2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 16 – Motegi – Sunday
Motul Grand Prix of Japan
MotoGP Rider Quotes
Francesco Bagnaia – P1
“I want to keep this championship so I have to try and recover points every time, without taking risks, so it’s not easy, but this weekend started well and we have to take it as an example for the next ones, to work in a perfect way and always do the best job possible. Next track is Phillip Island which is a good track for Ducati too. I realised Pedro went down when I saw my board, with Pedro in the first part of the race I had to push more, because I think I was pushing a lot to take back this position, because when you’re close to the guys in front of you, under 0.50, it’s very tough to manage the front, so I think he wanted to overtake, but it’s not easy. So I just tried to manage in the best way possible the gap, it wasn’t easy he recovered a bit in the last laps, but finally we did a very good job. I had everything under control, but I was more hoping with that lap time he did that he was finishing everything, as I was already in the situation where I had finished everything, so I finished everything in that moment, and when I was trying to accelerate a bit and improve my pace, my rear tyre did not have the same idea, so I way trying to be competitive and not lose too much.
Jorge Martin – P2
“It feels really good, not like a victory, I’m a rider I want to battle for the win always, coming from the back was difficult to overtake the riders, so I had to use more tyre than Pecco I think… I started to close the gap, but once you’re at half a second, everything became quite difficult, but then with 10 laps to go I said I’ll try again, I could see Pecco was strulgging on braking. I had a big moment in corner three and that moment told me to stop and finish with 20 points, Pecco was really strong, he’s a master of managing the tyre and did an amazing job. I feel confident coming from the fourth row to second, I’m confident for Australia. Whn I was closing the gap I thought I could make the move, Pecco was pushing because he did some mistakes in corner 11, so I said he’s pushing like hell and I said, let’s push push push. But then I lost the front in corner three and saved it with elbow so I said stop, and lost two seconds. I guess it was enough, in championship ways he have to think about the points starting from 11, and now we need to have great qualifiers, as if I’m in front I can lead and control the races. It’s a sprint now to the end, Pecco is an amazing rider, I feel grateful to be here, battle like last year but I feel stronger, some races I’m better, some Pecco is better, so the target is to bring it to Valencia and have the chance to bring it.”
Marc Marquez – P3
“Boring race, but a tactical race, especially because when I was in that place Martin and Bagnia had already opened a gap, I was trying to find a way to reduce that gap, but then when I tried to attack a bit more on the brakes, I made a mistake in turn one. Then I gave up and it was time to control Bastianini because he was riding in a really good way, and I was a bit scared in that last lap for Bastianini, because we’re used to seeing some good last time laps from him. I think we were the fastest out there, I was pushing, I was trying to be super careful about all these things, pushing a lot with the front tyre as the rear was finished, and taking a risk on the front, and so I said I would try, but even like this I saw he was reducing the gap. So as I say I was a bit scared, the situations wasn’t under control, but I felt super good. We started in ninth place, on the first lap we did it well but not perfect, Miller overtook us in turn 11 and I lost some time there, but our crucial point will be improved, qualifying practice and lap races, looks like we were able to do it, but unfortunately we were unlucky.”
Enea Bastianini – P4
“The race didn’t go as I’d hoped. After the overtake by Brad (Binder) I lost a few more positions as he made me go wide at turn 10 and others took advantage. After that, I tried to do the best, but it was too late already; the two at the front had pulled away already and Marc (Márquez) managed to overtake Binder much quicker than I did. It took me a lot longer and stressed the rear tyre in the many attempts – and this impacted my performance in the second half of the race. I tried to bridge the gap to Marc, and I got really close to him, but not close enough to give it a try.”
Franco Morbidelli – P5
“It was a positive race, I lost my chance to fight for the podium in the beginning, in turn three I got into contact with Marc and I lost many positions, and from there it was more of a recovery race, we managed to recover to P5, which was really good. We did a great job with the team, improving the bike step by step and this P5 is more than acceptable for us.“
Brad Binder – P6
“In the beginning when I wanted to push on with the boys I kept losing the front but after a while everything felt OK for a section of the race. Then with six-seven laps to go the rear tyre went and it was spinning all the way down the straight. It was really difficult to keep clean and consistent. In general everything else was quite OK. Not the race I wanted…but it was all we had today.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P7
“A good race, a little better than yesterday even though I got stuck in traffic at the start. The start was good, then I was touched by Alex (Marquez) and had to recover. In the first 6/7 laps I overtook the Aprilia and then Jack (Miller), not for the top positions, but it was fun. I had good feelings in the overtaking and, in the final, I got closer to Franco and Brad (Morbidelli and Binder) and I also Fabio (Di Giannantonio) was in my slipstream. Overall, a solid weekend.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P8
“I had a really good pace, I could have fought for the Top5, I’m a bit sorry about that, but the start was a jungle. In the battle I lost a lot of positions, then I recovered. I definitely put on a good show even if the final result, in terms of positions, is not fantastic. I’m satisfied, it’s the first weekend in which I felt good on the bike. I am back to riding smooth and being fast. We are going home, we have a medical check on Wednesday to get another opinion on the current condition of the left shoulder.”
