RACE PREVIEW
# QatarGP
“ Pecco Bagnaia : coolness personified and favourite to retain his crown .”
LEADING CONTENDER
With stops in countries as far flung as India , Japan and Kazakhstan , 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 777 points are on offer . MotoGP™ 2024 promises to be as gripping as last year ’ s version , with a wide array of challengers offering up excitement aplenty .
Preseason testing has shown that Ducati is once again the manufacturer to beat , as it fields an armada of eight riders , who are all capable of challenging for victories . Reigning World Champion Francesco ‘ Pecco ’ Bagnaia was coolness personified during tests in Malaysia , and will start as favourite to retain his crown .
Last year ’ s rival in chief Jorge Martin will surely benefit from his experience of fighting for the MotoGP™ World Championship in 2023 , and will be a contender once more .
Yet 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 should have him back among the leading names .
Enea Bastianini , Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio also showed they will be podium contenders during testing .
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 has his eyes on a title challenge after “ one of the best preseason tests of my life ” at Sepang . Likewise , team-mate Jack Miller was complimentary of the winter of progress in Austria . And that ’ s before we get to Pedro Acosta , the field ’ s lone rookie .
Aprilia was more difficult to read . Aleix Espargaro was adamant the ’ 24 bike is an improvement . “ It ’ s more physical but better ,” he said , even if we didn ’ t see the best of Maverick Viñales or Miguel Oliveira during testing .
And there were positive signs for both Yamaha and Honda during testing . Fabio Quartararo showed Yamaha ’ s M1 is still some way off being a title contender , but he should still be a top six contender . Likewise , Repsol Honda ’ s Joan Mir looks much improved RC213V , but knows it will take some months before he is challenging for leading positions .
Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar | 21