MotoGP returned to Italy's Misano circuit for the Grand Prix d'Emilia-Romagna, the official name given to the race also known as "Misano 2". Announced as a replacement for the Indian Grand Prix after its cancellation, the race lived up to all its promises...
MotoGP: Bastianini saves 5 points for Bagnaia
Starting very strongly, the Ducati 2024s already seemed on another world, in a Grand Prix where Brad Binder was the first to crash, before Acosta, 4ᵉ at the time of the fall, joined him.
Jorge Martín experienced contrasting emotions at Misano. Long in the lead, he saw victory slip away after an aggressive maneuver by Enea Bastianini on the final lap. It took him a long time to come to terms with this practice, as evidenced by his angry gesture at the finish line, which foreshadowed some tension, before waving goodbye to his rival of the day. An opponent not necessarily expected, or rather less so than another...
Winner of the sprint the day before, Bagnaia was also at fault, braking with six laps to go. He was in 3rd place. As the years go by, so does the reigning world champion, who has retired from all three races here (2020, 2021, 2024). A mistake he blames on Michelin, supplier to the MotoGP class: "My feeling with the rear tire was identical to the one I had last year in Barcelona, when I crashed at the second corner. The rubber wasn't working..." A failure that Michelin refutes, out of hand: "Every time there's a bad tire, it would be for Pecco?"
Collision with Martin, "Bestia" penalized?
Bastianini, threatening, waited until the last lap to minimize his team-mate's costs, in a rough and tumble manner that's open to debate. Davide Tardozi, surprisingly, didn't mind, but not everyone did. Gino Borsoi, Pramac's sporting director, preferred to use irony: "It's nice to know you can overtake in this way."
What's done is done, and the "Beast of Remini" scored a big win on home soil, his 7th in the category, and on the wire... a scenario to which he has already become accustomed. As far as J. Martin is concerned, it's all good news, or almost, for although he has increased his lead in the championship to 29 points, he'll gladly settle for the 24-point gap with Bagnaia before the Indonesian round.
Jorge Martin, overall leader and second at Misano 2
I didn't say I wasn't happy, I am. I think I had a great weekend. I wanted to win, obviously, but I'm okay. I'm happy with my performance and my qualifying. The aim for the end of the season is to keep working and learning, and that's how I'm happy. If I just look at the final result, obviously it could have been better today, but we have to move on.
Emilia-Romagna 2024 MotoGP sprint race results :
Bagnaia the day before and Bastianini in the GP paid a fitting tribute to Luca Salvadori,
italian IRRC rider who died tragically during the race.
Emilia-Romagna Motorcycle Grand Prix 2024 race results :
Ducati and the 100 mark
Enea Bastianini gave Ducati its hundredth MotoGP victory. This milestone had previously only been achieved by Honda (157) and Yamaha (125) in the modern era of motorcycle Grand Prix racing. The Italian manufacturer was quick to salute all those who had contributed to the achievement, including Petrucci, the weekend's WSBK winner.
100 wins.
Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) September 22, 2024
One unforgettable journey.
A huge thank you to our incredible riders, the @ducaticorse team, everyone behind the scenes, and our amazing fans who believed in us. This achievement is yours.#100DucatiWINS pic.twitter.com/RUbuBbSVRc
Cremona in WSBK, Misano in MotoGP, each to their own terrain this weekend, but the results were intimately linked. Álvaro Bautista also scored his 100ᵉ podium under Ducati. More broadly speaking, the Bologna factory has won 13 of the 14 rounds contested since the start of the MotoGP season, losing only in Austin (GP of the Americas) to the domination of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia).
Manufacturers' standings MotoGP 2024 (provisional) :
1. Ducati 500 points;
2. KTM 239 p. ;
3. Aprilia 234 p. ;
4.Yamaha 84 p. ;
5. Honda 42 p.
MotoGP 2024 rider standings after Emilia Romagna GP (09/22/2024)
Martin establishes a significant differential with Bagnaia after starting the weekend in the best possible way.