Aleix Espargaro – P9
“It was a heated race. The ninth place was the only positive note of this weekend. The bike had no grip – the same problem we had throughout the weekend – so I struggled quite a bit with the rear tyre sliding around. We were unable to extract the full potential of the bike. We need to keep working.”
Jack Miller – P10
“After what was a pretty tough pill to swallow in Indonesia, it feels great to have a rebound of sorts in Japan and put together a decent weekend of racing, getting back towards the 10 in the Feature Race.
“We started the weekend a bit weird – I didn’t have the best feeling in the opening practice session as we were dealing with chatter vibration that was costing us a fair amount of time, and ultimately had to go the long way ‘round without the direct entry into Q2.
“A couple of radical changes later, we felt much better on the bike which was really positive, and took that setup into the Sprint Race which had us up there fighting in the group, even though the tyre was dropping off towards the end there.
“Decent enough result in that one winding up P8, and again good to put some points on the board and make some headway from where we started.
“Our focus then shifted towards the Feature Race, and we got off to a blinder in that one, making a bunch of moves on the opening lap and found ourselves towards the front with a bit of clean air which was nice.
“I remember thinking that we could be on for a top five there at one stage when I went past Marc (Marquez) on the back straight, but the anchor came out not long after and the boys started coming back by me.
All things considered, a solid weekend at the races for us, and I’m keen to get down to the Island and give it a red hot crack Down Under.”
Johann Zarco – P11
“We almost got to the top 10 and this is important. During today’s race I tried to not make mistakes and be always there ready to attack. I expected a last battle, but rivals were struggling, and I believe we all tried to finish in the best possible position without taking risks. It’s been a positive weekend overall”.
Fabio Quartararo – P12
“It was a tough weekend. I didn’t have any grip. Our bike depends on the track conditions. We need to work on this. We also ran out of fuel, so clearly we need to change some things.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P13
“It was a very emotional race. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and I wanted to give my best to my fans. I knew I had nothing to lose starting from the back of the grid, so every risk was worth it, and of course, scoring points is always nice. I tried to catch the group I had in front, but in the end, I crossed the line 13th. During the cool down lap, I could feel the warmth of the fans, and it was extraordinary. I want to thank everybody for supporting me”.
Luca Marini – P14
“In the back there are always great battles and I was able to enjoy it today! On the first lap I lost quite a lot of time and a lot of positions, so it was a race of recovery. We knew from the start of the weekend that it was going to be difficult, so I think with a P13 and a P14 today that we have achieved something good. I think my rear tyre choice could have been better, so maybe we could have gained something there. But anyway, we learn and will be more prepared next year. Now we have a bit of rest and recover before another big three races.”
Raul Fernandez – P15
“It was a really difficult race for us. We were lacking grip and couldn’t improve our lap times – we were all struggling quite a bit. My start was not great and I lost three or four seconds with Aleix (Espargaro) and then I was stuck all race, more or less, with this gap to him. Some riders overtook me, but I couldn’t do anything to avoid it – although we improved a lot from Friday, today in the race, our pace was not good and I don’t know why. We need to find some solutions for the future to understand why we are quite strong on the time attack and in the Sprint with the soft and as soon as we have to use the medium tyre, we are not competitive enough to fight for a good place.”
Alex Rins – P16
“It was a really tough race. The first part of the Race was not bad. We started with the set-up from Austria to see if that would improve the braking and rear tyre contact, and it was more or less the case. I could feel the bike better. But when the tyre dropped, it was hard to control the wheelspin.”
Remy Gardner – P17
“It was a tough weekend. We tested a few new things, which was good. But I did expect a bit more from this Race. I struggled a lot with the medium rear tyre, which we only tried in the Race. We should have probably gone with the soft because I felt really good on that tyre in Warm Up. But we did finish the full Race distance, gathering good data, and that’s the main thing. I want to thank Yamaha for this wild-card entry. I’m now off to Estoril, where I race next week. I look forward to being back on the superbike.”
