2024 MotoGP champion Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin clinched the 2024 MotoGP World Championship after finishing third at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona. The title decider was initially slated to be held at Valencia, but was shifted to the new venue after the region experienced catastrophic flooding. With this, Martin becomes the first independent team racer to win the title in the modern 4-stroke MotoGP era. 

Francesco Bagnaia won both races of the weekend but lost the title by a slender 10-point margin.

  1. Martin defeats Bagnaia by 10 points

  2. Marc Marquez finishes third in the championship

  3. Aleix Espargaro, Takaaki Nakagami bid farewell to full-time racing

Martin defeats Bagnaia

Bagnaia and Martin were evenly matched for the entirety of the season but a few crucial DNFs have denied the Italian rider from clinching three back-to-back titles. 

In fact, the Ducati rider was at his dominant best at the final round, but all Martin needed to do was finish ninth or higher to take home the title. While Bagnaia stormed to victory ahead of Marc Marquez, Martin played it safe and finished third. 

Martin’s staggering consistency is what has earned him the 2024 MotoGP World Championship. He took a staggering 32 podiums out of the total 40 available this year and it is this feat that has helped him become the first independent MotoGP World Champion. For 2025, he will join the factory Aprilia MotoGP team alongside Marco Bezzecchi. 

Marc Marquez third overall

Having crossed the chequered flag in second place, Marc Marquez successfully defeated Enea Bastianini to bag third place in the standings. He’ll be racing alongside Bagnaia at the factory Ducati team next year.

Alex Marquez passed Aleix Espargaro for fourth place in the closing laps. KTM’s Brad Binder progressed from P18 on the grid to finish sixth, ahead of Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli. Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta rounded out the top 10.

Curtain call for MotoGP veterans

Takaaki Nakagami and Espargaro have called it quits as full-time MotoGP riders with the 2024 season finale. Both of them have been some of the longest-standing racers in the premier class, with Espargaro having competed with Suzuki as well as Aprilia. Both riders will now move to the struggling Honda project as development/test riders and lend their expertise there. 

2024 Solidarity GP of Barcelona results

2024 Barcelona GP results
PositionRiderTeam
1Francesco BagnaiaDucati
2Marc MarquezGresini Ducati
3Jorge MartinPramac Ducati
4Alex MarquezGresini Ducati
5Aleix EspargaroAprilia
6Brad Binder KTM
7Enea BastianiniDucati
8Franco MorbidelliPramac Ducati
9Marco BezzecchiVR46 Ducati
10Pedro AcostaGASGAS Tech3
11Fabio QuartararoYamaha
12Miguel OliveiraTrackhouse Aprilia
13Jack MillerKTM
14Johaan ZarcoLCR Honda
15Maverick VinalesAprilia
16Luca MariniRepsol Honda
17 Takaaki NakagamiLCR Honda
18Raul FernandezTrackhouse Aprilia
19Augusto FernandezGASGAS Tech3
20Michele PirroVR46 Ducati
21Alex RinsYamaha
22Stefan BradlHonda
23Joan MirRepsol Honda

Also see:

Pedro Acosta: We need to take risks to fight Ducati