Maverick Viñales dethroned Jorge Martin to become the second Sprint race winner of 2024. Viñales cleared the second place finished by 1 second when the checkered flag flew. The win marks the first win and second podium of the season for Aprilia Racing. “I am truly happy about this first win with Aprilia and the great job the team is doing this weekend,” he said. “I feel good on the bike. We are really in tune and I had a lot of fun in this Sprint Race. This is a very special moment for me. I closed a circle. I knew that sooner or later I would be back to winning – I had absolutely no doubt.”
The battle with Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez was sensational with Marquez getting the better of the “King of Sprints” diving down underneath in turn 5. Martin wouldn’t recover from the move and had to settle for P3 in the race. This season seems to be anyone’s championship as the top three has been mixed up for every podium thus far this season.
Francesco Bagnaia Has an Off and Loses P1
Bagnaia lost out on the podium after a mistake on the down hill into turn 1 with 9 laps to go saw him run wide and relinquish the lead of the race falling down the pecking order.
Bagnaia was able to save the bike but finished outside of the podium points. With the finish Bagnaia still retained his championship points lead by 2 points over Jorge Martin. Brad Binder sits in third despite his off in the Sprint race resulting in a DNF.
The Portugal Sprint Race Results Are Below
In a stark contrast to the beginning of the 2023 season this year Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo) is back, healthy and ready to compete. Bastianini led the field setting a 1m38.057s. He finished ahead of Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by just over a tenth of a second. Bastianini said
“It had been a while since I last was on top of the timesheets! It was a day of constant improvement: we didn’t start on the right foot, but we kept making progress lap after lap. We continued to work on the set up especially with regards to the issues we encountered in Qatar. We did really well with the soft tyre, while there’s still work to be done with the medium compound. The track was very dirty this morning, so the important data will be the one from the afternoon session; I feel like I always make the difference on corner entry, and I feel really comfortable with this bike.”
Practice Results From Portugal
Ducati Announced that they have signed Moto2 racing prodigy Fermin Aldeguer for the 2025 MotoGP season. His destination team is yet to be determined but Ducati didn’t want to take any chances on losing out on him to a competitor after Aldeguer has shown promise with his recent race results.
The following statement was released by Ducati
Ducati Corse and Fermin Aldeguer are thrilled to announce their agreement, which will see the Spanish rider move up to MotoGP™ from the Moto2™ category in 2025. Fermin will ride a Desmosedici GP for the next two years, with the option to extend the contract for another two years.
Aged 18, Aldeguer, hailing from La Ñora (Murcia, Spain), made his debut in the World Championship in 2021 directly in the Moto2™ category, and he ended 12th in his debut race at Mugello (Italian GP). In 2022, Fermin completed his first entire season, and last year, he claimed his maiden victory and secured a third-place finish in the riders’ standings with five wins (four consecutive victories in the final four races), seven podium finishes, and three pole positions.
This year, Aldeguer continues to establish himself as one of the key contenders in the Moto2™ World Championship, which commenced recently with the Qatar GP at the Lusail International Circuit.
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“I would like to welcome Fermín to the Ducati family warmly, and we can’t wait to see him riding our Desmosedici GP. I am thrilled with this agreement because Aldeguer is one of the strongest riders in the new generation of MotoGP. Over the last few years, we have followed his evolution; during the last season, he showed incredible speed. He is a very young guy with the potential and characteristics to do well, and we will give him all the technical support to help him grow.”
Fermin Aldeguer
“I’m ecstatic to have this opportunity; thanks to Ducati, I’ll realise the dream I’ve pursued since childhood. The time has arrived to take the big leap and compete with the world’s finest riders, and what’s more, I’ll be doing it with the best bike on the grid. I want to express my gratitude to Ducati, especially to Gigi Dall’Igna, for their faith in me from the beginning of our discussions. I extend my thanks to Luca Boscoscuro for everything we’ve shared and for what lies ahead of us this year.
I’m also grateful to my family, my manager, Héctor Faubel, and everyone who, in one way or another, has contributed to my journey here. Now that I know what the future holds, it’s time to focus solely on this season, where I face a significant challenge in Moto2. I’ll give my all to leave this category with my head held high, aiming for the best possible results before embarking on the new adventure in MotoGP.”
After falling short in the Qatar GP Sprint Race to Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia took the win in the first Grand Prix of the season. The race was delayed due to an issue with Raul Fernandez’s bike on the starting grid. As a result Fernandez had to start the race from the pit lane.
