Frequently referred to as a GOAT even though his career is still very much active, Marc Marquez recently had a much-predicted return to full form in MotoGP. Aboard his year-old Gresini Ducati, Marquez complete August with a win at Aragon, and then started September with a surprise success on Sunday at Misano.
These races were vastly different. In Spain he set the pace on a counterclockwise circuit, and his success in both the Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s main race never seemed in doubt.
One week later, at the stomping ground of the strong Valentini Rossi-trained local contingent of aces, Marquez suffered a practice crash that eventually forced a third row start and severely damaged one of his primary bikes.
His Sunday race was looking like a typical Marquez 2024 performance, featuring an aggressive charge from mid-pack, when a light rain briefly fell and changed the complete complexion of the race. At the front, World Champ Pecco Bagnaia (works Ducati) and archrival Jorge martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) slowed, and third placed Franco Morbidelli (second Pramac entry) fell on a wet patch.
This caused Martin, the World Championship points leader, to opt for the pits, and a change of bike for wet tires to complete a 27 lap “flag-to-flag” race. His gamble turned out to be a fumble – more rain didn’t come, and the other racers on slicks briefly slowed, but pressed on.
Martin quickly returned to the pits and to change back to his original, slick shod machine, but the team wasn’t ready for him. Critics suggested that Martin should have paced leader Bagnaia and let the Champ take the chances, but it’s easy to second guess a pressure-filled moment. Martin wound up placing just in the points, one lap down in 15th.
With part of the track wet, Marquez (racing in his team’s “third uniform” throw back colors) and fellow famed opportunist Brad Binder (KTM) moved to the front, and soon Marquez was in control and second placed Bagnaia was using the eight time World Champ to establish the viable pace on a tricky surface.
Marquez won by just over three seconds, a sore Bagnaia slowing near the end, a legacy of a huge incident the week before in a controversial crash with the winner’s team-mate and brother, Alex.
Second works Ducati rider Bastianini netted third, with Binder out-dueling Bezzecchi for fourth. It was Binder’s second-best result of the year, and a tough day for his Gas Gas (same bike as KTM) team-mate Pedro Acosta, who ran well but eventually faded out of the points for 17th.
In the standings, Sprint winner Martin lost most of his hard-earned advantage, with just seven points between 2025’s Aprilia team leader and Bagnaia (312 to 305), as 31-year-old Marquez has pushed into title contention with 259 points, with Bastianini closing via a 250-point total.
There are seven races left in the 2024 Schedule, with one more event back at Misano (a make up for cancelled rounds to honor television contract requirements) before the series heads to the Pacific rim for five rounds, and then the traditional season finale on home ground in Valencia.
In recent years, MotoGP has been fortunate enough to have a grandstand finish when they completed their tour in Europe, and for 2024 last year’s Championship contenders Bagnaia and Martin could be joined by the resurgent Marquez – a promoter’s dream.
Following the race at Misano, the teams stayed in place for an official test, where several manufacturers evaluated innovative ideas and the series worked with a new Michelin front tire, possibly for use in 2025. Also attracting attention was experimental radio communication between race control and the competitors, a subject of some research in recent years.
Since Michelin became spec tire supplier in 2016, the consensus is that their rear tires have been better performers than the front. The plan is to update the front slick soon, since a recent new rear option suited Ducati (and their latest chassis) more than the other builders, especially the forlorn Japanese duo of Yamaha and Honda.
The Misano test featured big efforts from the Japanese, with Yamaha fielding a new spec engine (perhaps their fifth revision of 2024?) while Honda focused on another chassis update. A series of rules-specific concessions mean that the two Japanese builders have almost free reign to experiment during the season, while Ducati’s options for riders and development sessions are severely limited.
Meanwhile, the “hashtag culture” of modern media is driving a desire to be able to listen in to communications between the pit lane and the racers, F1 style. Currently, such communication is not approved, but it could be soon. Update on trackside conditions is likely to be the priority, such as slippery spot due to oil spills or rain.
Currently, riders can get information via text to their dashboard, with a certain set of restricted, pre-approved messages. The very loud volume (130 dBs) of a modern MotoGP machine means that the final steps, with racers talking back, will be a challenge.
Many insider think that this radio development will spoil the purity of man against the elements that is specific to racing on two-wheels, but cynics will point out that modern electronics, ride height devices and spec components have already confirmed that direction, at least for the short term before the new machines (changing from 1000cc to 850) come on line for 2027.
Fastest on Monday at Misano, a day after placing second, was Bagnaia, followed by Morbidelli, Bastianini and the recently resurgent star rookie, Acosta. Attracting the most attention was former World Champ Fabio Quartararo on the top works Monster Yamaha YZR-M1, with both a revised engine and new chassis.
Honda’s week in Spain was a disaster, with long-time sponsor Repsol (local gas station giant) confirming their withdrawal from title sponsorship, and then both works HRC riders Luca Marini and Joan Mir missing the race due to illness. Honda had all-new aero and more revised chassis issues and were around 1.3 seconds behind the 1:30.6 leading pace.
The next “Emilia Romagna round” is back at Misano, September 20-22, a date originally set for the Buddha track in India, first used last year.
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