Pedro Acosta – DNF
“It is tough to explain, but it was one of the best weekends of the season, but also one of the saddest. In the race, I was closing on Bagnaia, and saw an opportunity to pass him, but I made a mistake, and I can only blame myself. However, we were more competitive all weekend, we had the best feeling of all year, and we were closer to the top guys and the Ducatis, so for this, we need to be positive, because we have made big steps, and all we can do is look forward to Phillip Island.”
Maverick Vinales – DNF
“We struggled in this race. It was difficult to defend against the attacks of our rivals. I want to maintain that feeling from the qualifiers when we were able to express the full potential of the bike. I’ll try to give one hundred percent at Phillip Island. The asphalt is new and it is also a track that I like.”
Joan Mir – DNF
“At Turn 11 I overtook Alex Marquez after he went wide, then in Turn 12 he made contact with the rear of my bike, his bike became stuck between my seat and the wheel so I had to run on and crashed. It’s a shame because I was going really well in that first lap of the race and the pace we showed yesterday in the Sprint, something good was possible.”
Alex Marquez – DNF
“I made a mistake at turn 11 that sent me off line and while trying to get back to my position I had a coming together with Mir, which led to the crash. Our bikes tangled together and I apologised to him for what happened. Now we need to recover ahead of Australia. We’ll have to perform a long-lap penalty, even though I disagree with it: seven days ago, at turn 3 another rider hit me the same way and nothing happened. This shows that rules don’t apply the same way to everybody, but it is what it is. We’ll make the most of this lesson.”
Augusto Fernandez – DNF
“We did quite a lot of changes on the bike to try getting a better feeling and solving the vibrations. The start was not bad, we were feeling good, but unfortunately I crashed, which is a great shame, because we could not confirm if there were good changes. We’ll be looking forward to Phillip Island to continue with that set up, and hopefully finish the season stronger.”
Lorenzo Savadori – DNF
“Unfortunately, I needed to retire from the race because something on the bike was not working correctly. These things can happen when you test different solutions, so we can’t do anything about it. But, I enjoyed working with the Trackhouse Racing Team and also riding again in Motegi after so many years.”
Team Managers
Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager
“Pecco is a true champion. It’s truly hard to predict who will eventually come out victorious for the title, but it’s an incredible show. I’m very proud of the team and of all of those who are working hard for this goal. Enea had a solid race and did well in staying focused; a pity for the first laps, which took away any chance to win. This is surely something we must keep working on.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“A good start for our boys. They were both top five and especially Jack made a great effort from the back. They kept their positions. It was a tough race and a long distance. We cannot complain, top ten and close to the top five. It’s what we have from this Grand Prix and now we have to look forwards.”
Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing
“Maverick gave us some great qualifiers, making us optimistic that we had rediscovered our speed. Nevertheless, the races – although conditioned by poor opening stages – told a different story. We absolutely must stay focused for this season finale, working harder than ever to figure out where we are going wrong.”
Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager
“It is really difficult to hide our disappointment because we really felt that we had everything in our hands to probably experience a great weekend. It all started really well with Pedro Acosta’s pole position, he was happy with the bike, so from this point we understood that there was something to play for. To finish with two crashes is really painful, especially when you are fighting at the front. It is what it is, and we have to learn from our mistakes. I am sure that it will make him a stronger rider, although right now, it is painful to accept. On Augusto Fernandez’ side, the team decided to make a big set up change to try solving that vibration issue. It looks like it worked, but unfortunately he crashed after a few laps. We are repeating ourselves, but we need to finish races to be able to improve, and once again, we have not been able to do so. We have one week of break to reflect on this intense first triple-header, and I am sure that we will come back stronger in two weeks in Phillip Island.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“Up until the chequered flag, Fabio’s race was going as expected considering the performance we had this weekend. However, he ran out of fuel in the last corner, and we are currently checking why this happened. As for Alex, in the end we were not able to provide him with a set-up he felt comfortable with. We will leave this race weekend behind us and use the one-week break to recharge our batteries so we can attack the next triple header with renewed energy.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Team Manager
“Unfortunately, Lorenzo had to stop after one lap – something happened during the start and he had to retire. We couldn’t fix it and now we need to investigate what really happened there. Raul didn’t have a fantastic start but recovered quickly to 13th position but, at the end, he lost his grip and the momentum. So, finally, he took one point here in Motegi which is not a lot, but better than nothing. We will now focus on Phillip Island, the next race coming up, and hopefully we have better pace there.”
Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Team Principal
“Today has not been a good day for us. Unfortunately, we had an issue with Lorenzo – some problems on the bike forced him to retire. Raul was never able to keep the pace that we could have achieved and it looks like we couldn’t put power on the ground. We did not have enough performance for whatever reason so, the race was very difficult for him which is a pity. Anyway, we scored a point and now we’re looking forward to the next round in Australia. In the meantime, we need to check what happened on both sides of the garage – Lorenzo’s issue and why Raul couldn’t perform as we thought he could have done so we can try to get better prepared for Phillip Island.”
Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager
“A more complicated weekend than expected, from some points of view, less so for others and in any case closed with two more solid placements. These grip conditions for Marco were not optimal, but he did not give up and I finished with points in both distances. He certainly suffers in the early stages of the race, but confirms the growing trend. A positive week also for Fabio, who has reduced the painkillers, and who is definitely feeling better on the Ducati.”
Motegi MotoGP Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | F Bagnaia | Duc | 4m’09.790 |
| 2 | J Martin | Duc | +1.189 |
| 3 | M Marquez | Duc | +3.822 |
| 4 | E Bastianini | Duc | +4.358 |
| 5 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +17.940 |
| 6 | B Binder | KTM | +18.502 |
| 7 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | +19.371 |
| 8 | F Giannantonio | Duc | +20.199 |
| 9 | A Espargaro | Aor | +30.442 |
| 10 | J Miller | KTM | +31.184 |
| 11 | J Zarco | Hon | +31.567 |
| 12 | F Quartararo | Yam | +32.299 |
| 13 | T Nakagami | Hon | +33.003 |
| 14 | L Marini | Hon | +35.974 |
| 15 | R Fernandez | Apr | +39.321 |
| 16 | A Rins | Yam | +40.839 |
| 17 | R Gardner | Yam | +59.547 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | P Acosta | KTM | 12 laps |
| DNF | M Viñales | Apr | 13 laps |
| DNF | A Fernandez | KTM | 18 laps |
| DNF | L Savadori | Apr | 23 laps |
| DNF | A Marquez | Duc | / |
| DNF | J Mir | Hon | / |
Motegi MotoGP Top Speeds Across Weekend
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Speed |
| 1 | P Acosta | KTM | 319.5 |
| 2 | B Binder | KTM | 319.5 |
| 3 | J Martin | Duc | 318.5 |
| 4 | F Bagnaia | Duc | 318.5 |
| 5 | M Viñales | Apr | 317.6 |
| 6 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | 317.6 |
| 7 | F Morbidelli | Duc | 317.6 |
| 8 | E Bastianini | Duc | 316.7 |
| 9 | A Espargaro | Apr | 316.7 |
| 10 | M Marquez | Duc | 315.7 |
| 11 | F Giannantonio | Duc | 315.7 |
| 12 | A Marquez | Duc | 315.7 |
| 13 | J Miller | Ktm | 315.7 |
| 14 | R Fernandez | Apr | 313.9 |
| 15 | R Gardner | Yam | 313.9 |
| 16 | L Marini | Hon | 313.0 |
| 17 | L Savadori | Apr | 313.0 |
| 18 | J Mir | Hon | 313.0 |
| 19 | A Rins | Yam | 313.0 |
| 20 | J Zarco | Hon | 313.0 |
| 21 | F Quartararo | Yam | 312.1 |
| 22 | A Fernandez | Ktm | 312.1 |
| 23 | T Nakagami | Hon | 311.2 |
MotoGP Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Martin | 392 |
| 2 | Bagnaia | 382 |
| 3 | Bastianini | 313 |
| 4 | Marquez | 311 |
| 5 | Binder | 183 |
| 6 | Acosta | 181 |
| 7 | Viñales | 163 |
| 8 | Morbidelli | 136 |
| 9 | Bezzecchi | 134 |
| 10 | Di Giannantonio | 134 |
| 11 | Espargaro | 134 |
| 12 | Marquez | 124 |
| 13 | Quartararo | 86 |
| 14 | Oliveira | 71 |
| 15 | Miller | 66 |
| 16 | Fernandez | 56 |
| 17 | Zarco | 36 |
| 18 | Nakagami | 28 |
| 19 | Rins | 20 |
| 20 | Mir | 20 |
| 21 | Fernandez | 20 |
| 22 | Espargaro | 12 |
| 23 | Marini | 7 |
| 24 | Pedrosa | 7 |
