MotoGP returns this weekend! Preview / Schedule

MotoGP 2024
Round one – Lusail, Qatar
Preview

MotoGP is back this weekend but for us Australians there will be real late nights or early mornings with the opening round taking place in the desert around Doha at the Lusail International Circuit.

There is no doubt that, after pre-season, defending champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) looks like the man to beat. Teammate Enea Bastianini was also extremely convincing on the other side of the garage, now back at full strength after a 2023 season marred by injury. Now can we really continue the competition that has started to really heat up in the latter part of 2022?

Meanwhile, the same rivalry that occurred last season, looks set to continue as well. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has had a split pre-season between decisive laps and the signs are that he needs a bit more time to get used to the new bike, but they are I know when the lights go out, he will be exhausted. On the other side of his garage, however, there is a completely different conundrum after Franco Morbidelli was sidelined for pre-season, so his progress will be interesting within the Ducati ranks.

Completing the top three in 2023 is Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and on paper it looks like he’s had a more difficult pre-season. New teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has improved a lot in terms of speed?

His former teammate, Alex Marquez, now also has a new teammate at Gresini Racing MotoGP. For Alex Marquez, the goal for the year must be to win the Grand Prix, as he now has a Sprint win and several podiums. For his new teammate, eight-time world champion Marc Marquez, it’s hard to say what that goal really is. Pacing? Proof of heritage? Ninth World Championship? Pure enjoyment? There are probably 93 answers to that question that people on all sides can debate, and we may never know the answer. However, the trip will take us a long time. Qatar has never been his greatest race, so his first time still finding the limit may not prove a crystal ball, but it is one of the most exciting moves in the history of this sport and we can watch it.

That group of opponents only includes Ducati…

At Red Bull KTM Factory Racing there is a lot to be excited about after a good pre-season and a really solid 2023, especially from Brad Binder as he finished just behind the top three. He did it too, becoming a Sprint winner and taking a number of big podiums, satisfyingly in the heat of the battle at the front. Can team-mate Jack Miller endure a tougher 2023 to bring his great form into the new season?

Meanwhile, at Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, Augusto Fernandez is looking to make some progress as the spotlight continues to shine on rookie Pedro Acosta. The hype has only been fueled throughout the pre-season but what can we really expect? The full spectrum of results from stunning to solid could be true, none of which on their own would have much to say about what we’ll see from him by Jerez, Silverstone or Motegi. (However, he still has to go to the Sachsenring to beat Marc Marquez’s record as the youngest premier class winner…)

At Aprilia, it’s been an exciting pre-season. Aleix Espargaro’s experience with the new machine was an almost immediate storm for the timesheet leaders, while teammates Maverick Viñales and Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) took longer to pull together Riddle. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) had even less of that as he sat out most of the Sepang Test after a crash.

At Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, the quest continues to close the gap and unlock lap speed. However, the new franchise system has shown that the Iwata brand could use more track time with its riders ahead of the season, and we’ve seen some updates emerge as well. Those riders, 2021 Champion Fabio Quartararo and newcomer Alex Rins, will be eager to get back to work and see where they fit in the pecking order across the entire race distance, especially with newfound top speed thanks to a new engine package.

Honda also applies new concessions to field racers in the Shakedown and like Yamaha, they will not have engine specs frozen. They also have some new faces to welcome, with Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) applying his methodical approach to a factory team for the first time when partnering 2020 Champion Joan Mir.

Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda LCR) and his experience remain the same, but he welcomes Johann Zarco to the Castrol Honda LCR – and during testing the Frenchman was both very fast and very aggressive. We know it’s a brand new bike and we know they’ve moved forward, but how far is yet to be determined…

Moto2

Fermin Aldeguer (Sync SpeedUp) competed seriously at the end of 2023 and while that ultimately didn’t prove enough to challenge for the crown, it was enough to make most believe he started the year 2024 is the favorite for this tournament. His performance in testing has done little to dispel that as the Pirelli era begins, but there is a strong field standing in the way.

Last year’s runner-up Tony Arbolino (Marc VDS Elf Racing Team) will be looking to go one step better and Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) wants to win that race – and then another, and another in a serious challenge for the crown.

Celestino Vietti also moves into the coveted Red Bull KTM Ajo seat left by defending champion Pedro Acosta, and there’s more to test: Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) is just 0.044 seconds behind Aldeguer and Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2) was inside the same tenth in third. Add to that long-term leaders Jake Dixon (CFMoto Aspar Team) and Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp) and the season promises much.

Meanwhile, the rookies are also an interesting group. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Deniz Öncü tops the debutants in Jerez, but he will battle a host of old rivals in the battle for Rookie of the Year: reigning Moto3 champion Jaume Masia (Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team), runners-up Ayumu Sasaki (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), Mario Aji (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), Xavi Artigas (KLINT Forward Factory Team) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team), as well as Moto2 Champ Senna Agius Chau Europe (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP).

Moto3

Six of last year’s top 10 return to Moto3 for another season, with 2023 star rookie David Alonso (CFMOTO Team Aspar) possibly a favorite on the way in, but fellow Sophomore Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was fastest in testing.

Meanwhile, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) enters his third season as another pre-season favorite after leading for much of 2023, and the likes of Ivan Ortola (MT Helmet – MSI) and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) showed their speed at the front and won the Grands Prix.

Then there are those on the podium looking for victory, like David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), his new teammates Joel Kelso and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), as well as veterans like Tatsuki Suzuki , currently at Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP , everyone has a point to prove.

As for the rookies, we wait to see if Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2023 and JuniorGP title winner Angel Piqueras is fit to make his debut with Leopard Racing after a pre-season training injury, and we knowing that we will have to wait and see Xabi Zurutuza at the Red Bull KTM Ajo as he is under the age limit.

Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Team Asia), Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), Noah Dettwiler (CIP Green Power) and Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Aspar Team) complete the list of exciting new recruits. into the Grand Prix Scene prize. David Almansa (Rivacold Sniper Team) was on the field too much to compete for the Rookie of the Year award.

Qatar Grand Prix schedule

FIM MotoGP 2024 World Championship Schedule (Updated)