Martin crowned 2024 MotoGP world champion

If newly crowned world champion Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac) could have scripted how he clinched the 2024 world title, it surely would have been very similar to the scenes which played out at the final grand prix of the season. 

Aside from the opening lap, when he slotted in behind pole man and holeshot getter Pecco Bagnaia (Team Lenovo Ducati), Martin spent the entire race in the final podium position with the gift of plenty of breathing space both ahead of and behind his independent team Ducati GP24 machine. 

The gift from behind came from his long-time mentor, friend, and the man he’s replacing at the factory Aprilia squad next year Aleix Espargaro, himself in his final race as a full-time premier-class rider. Aleix had an early battle for fourth place with the fast-starting Enea Bastianini (Team Lenovo Ducati) who snatched second place of Martin in the Sprint the day before. 

Up ahead, it was Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati), in is final race with the family-run independent squad, and while he wasn’t out to do any favours for the world-champion elect, his desire for one last win in Gresini colours gifted Martin the freedom he needed to focus on the job of just getting to the chequered flag to claim the crown.

Outgoing world champion Pecco Bagnaia did everything he needed to do, but the Gods didn't smile fondly on the Italian star. He notched up his sixth pole position, his seventh Saturday Sprint win, and his 11th full-length grand prix victory to become just the fifth rider ever to score 11 or more GP wins in a single season. But it wasn’t enough to halt the championship celebrations of the 26-year-old Spaniard whose supreme consistency earned him the biggest prize in motorcycle racing. Martin also became the first independent team rider to win the premier title in the modern MotoGP era.

Scoring 33 podium finishes in 40 sprint and GP races is what won Martin championship success, finishing on the podium when he wasn’t winning, and finishing high up the order when Bagnaia was suffering any of his eight costly DNFs during the season. 

For the first half of the final race, it looked as if Marc Marquez might have been able to further spoil Bagnaia’s party by challenging his future teammate for the race victory. But, as he has done so often throughout his championship-winning years, the reigning world champ upped his pace at three-quarter race distance, leaving the one-year old Ducati in its wake. 

Meanwhile, it was Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) who brought the entertainment late in the race when he embarked on a four-lap battle for fourth place with Espargaro, a battle he eventually won on the final lap of the 24-lap finale. 

Bastianini failed to find his trademark late-race pace, unable to fully recover from a mistake on lap eight which dropped him from fourth to eighth. There he found himself in the battle for sixth place with rookie Pedro Acosta (Tech3 GasGas), Franky Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Ducati) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM). And while Acosta and Binder were locked in their own private battle for fifth in standings and the top KTM Group rider, Morbidelli wasn’t giving up his last ride on a Ducati without a fight.

Bastianini took too long to find a way through on his countryman to again figure in the podium battle, but with seven laps to go, he relegated the now-struggling Acosta to seventh with Binder also taking advantage of the rookie’s struggles. But it would be Binder who would be the best of the rest in sixth place, eventually crossing the line three-tenths clear of the factory Ducati man, with Morbidelli, Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) and Acosta rounding out the top 10.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) was the highest-finishing rider on a Japanese bike in 11th while Jack Miller’s lacklustre season ended with three points for 13th place, almost 15 seconds behind Bagnaia. Although seasons probably didn’t get any more lacklustre than 2020 world champ Joan Mir’s (Repsol Honda) who scored his 12th race crash of the season in Barcelona.

The final reckoning meant Martin outscored Bagnaia by just 10 points after 20 rounds, 40 races and with 740 points up for grabs, ending the season on 508 points compared to Bagnaia’s 498. Marc Marquez’s second-place finish meant he won the battle for third overall with Bastianini, 392 points versus 389, while Binder got the bragging rights over Acosta for fifth, 217 to 215. Jack Miller’s eventual 14th place finish with 87 points means his second year in the factory KTM squad was his worst finish since his 2016 campaign with Marc VDS Honda.

The next on-track action happens at the Catalunya circuit for the offical post-season test on Tuesday where we’ll get our first glimpses of the 2025 machinery and line-up, where no less than half the field will be changing teams. 

1          Jorge Martin 508
2          Pecco Bagnaia 498
3          Marc Marquez 392
4          Enea Bastianini 386
5          Brad Binder 217
6          Pedro Acosta  215
7          Maverick Vinales 190
8          Alex Marquez  173
9          French Morbidelli 173
10        Fabio Di Giannantonio 165
11        Aleix Espargaro 163
12        Marco Bezzecchi 153
13        Fabio Quartararo 113
14        Jack Miller 87
15        Miguel Oliveira 75
16        Raul Fernandez 66
17        Johann Zarco 55
18        Alex Rins 31
19        Taka Nakagami 31
20        Augusto Fernandez 27
21        Joan Mir 21
22        Luca Marini 14