Published: 12 Jun 2024
One Third of 2024 Done - Here are MotoGP's Biggest Winners So Far
After the Italian Grand Prix, the first third of the season is over. Here are the MotoGP’s biggest winners of 2024 so far.
Starting off with the most obvious one: Marc Marquez. If a rider is able to improve by a whopping 121 points within 12 months, there is no doubt who the biggest winner of the first third of the 2024 MotoGP season is.
Exactly one year ago, the eight-time world champion had just completed his horror five-crash German GP weekend at the Sachsenring and was still waiting for his first race finish of the season.
Now, following his switch from Honda to Gresini Racing, he is back in the thick of the world championship battle and is increasingly returning to the form fans love him for. There is no question that Marquez’s Gresini gamble has paid off big time.
Enea Bastianini - Huge improvement, yet no 2025 seat...for now
Having to vacate his place in the factory Ducati spot after two years in the team, Enea Bastianini is the biggest victim of Marc Marquez’s superb increase of form on the Gresini Ducati.
First severely injured for a long time in 2023 and then with problems adapting to the new Ducati GP23, ‘La Bestia’ saw a horror first year on the factory Ducati unfold.
The Italian, however, improving his points tally by +98 points compared to 2023, is back in the fight for victories and podiums this season.
Nevertheless, his increase in performance was not enough to keep his factory Ducati seat for 2025. Following verbal confirmation by his manager Carlo Pernat, Bastianini is set for a ride at GASGAS Tech3 on an official KTM RC-16 in 2025.
Improved Aprilia is lacking consistency...AGAIN
Big improvement all along for Aprilia in 2024. All four riders on the RS-GP improved their points tally compared to 2023 with Maverick Vinales’ +47 points standing out.
Finally clinching that first MotoGP race victory on the RS-GP, ‘Top Gun’ looked to be a close contender for the title early on.
Following his dominant, big-points-scoring weekend at the Grand Prix of the Americas, the Spaniard, however, has shown signs of fading performance as Aprilia continues its year-long search for consistency in the bike and its riders.
Third-year fun for two doubted youngsters?
Two riders who made their MotoGP debut together in 2022 that deserve a positive mention? Fabio Di Giannantonio and Raul Fernandez.
While the former was able to continue his positive development trend from late autumn last year, the latter finally made the long-awaited leap forward in 2024.
Despite riding last year’s bike (with some 2024 upgrades), Fernandez even scored one point more than his Trackhouse colleague Miguel Oliveira, who is equipped with the latest material by Aprilia.
As MotoGP’s search for US market presence continues the Spaniard is said to be under pressure by American Moto2 title contender Joe Roberts.
