RACE PREVIEW
# MalaysianGP
“ Pecco Bagnaia : coolness personified and favourite to retain his crown .”
LEADING CONTENDER
With stops in countries as far flung as Indonesia , Australia and Japan , this year ’ s championship has a definite worldwide flavour . And the continuation of last year ’ s format – Sprint race on Saturday , feature race on Sunday – means a whopping total of 740 points are on offer . MotoGP™ 2024 has been as gripping last year ’ s version , with a wide array of challengers offering up excitement aplenty .
The first half of the season has shown that we ’ ll have a thrilling fight to fit the occasion . Ducati is once again the manufacturer to beat , as it fields an armada of eight riders , who are all capable of challenging for victories .
After a few shaky moments , reigning World Champion Francesco ‘ Pecco ’ Bagnaia racked up four victories in succession midseason , plus a dominant weekend in Austria , to assume control on the championship fight . But a costly crash in Aragon put him on the back foot .
Last year ’ s rival in chief Jorge Martin has benefited from his experience of fighting for the MotoGP™ World Championship in 2023 , and has shown he will be a contender once more , by securing epic victories in Portugal , France and Indonesia . A crash out of the lead in Germany was a blow , but he has consistently bounced back from disappointment to be a locked in the title fight for the second year in succession .
A new name in Ducati ’ s roster promises to upset the applecart . Marc Marquez ’ s sensational decision to leave Honda for the first time in eleven years in favour of Gresini Ducati has already seen him back fighting among the leading names . He scored a first victory in 1,043 days at Aragon to underline he ’ s now a true force to be reckoned with and backed it up with another win seven days later in Misano . Enea Bastianini has also showed he has recaptured his very best form and brilliant victories at Silverstone and Emilia Romagna .
That ’ s not to say Ducati will have it all its own way . Far from it , as KTM has built on its best ever MotoGP™ season , when it finished second in the Constructor ’ s Championship , by fine-tuning its RC16 . Brad Binder is keen to get back among the leaders after missing the podium since Round 1 . And rookie Pedro Acosta has been the year ’ s sensation , becoming the third youngest premier class podium finisher in history with an inspired ride in Portugal .
Aprilia was more difficult to read . Maverick Viñales was unbeatable in Austin , scoring his first victory for the Noale factory . But he and team-mate Aleix Espagaro have struggled for consistency since then .
Both Yamaha and Honda are still a long way off fighting for the top . Fabio Quartararo was disappointed by the performance of his M1 in the opening rounds . Likewise , Repsol Honda knows it will take some months before its riders is challenging for leading positions .
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