The talk about to what extent the MotoGP riders who began the 2024 season with the most recent Ducati specification had a bonus remains to be alive, though considerably lower than just a few months in the past when the Borgo Panigale model needed to resolve who would associate Francesco Bagnaia in 2025 as second manufacturing unit rider.
Enea Bastianini’s poor begin to the yr left Jorge Martin and Marquez as the principle candidates to take his place, and in the long run, it was the latter who received the battle. In line with Ducati, probably the most necessary causes for selecting the Catalan, who at the moment in Mugello had not but received a race, was the efficiency he was capable of show with a 2023 bike which, on paper, is inferior in efficiency to this yr’s prototype.
“The Ducati engineers noticed my development with the 2023 bike; that outweighed the remainder,” mentioned Marquez, simply after being confirmed as a manufacturing unit rider for subsequent yr. “In line with Gigi [Dall’Igna, Ducati’s general manager], the ingredient that tipped the steadiness was what I noticed on the observe; my development and talent to enhance.”
Though Dall’Igna himself has acknowledged that the GP24 can certainly be thought of a greater bike than its predecessor, there are nonetheless those that dare to query or relativise it.
“We’ve undoubtedly improved the GP24 in these elements the place the GP23 was a bit weaker,” agreed Dall’Igna in August through the British Grand Prix, the place Ducati launched the final package deal of updates earlier than stopping its growth to let Bagnaia and Martin play for the title with the bikes they already know. “I’ve to say that the manufacturing unit guys have completed a very good job,” added Dall’Igna.
An in depth take a look at the hint left up to now by the 2 fashions, and a comparability with what occurred in final yr’s championship, not solely helps Dall’Igna’s feedback, however virtually settles the talk. Particularly due to the 4 riders competing on a GP23, solely Marquez has been capable of face up to the push from these on the GP24, particularly within the second half of the season.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing Workforce
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs
The comparability between the statistics produced by the GP22 in 2023, and people left by the GP23 in 2024, confirms that the leap in high quality of the 2024 bike over the 2023 is far higher than the one between the 2022 prototype and the 2023 one.
Final yr, among the many 4 riders who competed within the championship with the ‘previous’ Ducati (GP22), they scored a complete of 4 wins (three Bezzecchi and one Di Giannantonio), 13 podiums, three pole positions (two Marini and one Alex Marquez) and 15 entrance row begins.
These 4 victories account for 23.6% of the full of 17 wins for the Bolognese producer. That proportion rises to 30.2% in podiums (13 of Ducati’s 43 whole podiums). It is usually price noting that, as well as, all 4 riders had been capable of climb onto the rostrum on a Sunday, and all of them began a minimum of as soon as from the entrance row.
However, these percentages drop in 2024 with those that are at present using the previous model (GP23). And of these, solely Marquez retains that Desmosedici shut. Final yr’s specification has solely received twice (Aragon and Misano) – at all times within the fingers of the #93 rider – and that ends in 13.3% of Ducati’s whole variety of victories (15).
As for the variety of podiums, of the Italian producer’s 48 whole up to now, solely 10 (20.8%) belong to GP23s, eight of them by Marquez.
