An emotional retirement announcement, a chaotic dash race and defiant comebacks had been the primary speaking factors from the 2024 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix.
Forward of the sixth spherical of the season, veteran rider Aleix Espargaro announced to the world that he would be calling time on his MotoGP career on the finish of the 2024 season. A profession of 20 years that has been characterised by hardship, doubts and relentless laborious work left a sense of delight within the three-time grand prix winner as he addressed the media on Thursday.
Then he went on to qualify on pole with a brand new lap report and rating a dramatic win within the dash race. So far as retirement bulletins go, Espargaro’s was not unhealthy in any respect.
5 riders led that 12-lap dash, three of them crashing out. Essentially the most noteworthy was Francesco Bagnaia, whose half-distance race kind this yr is costing him dearly. However his means to bounce again on Sundays is limiting the injury and he put in a press release trip to win the grand prix, as Jorge Martin prolonged his championship lead.
Marc Marquez charged from lowly grid positions to complete on the rostrum once more in each races, highlighting that whereas qualifying wants work, his race tempo is proving killer.
Elsewhere, rider market rumblings continued within the wake of Espargaro’s retirement announcement, whereas Enea Bastianini carried out a futile in-race protest towards the stewards. Listed below are 10 issues we realized from the 2024 MotoGP Catalan GP.
1. Bagnaia wants fast dash turnaround as Sunday kind excellent
Bagnaia has failed to attain a degree in half the dash races in 2024 to date
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Bagnaia’s means to bounce again from tough outcomes is likely one of the issues that has made him so formidable within the championship over the past two years. That was on show once more on the Catalan GP, after the Ducati rider crashed out of the lead of the dash race at Flip 5 on the ultimate lap. It was set to be a end result that pulled him near championship chief Martin, who struggled for tempo within the dash. As a substitute, it pushed him to 44 factors away.
Within the grand prix, nonetheless, Bagnaia performed the strategic recreation, preserving his tempo below management after being shuffled out of an early lead by Martin and Pedro Acosta. When the time got here halfway via the 24-lap contest to begin reeling in Martin, he made it look simple.
As Martin had chewed up his rear tyre attempting to fend off Acosta earlier, he was powerless to cease Bagnaia coming via on lap 19 at – paradoxically – Flip 5. He would later gesture to the nook on the cooldown lap. Bagnaia pulled 1.7s clear to tally a 3rd grand prix win of 2024, although his deficit within the championship continues to be a hefty 39 factors. Dash outcomes have contributed to this.
Going with out a dash podium since successful in Austria final yr, Bagnaia has not completed the final three. He threw 12 factors away at Barcelona and misplaced no less than 5 at Jerez when he was working fifth earlier than a Flip 1 tangle instigated by Brad Binder on lap three. Mechanical dramas put him out at Le Mans and don’t overlook that he was main in Portugal earlier than a late mistake left him fourth. That’s no less than 23 factors misplaced, which might make a major distinction to his present championship state of affairs.
“It’s a matter of ending them and taking factors as a result of final yr, it’s true, I used to be struggling a bit [in the sprints], however I used to be ending each dash race I did,” Bagnaia mentioned. “It’s much less factors however for the championship, it helps quite a bit as a result of to attain six, eight, 9, 12 factors each weekend is quite a bit. So, it’s good that each Sunday we’re aggressive, however I’m uninterested in dropping factors in a free method on Saturdays.”
2. Martin’s title credentials getting tougher to knock
Even of a troublesome weekend, Martin nonetheless elevated his factors lead
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Martin has actually been the rider of the second in 2024 and it’s actually not tough to agree with Espargaro’s assertions that the championship chief being passed over again for a factory team Ducati seat would be “super unfair”.
Coming into the Barcelona spherical 38 factors clear within the standings, Martin emerged 39 forward. A one-point achieve might not sound chunky, however when you think about he certified a lowly seventh (the primary time he’s began outdoors of the primary two rows since Silverstone 2023), had his dash podium run resulted in a tough Saturday race to fourth and couldn’t fend off Bagnaia within the GP to complete second, that’s environment friendly injury limitation.