Marc Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) dropped back to 4th place behind Bastianini, the new 3rd. But the six-time MotoGP world champion remains on the lookout on his Desmosedici GP23. In fact, Carlo Merlini, Gresini Racing's Marketing Director, is not shy about his ambitions: "When you win two races in a row, it's easy to start dreaming. But we have to take it one race at a time."
Quartararo, Zarco: the best for our Frenchmen, to be repeated...
Close to his best performance of the season, El Diablo experienced something rather unusual: he ran out of fuel at the finish, dropping two places. 7th in the end, Quartararo's second consecutive top 10, "the pace was good", confirms the Frenchman. It remains to be seen whether the level will be the same in Indonesia, or whether Misano was more favourable to the Yamaha.
Johann Zarco (LCR Honda, 15th in the GP) also prefers to see the glass as half full:"It was cool and I had a lot of fun. After that, I made a few mistakes and lost some time, but I couldn't do any better than that. The good times in the last few races are another sign that we're on the right track."
MotoGP 2024 race calendar:
MotoGP and Formula1 worked together to avoid any overlap between the categories, and maximize their chances of good ratings; each Sunday race had been brought forward by an hour. As a result, the MotoGP Grand Prix d'Emilia-Romagna started at 1pm.
1 Qatar Grand Prix (Losail circuit), March 10. Winner: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
2 Portuguese Grand Prix (Circuit Internacional do Algarve), March 24. Winner: Jorge Martín (Ducati).Argentine Grand Prix (Termas de Río Hondo), April 7. 3Grand Prix of the Americas (Circuit des Amériques), April 14. Winner: Maverick Viñales (Aprilia)
4 Spanish Grand Prix (Jerez circuit), April 28. Winner: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
5 French Grand Prix (Bugatti circuit in Le Mans), May 12. Winner: Jorge Martin (Ducati)
6 Catalan Grand Prix (Barcelona-Catalunya circuit), May 26. Winner: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
7 Italian Grand Prix (Mugello circuit), June 2. Winner: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)Kazakhstan Grand Prix (Sokol International Racetrack), June 16. REPORT
8 Dutch Grand Prix (TT circuit Assen), June 30 Winner: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
9 German Grand Prix (Sachsenring circuit), July 7. Winner: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
10 British Grand Prix (Silverstone circuit), August 4 Winner: Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
11 Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg circuit), August 18: Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
12 Grand Prix of Aragón (Motorland Aragon circuit), September 1. Winner: Marc Marquez (Gresini)
13 San Marino Grand Prix (Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli), September 8 Winner: Marc Marquez (Gresini)Indian Grand Prix (Buddh International Circuit), September 22. CANCELLEDKazakhstan Grand Prix (Sokol International Racetrack), September 22 CANCELLED
14 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix (Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli), September 22 Winner: Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
15 Indonesian Grand Prix (Mandalika International Street circuit), September 29.
16 Japanese Grand Prix (Twin Ring Motegi circuit), October 6.
17 Australian Grand Prix (Phillip Island Circuit), October 20.
18 Thai Grand Prix (Chang International circuit), October 27.
19 Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang International circuit), November 3.
20 Valencia Grand Prix (Ricardo Tormo circuit), November 17.
Cancelled this year, the Hungarian GP will be held next year (August 22-24), one month after the WorldSBK, which will also discover the circuit.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, following the confirmation of the Hungarian GP 2025
We are delighted to announce that Balaton Park will be part of the 2025 MotoGP and WorldSBK calendar. The circuit is set in a spectacular location and will be a fantastic destination for fans to come and watch the world's most exciting sport in action. Work is underway to get the venue ready for its historic debut on the calendar, adding a new chapter to Hungary's motorcycle Grand Prix history. We look forward to returning to a key Central European market.
MotoGP 2025: the grid is complete!
Miguel Oliveira, released by Trackhouse Racing, has signed a two-year contract with Yamaha to join Pramac in 2025 and 2026. Jack Miller, left out of KTM's plans, will team up with the Portuguese rider.
For 2025, Yamaha may be preparing more than others in the hope of catching up with the leaders... to the point of forgetting the petrol in the Frenchman's tank. All joking aside, Quartararo is set to welcome a new team-mate next year in the person ofAndrea Dovizioso, as a test rider. He would share the position with Augusto Fernandez.
Photo credits: MotoGP
