The Barcelona Solidarity GP will mark numerous farewells and changes in MotoGP, as is typically the case, however, 2024 will see some of the most significant movements compared to previous years.
First, we must mention Jorge Martín’s move – who is currently fighting for the World Championship with a lead over Pecco Bagnaia – to Aprilia Racing, with the possibility of becoming champion with Ducati even before switching to the other Italian manufacturer.
The 26-year-old Spaniard holds a 24-point advantage over Bagnaia with 37 points still up for grabs, but in a year that the current two-time MotoGP champion dubbed the ‘World Championship of Errors’, anything could happen and the outcome remains uncertain.
Another highly anticipated change generating great expectations is Marc Márquez’s move to the factory Ducati team. After bidding farewell to Honda in 2023, he joined Gresini Racing with considerable success, making a strong impact on the championship and showing remarkable adaptation to the Desmosedici. This is evidenced by his third place in the standings with the 2023 bike, one point ahead of Enea Bastianini on the 2024 bike, whose place he will “take” from the Italian.
And it’s precisely Bastianini who awaits one of next year’s most impactful changes, as the #23 heads to GASGAS Tech3, where he’ll partner with Maverick Viñales, who surprisingly leaves Aprilia Racing to ride with KTM, making it his fourth manufacturer in MotoGP after Suzuki (2015 and 2016), Yamaha (2017 to mid-2021), and Aprilia (mid-2021 to end of 2024). Notably, Viñales has won races with all manufacturers, raising the question: will KTM be next?
The most significant changes are expected between KTM and Aprilia when looking at both factory and satellite teams of each brand.
KTM retains Brad Binder while Pedro Acosta (GASGAS Tech3) takes Jack Miller’s place, and Hervé Poncharal’s team will feature two heavyweight riders: Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), both coming from factory teams.
Aprilia Racing, in turn, has a completely revitalized team with the arrival of Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing), who might join as the category’s World Champion, alongside Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team), fulfilling Noale management’s dream of having an Italian rider. Meanwhile, Trackhouse Racing keeps Raúl Fernández and recently crowned Moto2 World Champion Ai Ogura, bidding farewell to Miguel Oliveira.
Gresini Racing loses Marc Márquez but welcomes Fermín Aldeguer (Moto2), one of the first confirmed riders for 2025. The 19-year-old had an up-and-down season but was already subject to rumors for the 2024 grid, a move confirmed early in the current season.
Álex Márquez remains with the team, having renewed for two more years with the Italian satellite structure and maintaining consistent top-ten appearances.
Another Ducati satellite, VR46 Racing Team, will also see changes: Fabio Di Giannantonio will be the team’s star and the only rider on the grid besides factory riders to have the latest Desmosedici version, showing the Italian structure’s confidence in his talent. Joining #49 will be Franco Morbidelli (Pramac Racing), who will have his second year with Ducati, hopefully without issues this time, as Morbidelli started the season with an injury that delayed his adaptation to the Desmosedici, though he’s gradually proving to be clever and very fast.
Valentino Rossi’s structure thus loses another rider after losing Luca Marini to Honda in 2023, and now Marco Bezzecchi to Aprilia.