Looking at the five biggest talking points from the Qatar GP weekend, there are obvious conclusions to draw. We start with the negative points, and then address the more positive points, which generated less surprise, such as the dominance of world champion Pecco Bagnaia.
Do Japanese manufacturers remain in crisis?
After a pre-season in which Yamaha struggled to show steps forward compared to its rivals, the season opener in Qatar quickly turned into a disaster. Faster than Honda in 2023, the same claim cannot be made, as Joan Mir was faster than Fabio Quartararo for much of the Grand Prix. The Honda also showed greater speed in one lap, which continues to be the Yamaha’s weakest area. Neither Quartararo nor Rins managed to produce the lap times needed to come close to entering Q2. In last Sunday’s race, Quartararo was 17 seconds away from victory and almost 16 seconds away from the podium – but despite everything, the 2021 champion was the best of the ‘Japanese army’ with his 11th place. However, those responsible at Honda have no reason to smile either, quite the opposite: the best rider of the winged brand in Qatar was Johann Zarco with the LCR Honda RC213V (12th), one place ahead of the factory rider Joan Mir. From these results, the conclusion to be drawn is this: the winter tests did not work, with the Japanese’s only hope being the concessions they benefit from, both Yamaha and Honda.
Aprilia fails its objectives
Aleix Espargaró finished the sprint race as the fastest driver on the circuit, leading others like Marc Márquez to consider him a favorite before Sunday’s race. However, Sunday’s Grand Prix race changed everything and Espargaró barely made any progress. during the race. The Spaniard blamed the rear tire for his lack of pace, but after several rounds in 2023 where the Aprilia showed the same winning potential before altering its lines, the Qatar round gave little indication that this will be rectified in 2024. What’s positive for Espargaró is that he has the potential to win, something that doesn’t seem to be the case for Maverick VInales at the moment. Tenth in the Grand Prix, Viñales had a weekend to forget.
Greater pressure on factory riders
There were many high-profile races throughout the weekend, many of which came from satellite team riders hoping to become factory riders in 2025. The first of these was Jorge Martin. Runner-up last season, Martin continued his dominance in the sprint format by winning his 10th sprint in 21 attempts. Arguably the favorite for second place in the factory Ducati team alongside Bagnaia next season, Martin was undeterred by another strong weekend. Also faster than Enea Bastianini was Marc Márquez, who had a surprise on the first lap for the Gresini Ducati. Close to the podium in both races, Márquez finished the sprint in fifth before doing better in the Grand Prix. At KTM, Jack Miller suffered a disaster when he crashed on the second lap, while sensation rider and only rookie Pedro Acosta showed enormous potential at the controls of his Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 KTM. During the race, the 19-year-old rookie rider hired to the KTM ranks in MotoGP, he overtook Marc Márquez, Alex Márquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio (winner of Qatar in 2023) and Espargaró, until he felt the wear of his Michelins in the final laps. Acosta’s potential is there for all to see and Miller may need to have his best ever season in MotoGP to secure his place on the factory team in 2025.
Could Binder be a title contender?
Although he failed to win either race, Binder was the best non-Ducati rider in both races, putting enormous pressure on Bagnaia and Martin. The KTM is a great package, but the South African is clearly making a difference, as he has demonstrated since the time Miguel Oliveira was still at KTM. Tire grip continues to be the weak point of the Austrian RC16s, being the main area where KTM needs to improve to fight Ducati, but Binder showed in Qatar that it can do it, even with a bike that performs a little smaller than the Ducati. Binder should be seen as Ducati’s biggest threat to the title due to his immense speed but also consistency, something the factory Aprilia duo lack.
Pecco remains MotoGP’s ‘nº1’
Many drivers are expected to win races in 2024, while Binder, Martin and Marc Márquez are considered potential title contenders. But what Bagnaia did in the Grand Prix was remind everyone of his strengths, strengths that are apparently increasingly difficult to overcome. It’s true that the Italian has his weak point on Saturdays in the sprint, but his ability to do his best in Sunday’s race, which yields more points, has to be respected. Plus, he’s a smart pilot. Bagnaia knew that getting to the front was crucial in Sunday’s Grand Prix, not only to control the pace but also to give the front tire clean air. Thus, Bagnaia was more aggressive than his rivals and subsequently took the lead just a few corners into the race, despite starting fifth. With the other riders unsure how much to push, Bagnaia did just that at the start, before responding to Binder and Martin’s increased pace.
