2023, wow, what a barnstorming ending we had. Ducati reigned supreme, with Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin kicking up fireworks at every round. The pendulum constantly swinging between the two. Eventually, Bagnaia went on to retain the title in 2023, but not after giving fans of MotoGP a lot to talk about.
And you would expect the two main protagonists of the 2023 season to be spoken about first in this article, right? Wrong!
Marc Marquez grabbed the headlines and eyeballs on the first day of testing for the 2024 season at Valencia. His switch from factory Repsol Honda to a satellite Gresini Ducati has everybody’s tails wagging with anticipation. So, let’s delve into the teams that are set to race in 2024!
Ducati Factory Team
The Italian factory currently has the best bike on the grid and this team has all the pressure on them to win the championship. With back-to-back titles, the team will not sit on their laurels, in fact they will want to score a hattrick. Preferably with their golden boy, Bagnaia. If he falters, they have a very capable rider in the form of Enea Bastianini. The ‘Beast’ as he is fondly known fought hard for the title in 2022, but after a massive crash in the first round of 2023, he went missing for most of the year. Will the young Italian be able to turn his fortunes around? He did show promise in the last few rounds, but will need to work on his consistency.
KTM Factory Team
Nobody would have expected this Austrian manufacturer to be at the top of the sport in so few years since entering MotoGP. But the orange squad were the only team who showed potential to race the Ducatis regularly. Mostly in the capable hands of South African, Brad Binder, but also on occasion with the popular Australian, Jack Miller. There will be lot of expectation resting on the shoulders of Binder to fight for the championship in 2024, but he will need a little more support from the factory to be able to take the fight to the Ducatis consistently. Miller with a year’s experience, should also be at the pointy end of things, but consistency will be required from him as well.
Aprilia Factory Team
The ‘other’ Italian team in the championship. Aprilia are a small group of people who run the entire operation on a relatively tiny budget than the others. Yet, they have made a mark with their fighting spirit. The bikes are considered to be the sweetest handling machines on the grid. Aleix Esparagaro will once again be the pointsman for the team, but a lot more will be expected from mercurial talent Maverick Vinales. The factory will also have to work on the many gremlins which have plagued them, especially in the flyaway rounds of the championship. They really need to make a big step up to fight for the championship, both in terms of riders and the team as well.
Yamaha Factory Team
A sad sight to see the Yamaha Factory team, which has enjoyed so much success in the past, struggle to make podiums this year. The bike was mildly competitive in the hands of ace rider, Fabio Quartararo. But he constantly had to push the bike over and beyond the limit to fight with the Ducatis. This unfortunately saw him get bogged down or ruffled by the other bikes. The Japanese manufacturer will have turn their garage inside out to make significant progress on the bike to keep the young Frenchman happy and in the team. Quartararo will be joined in 2024 by Alex Rins, who has past experience of the sweet handling Suzuki. Will two fast riders help the Iwata based factory? Maybe, but their big problem is only having two bikes on the grid, with no satellite team. This has turned out to be a major handicap in this new power packed weekend format of racing.
Honda Factory Team
If Yamaha’s plight is bad to look at, then Honda’s is terrible. They only scored one win in 2023, with 3 of their 4 riders getting badly thrown off from the motorcycle during the season and sustaining serious injury. The factory is starting from Level Zero in 2024 after losing one of the most talented riders in recent history. In a way this will be a blessing for the factory, as they can gradually develop the motorcycle with two young intelligent riders in the form of Joan Mir and Luca Marini. We cannot expect a lot from this leading Japanese manufacturer in 2024, but after having hit rock bottom, the only way they can move is up!
Pramac Ducati
The fastest satellite team in the championship currently. They will once again be fighting for the championship with Jorge Martin and will hope to do one better in 2024! Martin will be joined by new teammate Franco Morbidelli, who will quickly have to find his feet in the team, else he runs the risk of losing his MotoGP seat, with lacklustre performance in the last couple of seasons.
Gresini Ducati
The next most successful satellite squad was unsurprisingly also on Ducatis. They have the biggest joker in the pack in the form of Marc Marquez. Everybody expects him to be once again at the front fighting for the championship. Martin and Bagnaia will likely have their hands full fighting off the hard charging Spaniard. On the other side of the garage for Gresini is another Marquez, brother Alex, will expect to win at least one race in 2024, after going empty-handed this season.
VR46 Ducati
Another satellite Ducati squad! And one of the secrets to the success of the Italian marque. Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giantonnio have both won races in the 2023 season. They will both have expectations to do the same next year and then some more. These two talented young riders should put on a strong showing for this team, which is expected to switch to Yamaha in 2025.
Trackhouse Racing Aprilia
A brand-new team in the MotoGP paddock. All the from the home of NASCAR, this team took over the operations from the outgoing RNF Aprilia. Almost everything is expected to stay the same except the branding on the motorcycles. The team is also expected to run the latest spec bikes and not 1-year old bikes like the RNF squad did. Miguel Oliviera and Raul Fernandez will both be expected to be running at the front far more often than what we saw in 2023.
Gas Gas
A team which runs the name of the Spanish motorcycle brand Gas Gas, but since it is owned by KTM, they have the same rebadged motorcycles and are operated like a satellite team. They have a strong rider line-up in Augusto Fernandez, who showed potential, but not enough speed. On the other side of the garage, there is the up-and-coming star, Pedro Acosta, who is dubbed the ‘next Marc Marquez’ by the media. There will be plenty of interest in this rookie in 2024 and strong results will be expected by the end of the season.
LCR Honda
The satellite Honda squad will have some new blood infused in the team with the addition of Johann Zarco. He will be taking his knowledge from the Ducati to help the Japanese factory get back up to speed. On the other side of the garage is Takaki Nakagami, who is expected to help develop the bike and not much more. He is said to be soon on the way out, as the young Japanese rider Ai Ogura, is expected to make the leap to MotoGP from Moto2 in 2025.
Who will win the championship in 2024? We don’t know! Which is why we enjoy watching the races…
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