His points-per-round tempo stays at 26 (25.8 with out rounding up) after six rounds. Maybe he may have managed his earlier push from Pedro Acosta a bit higher and saved his medium rear tyre extra, however electing towards a fruitless late retaliation towards Bagnaia when he got here via on lap 19 of 24 confirmed actual maturity. If Barcelona is what constitutes a nasty weekend for Martin, his nearest title rivals want to begin digging deeper.
3. Marquez’s comeback prowess one thing to worry
Marquez is aware of he must up his qualifying recreation on the Ducati to take the battle to Martin and Bagnaia
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Marquez hates the Barcelona circuit. So, one other comeback akin to the one he staged at Le Mans appeared unlikely after qualifying on Saturday morning on the Catalan GP, when he struggled to 14th.
The Gresini rider is discovering that contemporary tender rubber pushes the entrance of the GP23 on time assault laps, and it’s stopping him from exploiting the element of his riding style that made him lethal on the Honda. His crew chief Frankie Carchedi has additionally repeatedly identified that the shortage of Marquez knowledge on the Ducati from monitor to trace makes getting within the ballpark on Fridays a bit trickier.
His surge from 14th to second within the dash was expertly finished, however his gamble to go for the tender rear – considered one of solely 4 to do the identical – and make it final 24 laps to complete third within the Grand Prix was a measure of Marquez’s true genius. Nonetheless, he mentioned he is “not proud” of his recent comebacks as a result of it means there’s been an issue someplace.
Whereas he does really want to get on prime of his qualifying woes, he’s being harsh on himself. As soon as the supreme race tempo is married to stronger qualifying kind, stopping him from successful goes to be a tall order for his rivals.
4. MotoGP veteran begins profession wind down with “fairytale” dwelling race
There wasn’t a dry eye in the home when Espargaro introduced his retirement
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On the Americas GP, Espargaro instructed the media he wasn’t positive what his plans for 2025 had been but and hadn’t dominated out racing on with Aprilia. The truth is, previous to leaping on the aircraft Stateside, he’d already determined 2024 was going to be his final as a MotoGP rider.
He introduced this to the world on Thursday forward of his dwelling GP in an emotional press convention that noticed quite a lot of shed a tear.
OPINION: How Espargaro “silenced many mouths” during his underdog MotoGP career
Doing the double at Barcelona in 2023, Espargaro snatched pole with a brand new all-time lap report after which sensationally gained a chaotic dash after Bagnaia’s ultimate lap crash out of the lead. Espargaro described the earlier 48 hours as “a fairytale”.
He may solely muster fourth on Sunday, dropping the rostrum late on to Marc Marquez as he felt uncomfortable on the medium rear tyre. Even so, it’s evident that Espargaro isn’t a fading star whose time on the head of the pack has lengthy gone.
He’s nonetheless on the prime of his recreation and is getting out whereas the going’s good. As he instructed the media on Thursday, it’s a “privilege” to have the ability to do this.
5. Well timed kind bounce for under-pressure teen
Fernandez reminded everybody of his skills in Barcelona
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Raul Fernandez was a shocking in his sole Moto2 marketing campaign in 2021, through which he beat Marc Marquez’s class rookie win report with eight victories on his method to second within the championship. However MotoGP hasn’t been sort to him. The much less mentioned about Fernandez’s single yr on the Tech3 KTM the higher, whereas his kind on the RNF Aprilia final yr was nonetheless nicely beneath the place it wanted to be.
But to crack the highest 10 in a grand prix in 2024 (albeit on a 2023-spec Aprilia), the Trackhouse Racing rider made a breakthrough at Barcelona. He certified a career-best third – the primary time he’s seen what the primary two rows seem like – then he led the dash and was pulling away earlier than crashing on lap 5 of 12. “Crying like a baby” afterwards at what he known as a “very silly mistake”, his kind remained within the GP and led him to a primary prime six in 2024.
The 23-year-old says Aprilia has helped him make his trip the RS-GP extra naturally by fidgeting with the electronics and sees this as proving what he all the time thought he may do.
It comes as his place at Trackhouse Racing is below menace, with US racer Joe Roberts having been linked to a step from Moto2 to MotoGP with the American group. That Fernandez’s kind bounce got here on a weekend through which Roberts struggled to ninth within the Moto2 race doesn’t hurt the Spaniard’s trigger both.
