After winning two consecutive titles with their official rider Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati once again emerges victorious from this 2024 MotoGP season. We could even say “very big winner”, since its Italian n°1 has piled up 11 successes in 20 races this season. But he didn't keep his crown…
For 10 small points – for three zero results in the “real” Grand Prix and three bubbles in Sprint, above all – the double Italian champion lost to Jorge Martin, author of 16 podiums on Saturday and as many on Sunday, with respectively 3 and 7 victories.
“The Spanish driver wins his first world title in the premier category of international competition“, congratulates the Bologna firm. Its big boss Claudio Domenicali himself recognizes the merits of the private Pramac team which ranks second in the teams' championship behind the official Ducati Lenovo team (read the declarations at the end of the article).
But the Bolognese remember above all the “absolute domination” of his Desmosedici GP and “his” drivers who complete an incredible Top 4 in the world ranking: Francesco Bagnaia indeed finished vice-world champion ahead of his future teammate Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing) and his compatriot and box neighbor Enea Bastianini.
MotoGP 2024: 19 victories in 20 races for Ducati
“The Italian manufacturer achieved the extraordinary feat of improving the historic record for victories in the season (19 out of a total of 20 races), establishing a new record for monopolized podiums (14) and in 6 of these Grands Prix, the Ducati's hegemony has extended to the entire Top 5“, congratulate those responsible for the transalpine brand.
The Moto-Nautes – who, as everyone knows, have a little more RAM than the others – will reclassify the domination of the Reds of Bologna in 2024 as quasi-absolutely” since Maverick Vinales managed to take his Aprilia RS-GP to the lead in the 2024 Grand Prix of the Americas, at the start of the season.
However, it is with the Reds of Noale that the new MotoGP champion has found refuge and will compete the next season as number 1, precisely! Or “unfairly” rather according to his supporters: “Martinator” was excluded from the official Ducati team to leave room for the six-time champion and fine negotiator Marc Marquez. Will the choice of Ducati be successful? Answer next year on MNC!
Ducati's 2024 MotoGP season remains extremely impressive, almost perfect from a sporting point of view. But “Nobody's perfect” skillfully signal the Italians, well inspired by their colleagues at Porsche (both brands belong to the VolksWagen group)… For the record or information, nine “956” monocoques finished in the Top 10 of the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Ducati 2024 MotoGP champion: declarations
Claudio Domenicali, PDG of Ducati: “The dominance expressed by Ducati with its motorcycles, riders and technicians in the 2024 MotoGP season will forever remain in the hearts of fans of this sport. I am very happy for Jorge, an incredibly talented rider who grew up with Ducati and who, with us, fulfilled the dream he had since childhood. After the crazy joy of 2022 and the “victory of conscience” of 2023, today we want to celebrate the triumph of a system: the “Ducati System”. A system inspired by the teachings of Galileo Galilei, the inventor of the scientific method and modern science. A system that has led us to be the best in track racing competitions, and that we also apply in the research, design and development of our products, proudly bringing Made in Italy engineering throughout the world. I would like to congratulate all the Ducati riders: of course, first and foremost, the World Champion Jorge Martin, but also Pecco, who never gave up until the end, and then Marc and Enea, who contributed to a season MotoGP record for our company. In particular, the first 4 of the general classification expressed a technical level and harmony with the Desmosedici GP to the limits of the imagination. In this context, Jorge and Pecco made the difference by engaging in an even more balanced duel for the title than last year. Pecco won more, but Jorge was more tenacious and he won the title. Jorge's world title win is a great demonstration that love stories can end on a high note and I'm hard-pressed to think of a better way to celebrate the work he's done over the last few years with Jorge and I'm having a hard time imagining a better way to celebrate the work accomplished in recent years with Jorge and with Pramac Racing, whom I would like to thank, and especially Paolo Campinoti. Thanks to everyone at Ducati and Ducati Corse who made it all possible. I am very proud to be a Ducatist“.
Luigi Dall'Igna, General Manager of Ducati Corse:
“Winning the third drivers' world title in a row is fantastic. This once again confirms the strength of the Ducati project, with the commitment and team spirit of all those, riders and teams, who have contributed to making it a winner with incredible continuity, as demonstrated by the figures of these years. In particular, another page of history is written today by Jorge Martín at the end of an incredible season, which is the essence of all the work accomplished together. A big tip of the hat to Pecco Bagnaia, because his year was also extraordinary and the challenge on the track improved both drivers: exactly what we believe in. Today's victory is also, or rather above all, the best way to say goodbye to Pramac Racing, a formidable group of professionals with whom we have worked in harmony for 20 years: to each of them a very strong hug, starting with our friend Paolo Campinoti. 2024 was a stratospheric year for Ducati, in which we broke the record for victories and the record for podiums, with the icing on the cake of having placed 8 Desmosedici GP in front of everyone in the Sprint Race in Thailand . I would like to thank all the women and men of Ducati Corse who work hard, with passion, every day to achieve great results like the one we are celebrating today. Forza Ducati!“
Jorge Martin, n°89 du Pramac Racing Team :
“The dream has come true, I am World Champion! It is very difficult now to realize that everything is true but I am fully aware of what we have achieved because since I was a child I have been pursuing this goal. This is the end result of all the work accomplished over the years but also of the sacrifices of my family, my parents, my brother and my entire team who supported me unconditionally. Last year I promised myself I would try again and here I am reaping the rewards of a lifetime dedicated to this wonderful sport. I would like to thank the Pramac and Ducati team for giving me the opportunity to arrive in MotoGP and grow together. And in particular, a big thank you to Paolo Campinoti and Gigi Dall'Igna for their trust since day one and for providing me with all the resources I needed to become World Champion. The work we have done together with Ducati Corse in recent years has been incredible: we have won the constructors' championship 4 times in a row and together we have achieved 8 victories, 32 podiums and 20 pole positions. The world title won together is really the best way to say goodbye“.
The 2024 MotoGP season: the key figures from Ducati
- 14 – 2024 MotoGP World Championship races in which the podium consisted entirely of Ducati riders – All-time MotoGP record
- 16 – Pole positions obtained by Ducati riders during the 2024 MotoGP season
- 19 – Victories achieved by Ducati riders in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship – All-time MotoGP record
- 53 – Podiums obtained by Ducati riders during the 2024 season with 6 different riders
- 66 – Consecutive MotoGP races in which at least one Ducati rider placed in the Top 3 (all Sprint races in the 2024 season also ended with at least one Ducati rider on the podium)
- 106 – MotoGP victories for Ducati, the only European motorcycle manufacturer to surpass the 100 victory mark.
