Drivers rewarded during the season
>> Number of winners in the season:
The number of different winners has decreased this year. There were in fact ten to win in 2023, eight in the GP races and six in the sprint format, and there were only six in 2024, only one of which won only on Saturday.
The distribution of victories is clear, with a clear advantage in Pecco Bagnaia:
>> Number of drivers on the podium:
In total across both race formats, 12 drivers have been rewarded with a top 3 finish this season. There were 11 of them to achieve this on Saturday and nine to get on the Grand Prix podium. In addition to the outrageous domination of Ducati, we note that the Yamaha and Honda riders did not obtain any trophies or medals.
>> Laps completed in the lead:
Pecco Bagnaia has clearly established himself as the main leader of the Grands Prix in 2024. He has in fact completed 322 laps of the race in the lead, including 232 for the Sunday races. Jorge Martín was in the leading position for 169 laps on Sunday and 265 in total, also including the sprints.
The other drivers are very far behind the two men, with 60 laps in the lead for the third classified, Marc Márquez, including 47 in the GP. It is curious to note that Enea Bastianini completed 21 laps as leader but only three on Sunday, despite two victories. Maverick Viñales therefore accumulated more than him, 22 in total thanks to the eight which led him to victory at the GP of the Americas, the only laps he finished in the lead on Sunday.
>> Best times in the race:
The best time in the main races remains an official championship statistic. And it is again Bagnaia who appears at the top, with six best times in GP this season (Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Emilia-Romagna and Malaysia), compared to four for Marc Márquez (Aragón, San Marino, Australia and Barcelona), and three for Bastianini (Portugal, France and Indonesia).
Martín only got two (Germany and Japan), like Pedro Acosta (Qatar and Catalonia). The last ones went to the official Aprilia riders, one each for Maverick Viñales (Americas) and Aleix Espargaró (Great Britain).
The men of 2024 include seven polemen, 12 drivers on the podium or in the top 3 in sprints and six to have won races.
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
>> Number of polemen:
It is Martín who is the biggest pole-sitter this season, with seven achievements against six for Bagnaia. Let us remember, however, that in the aggregate of all positions on the grid as listed in the BMW M Award, it was the Italian who won.
In total of its 20 Grands Prix, the 2024 championship saw seven different polesitters, since Marc Márquez and Espargaró won two qualifying sessions each, while Bastianini, Acosta and Viñales also won a pole.
New speed records
>> Track records
Out of 19 circuits visited this season, 16 saw their absolute records broken. The gain was sometimes minimal, with less than two tenths snatched at Jerez and Motegi for example, but it was also major on other circuits. The prize goes to Sepang, where Pecco Bagnaia lowered the previous lap record by 1″154. In Austin, it was Maverick Viñales who exploded the counters by gaining 1″028 compared to the previous reference.
>> Average speed
In terms of average speed corresponding to these fastest laps, the record is now held by the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with 184.8 km/h set by Bagnaia during his pole position at the Thai GP. Phillip Island therefore moves into second place, still followed by Silverstone, Mugello and Assen, all of which have an average speed above 180 km/h. Note that Aragón, which made its return to the calendar this year, enters the top 10 with an average equal to that of Mandalika (172.7 km/h).
Never had a lap been completed with such a high average as during Bagnaia's pole at the Thai GP.
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
>> Top speed
On the other hand, there has only been a new V-max record on four tracks this season, and none of them can be attributed to Ducati although the brand remains largely in the majority in the references displayed throughout the calendar. Aprilia signed the new references of Portimão (352.9 km/h with Miguel Oliveira) and the Red Bull Ring (317.1 km/h with Lorenzo Savadori) and KTM those of the Sachsenring (306.8 km/h with Acosta) and Motegi (319.5 km/h still with the Spanish rookie).
Add to this that the top speed record was also equaled in Misano, Mandalika and Barcelona. The top 10 tracks on the calendar displaying the highest V-max do not change, with a reference of 366.1 km/h still held by Mugello in the context of the Grands Prix.
>> GP race times
The time used to complete the races is an element of comparison to which the championship, and particularly Michelin, is extremely attentive. And this is certainly the most impressive data for the entire season with 14 records broken, sometimes massively. Thus, the total time of the Phillip Island race, whose reference was nine years old, was lowered by 46″147 by Marc Márquez this year! We also observed a gain of 24″959 at Mugello during Pecco's victory Bagnaia, or several between 15 and 18 seconds (Mandalika, Assen, Silverstone, Misano).
>> Total sprint time
For the first year, it is also possible to compare the total time of sprint races between the 2023 season and the 2024 season. We note the same trend, with an improvement observed in 14 of the 15 races for which the two editions are comparable − some do not were not held in both years, or not with all the rounds completed.
The biggest gain is misleading, since it concerns the Silverstone sprint whose total time was improved by more than a minute due to much more favorable conditions this year. On the other hand, we can see a notable improvement of 11″347 in Losail (with Martín as winner), not far ahead of the 11″084 gained in Assen (Bagnaia), 10″932 in Mugello (Bagnaia) and 10″462 in Buriram (Bastianini).
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