6. Gentle on the finish of the tunnel for Yamaha
Quartararo feels Yamaha is making strides in its MotoGP restoration plan
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Whereas Yamaha hasn’t taken the march in the direction of the entrance of the sphere it was in all probability hoping for over the winter, the Catalan GP seems to have marked a genuinely positive moment for the recovering manufacturer.
Yamaha homologated a brand new aerodynamic bundle for the Catalan GP it had first examined at Jerez, having reconfirmed the information at a personal check at Mugello. Whereas it provided just a little bit extra turning – a key weak point of the 2024 M1 – and carried out as anticipated, it didn’t provide a serious increase in efficiency (although Alex Rins thinks it’s price 0.2s per lap at Mugello).
Fabio Quartararo was ninth within the grand prix however was solely 5 seconds from the highest 5. He was additionally the one rider of a Japanese bike inside half a minute of the race winner, although team-mate Rins did need to battle gas injection points after a lap one run-off at Flip 1 on his method to twentieth.
“I believe, sure,” mentioned Quartararo, when requested if it felt like Yamaha was making actual progress now. “In fact, if you find yourself doing the small steps you need to have a much bigger one as quickly as attainable.
“However that is one and a half yr that we’ve got been with out making any progress, and to really feel that we’re seeing the sunshine popping out of the tunnel, it is nice, so hopefully we will make some good steps fairly quickly.”
7. Honda taking steps again to go ahead once more
Life stays robust within the Honda camp
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It’s laborious to be something however destructive proper now about Honda, which has to date did not ship on the promise its 2023 Valencia check provided with its 2024 RC213V.
High Honda honours within the grand prix at Barcelona went to Takaaki Nakagami on the LCR-run bike in 14th, with Joan Mir on the manufacturing unit group RC213V behind him in fifteenth, forward of Johann Zarco (LCR) and Luca Marini. However to rub salt within the wounds, all Hondas had been overtaken by Pedro Acosta on a broken Tech3 GasGas following his crash from second earlier within the race. No Honda was inside 30s of the winner both.
The low-grip Barcelona monitor delivered “the worst situation” for the Honda, based on Mir, because the bike’s issues with traction had been solely accentuated. They had been made even worse by a brand new engine configuration being raced on the Spanish venue.
Whereas not one of the riders received the upgrades that they had been hoping for after a personal Mugello check on the run-up to the Barcelona spherical, Mir famous that the up to date engine configuration might be the best path for the long run.
“Actually a nightmare,” Mir mentioned of his grand prix. “I had very unhealthy emotions all weekend. I anticipated a wrestle on this monitor. We’re utilizing a distinct engine configuration and I don’t really feel good with it. The spin degree might be worse than the opposite one, after which the highest velocity is way much less.
“Within the different races I used to be in a position to be quite a bit nearer to the primary rider, to the group, and doubtless with the ability to battle with the group of the highest 10. Right here I didn’t have any choice to do it. So, we in all probability took a step again to make two ahead sooner or later. However for the time being it’s robust and the state of affairs is like this – it’s even worse.”
Marini ended the weekend positively, noting that he felt like he “can take pleasure in” driving the bike now – although couldn’t actually clarify why.
8. Bastianini’s penalty defiance a double-edged sword
Bastianini ignored all his penalties throughout the grand prix which earned him the ire of the stewards
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Enea Bastianini disenchanted within the Catalan GP, because the excessive tyre put on circumstances ought to have performed into the Ducati rider’s arms.
He was handed an extended lap penalty for taking the shortcut at Turns 1 and a pair of when he was compelled extensive by an aggressive (however clear) overtake from Alex Marquez. When a rider runs via that advanced, they need to drop a second to keep away from a penalty. Bastianini didn’t do that.
However he didn’t agree with the penalty as he felt he had no selection however to run extensive. And so, he elected to disregard it. A second lengthy lap was served to him for this, which he additionally ignored. A ride-through for ignoring the second lengthy lap didn’t change his thoughts both, with the culminating 32-second time penalty dropping him from ninth to 18th.
