Bagnaia wins MotoGP Solidarity GP, Martin becomes the World Champion!

Francesco Bagnaia dominated the MotoGP Solidarity GP at Catalunya in Barcelona, but Jorge Martin became the MotoGP 2024 World Champion after finishing in third place, riding intelligently and consistently.

It was a clean start for the field, as Jorge Martin managed to navigate the opening lap safely, getting a great jump off the start and immediately taking second place. Marc Marquez would quickly dispatch of Martin, setting off after Bagnaia. This would be the Spaniard’s final race with Gresini Racing, looking to end the championship on a high note.

Bagnaia stretched his lead over Marquez and the rest of the field, as Martin set comfortably in third place just over one second away from the leaders. Behind the championship leader, Enea Bastianini would attempt to pass Martin, to no avail as Aleix Espargaro managed to battle Bastianini, the Italian being forced wide at Turn 1 and running across the escape road, losing multiple places.

Espargaro would be challenged by Alex Marquez behind, the pair of them running comfortably behind Martin, seemingly not wanting to get involved with Martin, or cause an incident which would affect the championship.

The riders at the tail end of the Top 10 would all battle, Enea Bastianini, Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi all in their last race with their individual teams. Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta would also battle, the pair of them squabbling in the championship as well.

The race would settle down, a familiar sight in this MotoGP season with the aero packages and also the Catalunya circuit, which only has a couple of proper overtaking zones. The riders had also said after the Practice sessions, that the grip levels were relatively low, subsequently removing a risk factor, with many riders not wanting to run wide and out where the grip levels were even lower.

Bagnaia and Marc Marquez would ride incredibly close to one another in the dying laps of the race, however the reigning champion would be able to hold Marquez behind, managing to build a small buffer and extend the lead to over one second.

Bagnaia would come around the final corner to take a dominant victory in a dominant weekend, securing pole position, the sprint race victory and also the Grand Prix victory. Marc Marquez would finish in second place, a great result in the Spaniard’s final race with the Gresini team.

Jorge Martin would ride out of the final corner, to finish in third place and take his maiden MotoGP World Championship by 10 points to Bagnaia, a phenomenal result and emotional victory, as the “Martinator” started the celebrations with Prima Pramac Racing. This would also be Martin and Pramac’s final ever race with the Ducati Desmosedici GP bike, with Martin moving the Factory Aprilia team and Pramac becoming the Yamaha satellite team for 2025.

The No.1 plate moves to Aprilia with Jorge Martin then, a truly great ride from a legendary rider who has been focused throughout the season, not making as many mistakes as his championship rival, Francesco Bagnaia. The pair exchanged kind words about one another post-race, a nice way to complete the 2024 season, and an exciting look ahead to the 2025 season, which is all set up to be a classic racing season.

MotoGP Solidarity GP – Results

1st Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati
2nd Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
3rd Jorge Martin, Prima Pramac – WORLD CHAMPION
4th Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
5th Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia
6th Brad Binder, Red Bull Factory KTM
7th Enea Bastianini, Ducati
8th Franco Morbidelli, Prima Pramac
9th Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing
10th Pedro Acosta, Red Bull GasGas KTM
11th Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha
12th Miguel Oliveira, Trackhouse Racing
13th Jack Miller, Red Bull Factory KTM
14th Johann Zarco, LCR Honda
15th Maverick Vinales, Aprilia
16th Luca Marini, Repsol Honda
17th Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda
18th Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
19th Augusto Fernandez, Red Bull GasGas KTM
20th Alex Rins, Yamaha
21st Michele Pirro, VR46 Racing
22nd Stefan Bradl, Honda Test Team
DNF Joan Mir, Repsol Honda

Featured Image: Red Bull Content Pool