall in the standings.

2018 began perfectly as Martin won in Qatar, and it was a year that saw the Spanish star really make a name for himself on the Grand Prix scene. Seven wins were secured while he also set a new Moto3 pole position record (11), but it was the Moto3 World Championship crown that counted most. For the first time, Martin was a World Champion, as a move to Moto2 with Red Bull KTM Ajo beckoned for 2019.

A difficult year for rider and machine followed in his rookie intermediate class season, and it wasn’t until the Japanese GP that we saw Martin return to the podium. That P3 was backed up by a P2 in Australia, as a good end-of-season run set up 2020 nicely for one of Grand Prix racing’s brightest prospects.

Three podiums in the first six races in 2020 included a debut Moto2 win in Austria. But when sitting just eight points back from title leader Luca Marini, Martin then had to miss the San Marino and Emilia-Romagna GPs after testing positive for Covid-19, and two more no scores cost him dearly in his quest to become Moto2 World Champion.

2021 was when the Prima Pramac Racing and Jorge Martin story began as the combination teamed up in the premier class. And the first chapter was one to remember! Martin stuck it on pole in just his second outing and went on to claim P3 in the Doha GP to immediately raise eyebrows in MotoGP. However, a big crash at the next race in Portimao left Martin with eight fractures and forced him to miss four races. Nevertheless, Martin banished those demons to win the Styrian GP from pole position, and backed that maiden victory up in style the following weekend with a P3 from pole.

Capping off a rollercoaster rookie MotoGP season with a second place finish in Valencia, 2022 promised a lot – but delivered a little less at times. It was a tougher start with Martin unable to unleash his full potential, but his sophomore season ended with four podiums – none of them wins.

After that more difficult-than-expected 2022, Martin came into 2023 hunting a much more consistent campaign. The year didn’t get off to the cleanest of starts though as two Sunday DNFs came in the first three races, before a P4 on home soil in Jerez got the ball rolling. A debut Tissot Sprint win arrived in France, and that was backed up with a double podium in Italy at Mugello. And from there, Martin’s title challenge against Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was born. Martin went on to become the Sprint King in 2023, winning seven of the last nine Saturday outings, and having won three Sunday races in the second half of the season, Martin landed in Valencia 21 points adrift of Pecco.

After winning the Sprint, Martin cut the gap – but Sunday saw the home hero suffer a DNF. Martin agonisingly missed out on the MotoGP title last season, but that only added fuel to the fire in his pursuit of going one better in 2024.

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A Sprint win and Sunday P3 in Qatar was a solid start to the year, and that was followed up by a first 25-point haul in Portugal. Leaving Round 2, Martin led the Championship and from there, he’s only lost it to Bagnaia once. The key to Martin’s success in 2024? Consistency. Between Round 5 and 18, Martin only missed out on a Sunday podium twice – once was in Germany when he crashed out of the lead with two laps to go, and once at the San Marino GP when a tyre switch gamble didn’t pay off.

After six second-place finishes in that stretch, a return to winning ways on Sunday in Indonesia – following a Sprint crash – saw Martin start to become the favourite for the title. A second-place in Japan, a Sprint win and P2 in Australia and a pair of P2s in Thailand saw Martin land in Malaysia with a 17-point lead over Pecco.

In the Sprint, Martin was superb to claim a crucial 12 points as Pecco, dramatically, crashed out of P2. That meant Martin had a 29-point lead coming into Sunday’s 20-lap race in Sepang and with a P2 finish, Martin made sure he held a healthy 24-point advantage over Pecco.

In Barcelona, Martin qualified fourth and finished third in the Tissot Sprint to head into Sunday’s race with a simple objective – finish P9 or better. And that’s exactly what he did. Despite Bagnaia’s perfect weekend, Martin claimed a safe P3 in front of his home fans to become the 2024 World Champion – a year on from missing out on the crown in Valencia. A phenomenal job from Martin as he became a MotoGP World Champion, and two-time World Champion too, before he leaves Ducati for Aprilia in 2025.

Jorge Martin – 2024 MotoGP World Champion

“Thanks to everybody, it is a nice feeling but I am in shock I don’t know what to say, the emotions are high and I cried a lot, so maybe now I am more relaxed. I spoke a lot with the media, it has been an emotional hour after the big moment, I just want to celebrate, I just want to be with my team, my family and my friends. It has been emotional; it has been a long journey as my career has not been easy. For sure, I have had good opportunities in front of me, but I think I have built off them. I worked hard, and I have made a lot of sacrifices at home every day to try and become a better man. Last season, I had the opportunity, but I think I was not prepared to win but this year I felt it. I felt it was my year, so thanks to Pramac, to Ducati for giving me the opportunity to have an amazing bike these four years and to give me the opportunity to fight until the end with Pecco, who was amazing.”

How were you feeling ahead of the Grand Prix with a 19-point advantage and during the first few laps?

“It was difficult, the conditions were difficult, so the tyre choice was not easy. There were some hard tyres, some soft tyres and some medium tyres, so I was looking at my opponents, and I was like, ‘Wow, they are all good’. I mean, I thought it was really easy for me to finish 10th if they had a good race. I was scared, but I thought the medium was the most conservative tyre choice. It wasn’t easy, and I don’t think it was the correct one, maybe the soft was a little bit more competitive. I had trust in myself, and I had a lot of confidence in myself that even with the worst tyre, I could be inside the top nine, so I was super focused on the race.”

Talk us through the explosion of emotion when you knew you were the World Champion?

“Seven laps to go was the difficult point, I was so focused today, and I think even if it was a normal race in May, I would have finished third because Marc and Pecco were stronger. I did my best. For sure, the last seven laps were difficult, I started to remember a lot of moments throughout my career, I remember my dad helping me after work and all of the weekend, my mum cooking when I was in pocket bikes and my grandfather, who is not here and was watching me from the sky. I was remembering a lot of moments, but then I had to refocus and remain in the moment but then once I crossed the finish line, I started to cry. Already on the last lap, I felt that I was starting to cry; it was so emotional, and then I became happy and started to cry again once I remembered my family. I am so happy that almost all my family is here and all my close friends are here, so tonight will be good.”

How special will it be to put your name at the top of the Tower of Champions?

“Last season, I remember with Pecco when I was doing the filming, I was looking at the trophy, and I wasn’t prepared. I was scared, but this year, I didn’t even look at the trophy while we were filming, but I thought I would put my name in its place. Today, I enjoyed the race. I was touching my elbow and shoulder on the ground, like a training session. I am so happy that I could enjoy the moment as I remember in 2018 when I won the Moto3 World Championship I was already thinking that I wanted another one in Moto2, so I didn’t enjoy it. Now I can enjoy the moment, and whatever comes in the future will be a gift, I will try and be my best version and try and win with Aprilia, but right now, I will enjoy this moment.”

MotoGP Championship Standings

MotoGP Constructors Championship Standings