It would have had the streak of Marquez: Even if it is impossible to determine the result of the MotoGP World Championship 2024 based on one event alone – the shooting of Pecco Bagnaia in Aragon was an important event.
It was the first day of September when the MotoGP race between Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia changed direction. The two fastest Ducati riders traveled to Motorland Aragon in Spain with a difference of just five points. After two flawless victories in Austria, the top team returned to Bagnaia and thus went to the Ducati factory team.
In the race from Aragon the championship lead flew again towards Spain. While Jorge Martin coped well with the clean tarmac on his return to Motorland and finished second, the world champion struggled. Bagnaia was awarded only one World Cup mark. With nine points from the Spaniard, Jorge Martin entered the Grand Prix with a three-point lead. It was the smallest gap in a long season with 40 races.
After 23 laps in Aragon, the lead was 23 points. Jorge Martin was once again on the podium as the Spaniards celebrated Marc Marquez’s first GP victory on a Ducati. Meanwhile, another Marquez had gotten the #1 out of the way.
On lap 17, Bagnaia overtook Gresini’s second driver for third place and 16 championship points. But Alex Marquez wanted to be on the podium next to Marc and he objected blindly. In the collision of the year, Ducati flew into the gravel – and both were lucky to escape without serious injury.
If Pecco Bagnaia had been more patient or given the podium to Marquez II without a fight, with 13 points for fourth place, Bagnaia would now be the premier class champion for the third time. With new record numbers, the difference after 20 MotoGP events was ten points.
If Alex Marquez had relied more on the driver’s understanding of the race instead of luck and backtracking, Bagnaia would also have been world champion with three extra points.
Return to the starting point. In addition to the failure of the Ducati factory in Aragon, which experts believe is the fault of Alex Marquez, other mistakes of Bagnaia are also counted. Apart from the race accidents in Catalunya and Sepang, leaving in front of the home fans in Misano was also our responsibility. Of course, Pecco Bagnaia lost the World Championship with a fall rate that was more than twice as high (8: 3).
Even the greatest number of GP victories (11:3) could not prevent the loss of the title. In total, it was Jorge Martin who landed on the podium impressively 32 times (Bagnaia 26) in 40 races and thus deservedly took the title.
The fact that Pecco Bagnaia was knocked down by the young Marquez in Aragon and thrown off the track in Portimao by Marc Marquez in the second GP of the year will no doubt keep the new old number 63 busy for a while.
World Cup final standings after 40 races:
1. Martin, 508 Points. 2. Bagnaia 498. 3. Marc Márquez 392 4. Bastianini 386. 5. Binder 217. 6. Acosta 209. 7. Viñales 190. 8. Alex Márquez 173. 9. Morbidelli 173. 61 Antonini 1.10. Espargaro 163. 12. Bezzecchi 153. 13. Quartararo 113. 14. Miller 87. 15. Oliveira 75. 16. R. Fernandez 66. 17. Zarco 55. 18. Rins 31. 13. A. Fernández 200. . 21. Mir 21. 22 Marini 14. 23. Pol Espargaro 12. 24. Pedrosa 7. 25. Bradl 2. 26. Gardner 0. 27. Savadori 0.
World Builders Championship:
1. Ducati, 722 points. 2. KTM 327. 3. Aprilia 302. 4. Yamaha 124. 5. Honda 75.
World Cup Team:
1. Ducati Lenovo Team, 884 Points. 2. Prima Pramac Racing 681. 3. Gresini Racing 565. 4. Aprilia Racing 353. 5. Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team 318. 6. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 304. 7. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 242. Mohanster. 144. 9. Trackhouse Racing 141. 10. LCR Honda 86. 11. Repsol Honda Team 35.