At the start Jorge Martin lost two positions after starting on pole. The advantage was Bagnaia’s after just one lap of racing. Martin had fallen to P3 with Brad Binder making a sensational pass to get ahead in the second sector. Binder’s teammate wasn’t as fortunate. As the pack headed into turn 1 jack miller crashed out of the race. Miller sprang back up immediately and wasn’t injured in the crash. He was forced to retire however ending his race.
Raul Fernandez DNF, Acosta Shows Glimpses of Brilliance
After starting from the pit lane Raul Fernandez made a surprising jump up the pecking order. However, he ended up retiring from the race with 4 laps to go. Paul Acosta showed early promise in his MotoGP main event debut. He made challenges for the top 5 early but his efforts proved to be futile as he cooked his tires early in the race and his pace fell off substantially in the late stages. After reaching as high as a battle for P4 briefly. Acosta had to settle for P9. The experience of the other riders and their tire management in the early stages are really what set them apart from Fernandez falling back.
Mac Marquez Falls Short of the Podium on a Positive Note
Even though Marc Marquez didn’t finish the Qatar GP on the podium. The 8 time champion will take the race weekend in Qatar as a positive. Marquez finished P4 and had formidable pace during the Qatar GP. Likewise his brother and teammate Alex Marquez finished P6. While not ideal the team walked away from this weekend on a positive note. “I had a go at the podium. I wanted to preserve the front tire in order to have a little extra at the end of the race, and almost bridged the gap to Martin,” said Marquez.
“Almost, but it’s good this way. If at the Valencia test they’d told me I would have finished fourth today, I would have signed for it. This has never been one of my favorite circuits so fourth place is a good result. We will analyze the data now: Bagnaia finished three seconds ahead of us and he’s the reigning champion. It’s from him we need to learn to further raise the bar.”
Qatar Grand Prix Result are Below
World Championship Standings After Round 1
Jorge Martin started the Sprint race in Qatar from pole position after edging out Aleix Espargaro in Q2. In the sprint Martin continued his form in record setting fashion by winning the Tissot Sprint in Qatar and breaking the lap record. Martin finished ahead of South African Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder. Bind was just over a half second behind in P2 and finished ahead of almost 8 tenths ahead of Aleix Espargaro in third. Espargaro’s pace started to fall off in the mid point of the race. His late effort to make a challenge for P2 fell short. The front of the pack was relatively spread out limiting opportunities for drafting. The win meant Martin was the first rider in MotoGP history to reach 10 Sprint race wins.
Bagnaia Falls Short But Salvages P4
Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia fell short of the win today. While not the optimal finish Bagnaia walked away with championship points and an overall positive day. “Overall, it was a positive Sprint, as a fourth place represents a good number of points secured,” said Bagnaia. “Surely the feeling is different compared to testing, maybe because of track conditions. It’s true that if I started from the front row, or even from pole, things would have been very different, but unfortunately, I got the last two corners wrong during my quick-lap attempt. We need to work on the bike behavior at the rear end; I struggled at the end, I could make the most of cornering and had to change my style a bit. We now have a clearer picture on where to improve ahead of tomorrow.”
The the season opening Qatar Grand Prix Kicks off tomorrow where Martin will attempt to double his winning ways.
Qatar GP Sprint Race Results
Jorge Martin is riding with a purpose in Qatar this weekend. Martin topped Q2 setting a 1m50.789s edging out Aleix Espargaro by 0.083s. The two have traded positions all weekend so we are in for some tight racing between Martin on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati and Espargaro on his Aprilia. The Ducati factory team has been a bit quiet this weekend despite finishing 3rd with Enea Bastianini and 5th with reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) split the Ducatis in 4th place. Next up is the Tissot Sprint race in a few hours time.
Full Q2 Qatar Grand Prix Results
Jorge Martin has found his rhythm to start of the Qatar GP weekend. Martin finish on top of the table in FP1 abord his Prima Pramac Ducati. Martin was the sole Ducati rider in the top 3 for the session. Behind, Aleix Espargaro narrowly finished behind by less than a tenth of a second. In third Pedro Acosta showed a glimpse of pace in third.
The Qatar Grand Prix weekend is the first look at race readiness for the 2024 MotoGP season. Franco Morbidelli who’s weekend was in question yesterday received medical clearance to participate this weekend. However after the first session he finished at the bottom of the table in FP1. Its possibel the team is taking things slow to make sure he is fit to race later this weekend. Morbidelli will look for a chance to fight for a top 10 finish.
Marc Marquez found himself in the top 5 running 5th fastest behind Brand Binder. FP2 will take place later today.