He pleaded his case with the stewards afterwards and claimed they accepted that they had been improper to penalise him for the Marquez incident. However there was additionally nothing they may do to withdraw the penalties.
In a method, Bastianini was proper to do what he did – and says Ducati agreed with him – as you can not attraction a penalty that has been served. That doesn’t recommend there is a strong appeals course of obtainable to riders – one thing the FIM’s stewards may make clear, in the event that they ever truly held their actions accountable in a public method.
Whereas Bastianini was preventing what he believed to be the nice battle, the irony is that serving that single lengthy lap seemingly would have price him roughly three seconds and solely dropped him just a few spots right down to twelfth.
9. KTM can’t fulfil early weekend promise
KTM’s runners stay frustratingly inconsistent in terms of Sunday’s fundamental occasion
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KTM got here out of the blocks swinging at Barcelona, with three of its riders easing into Q2 on Friday – together with Brad Binder, regardless of two crashes within the second follow session.
However the conclusion of the weekend will depart a bitter style. Miller crashed out of the grand prix and was lacklustre within the dash in seventh, whereas Binder fell out of the dash lead and suffered a problem along with his entrance tyre early within the GP that left him eighth.
Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta scored a podium within the dash and felt like he had a motorbike for the rostrum within the grand prix however for a crash whereas working second on lap 11. He says this was right down to an issue on the entrance finish that hasn’t been identified but. He recovered to thirteenth with a smashed bike after remounting, however back-to-back podium possibilities on Sundays have gone lacking.
Binder famous that the RC16 struggles when grip disappears, however isn’t positive if that’s a consequence of racing on prime of Pirelli Moto2 rubber on Sundays. Regardless, the RC16, whereas stable – and robust notably in Acosta’s arms – continues to be missing consistency at this stage of the season.
10. Aprilia hints at most popular Espargaro alternative
Rivola already has an Espargaro alternative in thoughts
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Espargaro’s retirement dominated the information cycle at Barcelona, and a big a part of that is right down to the query it now poses: who replaces him? Espargaro’s efforts to make that Aprilia a prime bike on the present grid means the Italian marque is available in the market for some stable choices relative to its modest-by-MotoGP-standards finances.
Evidently, Aprilia is biding its time for Ducati to make its ultimate choice on who companions Bagnaia in 2025 earlier than making its transfer. However Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola did offer a hint as to where his mind is at in terms of a preferred pick.
“Now we will begin talking with many managers of riders and I believe the market will likely be fairly attention-grabbing and provide good alternatives,” he instructed motogp.com’s stay feed throughout ultimate follow. “Let’s see if we are going to lastly get an Italian on an Italian bike, or not. However I believe there will likely be good alternatives. Clearly taking Aleix’s place is not going to be simple for anyone, so whoever is coming should come very hungry.”
Bastianini has been closely linked with a trip at Aprilia for 2025, and mentioned of the prospect: “I’ve mentioned this many occasions. It may be a very good possibility for me, the Aprilia group, but in addition, we’ve got different affords and we’ve got to guage the opposite affords. Additionally, in my thoughts, there’s solely to go to Mugello and attempt to win. However we’ll see.”
A five-time grand prix winner, Bastianini may deliver quite a bit to the desk for Aprilia. Additionally out of the manufacturing unit Ducati image is Marco Bezzecchi, who may match the invoice for Aprilia too.
Intriguingly, Maverick Vinales has countered claims Rivola revamped the weekend that he’s dedicated to a 2025 contract and says he has affords he want to discover.
“No, no, I am not confirmed. I haven’t got a contract for subsequent yr,” the rider clarified to questions from Autosport. “Clearly there’s a whole lot of curiosity in persevering with [with Aprilia] as a result of we’re doing an excellent job, however I take a look at at present, Le Mans or Jerez and you must wait. It’s important to wait.
“There are open doorways and you must wait just a little bit and resolve what’s finest for me by way of efficiency. I need to win, actually, and I believe I’ve the flexibility to have the ability to battle to win, and I’ve to take a very good take a look at what’s the most suitable choice. What’s the most full, what’s the bundle that may give me the most suitable choice, the utmost to take advantage of my finest degree.”
Vinales hasn’t dedicated his future to Aprilia simply but
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