Full Qatar GP FP1 Results Below
Its no secret that MotoGP has been searching for ways to better connect with US audiences after the success seen with Formula 1. Now that need has an avenue that may help MotoGP fulfill that goal. Today MotoGP announced a partnership with television network TNT to provide MotoGP with a home for broadcasting in the US. The arrangement will begin this weekend for the Qatar Grand Prix; the opening round of the 2024 MotoGP Season.
The entire 2024 season will be broadcasted live on truTV and Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. The add on will include all sessions from MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 during race weekends. This level of access will be a new way for US based fans to connect with the sport which is often broadcast over seas at times where tv viewership is lowest during the day due to people being asleep or otherwise occupied.
More About TNT Sports
TNT Sports is a global leader in the delivery of premium sports content. The TNT Sports U.S. portfolio includes expansive, multi-platform partnerships with the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, National Hockey League, United States Soccer Federation, NASCAR (coming in 2025) and a premier golf franchise in The Match.
Owned and operated platforms are highlighted by Bleacher Report, the #1 digital destination for young sports fans, along with House of Highlights, HighlightHER, Golf Digest, and a full suite of digital and social portfolio brands. Additionally, TNT Sports co-manages NBA Digital — comprised of NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE Pass, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com — as well as NCAA.com and NCAA March Madness Live. TNT Sports in Europe and the Republic of Ireland includes partnerships with the NBA, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UFC, WWE and more, as well as much-loved brands Eurosport, Global Cycling Network (GCN), Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) and multi-sport programming and content on discovery+ and Discovery’s free-to-air TV networks.
After Franco Morbidelli missed out on the Qatar and Sepang official testing events. His participation in the season opener at Lusail international Circuit has come into questions. Morbidelli has been slowly recovering from injuries sustained during the testing event at Portimão where he had a rather aggressive crash that required him to stay overnight in the hospital.
Since the crash Morbidelli has been in recovery which his Prima Pramac Racing team suggests is precautionary so he can achieve 100% fitness by the season opener. Its reported that Morbidelli has traveled with the team to Qatar. Hwoever, his true level of fitness is still unknown. Additionally, Morbidelli has zero seat time on his new Ducati GP24 after making the switch to Pramac in the off season. Despite being cleared by his doctors, he will need to pass a physical examination from the circuit medical team. If he is cleared he will have his first taste of the Ducati GP24 on Friday.
“I am very pleased to have received the medical clearance to start the season. I am eager to try the bike, to return to the dynamics of the races, and to get to know the people of my new team better. This year represents a significant change in my career, and although this incident was unfortunate, it is now in the past, and I want to look forward. I thank the doctors who have been monitoring me, the people who have supported me during these weeks, and a special thanks to Prima Pramac Racing for their support.”
2023 MotoGP World champion Francesco Bagnaia has signed a contract extension with Ducati Lenovo keep his run with the team alive through the 2026 MotoGP season. The contract extension will mean that Ducati Lenovo will retain their all Italian rider lineup for the near future. The extensions occurs as the teams get set to kick off the 2024 MotoGP season in Qatar at Lusail international Circuit this weekend. Here is what the team had to say about the new contract.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team)
“I am so happy to continue racing with the team of my dreams! Wearing these colors is an honor for me. It’s fantastic and a source of pride. Together with Ducati, my team, and all the guys at Ducati Corse, we’ve achieved incredible things. In these three more years (including 2024) ahead of us, we’ll continue to give our best to achieve as much success as possible. I am overjoyed and ready to hit the track in Qatar for the first race of the year.”
Claudio Domenicali (CEO Ducati Motor Holding)
“Pecco is truly the perfect rider for Ducati. He represents our values at their best: style, elegance, and performance. Not only is he fast, determined, and tenacious on track, but he also stands out for his elegance and education off the track. I am very happy for this renewal, which I am sure Ducatisti all over the world will welcome with enthusiasm.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“We are extremely happy to have Bagnaia with us again for 2025 and 2026. Together, we have written an important page of motorcycling history: Pecco was the first Italian rider to win a World Title in MotoGP with an Italian bike, our Desmosedici GP. Together, we brought back a Riders’ World Title that had been missing for 15 years, and we did it again last year. He is a two-time World Champion and has proven on more than one occasion that he truly deserves the number 1 on the fairing of his bike. In addition to these results, Bagnaia continues to demonstrate that he is in perfect harmony with his bike and team. For all these reasons, it was natural for us to want to continue with him. Therefore, we look forward to this new chapter together, confident that we can achieve other important results.”