MotoGP™: Your 2024 rider line-up
23 February 2024With 2024 pre-season testing completed, the Qatar GP season-opener is nearly upon us. It comes as no surprise Ducati are the favourites once again, but by no means have the rest of the field grown complacent since the 2023 season finale at Valencia.
With seven out of a possible 10 teams changing their rider line-up this season, there is a very real possibility that refreshed rider/team combination could emerge with competitive packages. Reigning teams’ champions Pramac Racing, Gresini Racing, VR46, Tech3, LCR as well as the factory Honda and Yamaha outfits all have revitalised rosters for 2024. Joining the established teams of the paddock is Trackhouse Racing who replace RNF.
Few would bet against Francesco Bagnaia being a contender for a third riders’ championship in succession, but 21 hungry MotoGP riders stand between him and that coveted crown.
READ MORE: What we learned from 2024 MotoGP pre-season testing
Pramac Racing
#21 Franco Morbidelli & Jorge Martín
Reigning teams’ champions Pramac has a lot to live up to in 2024. Having joined the sport in 2002, the team finally took its first title and in so doing, became the first independent squad to clinch the championship. It’s a bold move then, to tweak a line-up after such a successful season, but Pramac has done just that with Johann Zarco departing for LCR and Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli filling his spot.
Ducati Team
#1 Francesco Bagnaia & #23 Enea Bastianini
The factory Ducati team may have been beaten to the teams’ title but they won’t be too dissatisfied having secured both the constructors’ and riders’ championships. Nevertheless, the team will be hoping for fewer season-disrupting injuries for Enea Bastianini to help regain that teams’ title. Pecco Bagnaia, meanwhile, will be targeting a third straight riders’ championship.
VR46 Racing Team
#49 Fabio Giannantonio & #72 Marco Bezzechi
Improving immeasurably from its first season in MotoGP, VR46 vaulted up the teams’ standings from eight in 2022 to third last season. With Marco Bezzechi garnering three victories and being touted as a title contender early in the season, it’s no surprise he’s been retained by the Valentino Rossi-owned outfit. Fabio Giannantonio joins having been released from Pramac late in 2023.
KTM Factory Racing
#33 Brad Binder & #43 Jack Miller
As one of few teams with an unchanged line-up, KTM could be an outfit to keep an eye on in 2024. Consistency is key after all. Despite enduring its first winless campaign since 2019, the Austrian team still secured its best-ever result of second in the manufacturers’ table. Undoubtedly the Australasia duo of Jack Miller and Brad Binder will be targeting a return to the top step.
Aprilia Racing
#12 Maverick Viñales & #41 Aleix Espargaró
With two wins to its name in 2023 – including one at Silverstone after a thrilling last-lap duel – the Aprilia squad should, in theory, be content with its season. However, the team actually dropped from third in 2022 to fifth in the teams’ championship last year so the Italian outfit will be looking to regain that lost ground in the standings and challenge for more wins.
Gresini Racing
#73 Alex Marquez & #93 Marc Marquez
Perhaps one of the most exciting line-ups in 2024 comprises the Marquez brothers together in the same team for the first time. Six-time MotoGP champion Marc joins Alex at Gresini which has fans and pundits alike salivating at the prospect of a head-to-head. The younger of the brothers is fully established at the team and enjoyed his best season to date in 2023, whereas Marc is hoping the all-conquering Ducati machinery will result in a return to former glory.
Yamaha MotoGP
#20 Fabio Quartararo & #42 Álex Rins
The only way is up for one of the sport’s most iconic teams. Yamaha would record its worst result in the teams’ championship in 2023 and its first winless season for the marque since 2003. As the outfit’s most recent champion back in 2021, Fabio Quartararo is persevering with the Japanese manufacturer for another season and will be joined by six-time race winner Álex Rins after one turbulent season with Honda.
Honda Team
#10 Luca Marini & #36 Joan Mir
Marc Marquez departing Honda was the story of the season in 2023, and for good reason. Finishing last in the constructors’ standings makes for grim reading when you’re the most successful constructor in the history of the sport. 2020 champion Joan Mir is joined by Luca Marini who left VR46 for a lucrative factory ride. Mir was out of action for much of last season and will be hoping for an improvement over 22nd in the championship.
LCR
#5 Johan Zarco and #30 Takaaki Nakagami
Rins became the only non-Ducati or Aprilia race winner of 2023 in Austin, but the rest of the campaign was a challenging one for the team. LCR mainstay Takaaki Nakagami remains with the team for a seventh straight season in 2024 and will be joined by former Pramac rider Johann Zarco.
GasGas Factory Racing Tech3
#31 Pedro Acosta & #37 Augusto Fernandez
The GasGas line-up may be the least experienced on the 2024 grid, but it has the potential to be one of the most exciting. Pedro Acosta joins as the only rookie in the MotoGP paddock but with a pedigree few can argue with. Acosta has won both Moto3 and Moto2 championships in the past two seasons, competing as a rookie on each occasion. He is joined by Augusto Fernandez of Spain who will take part in his second season.
Trackhouse Racing MotoGP
#25 Raul Fernandez & #88 Miguel Oliveira
Trackhouse is the latest team to join the MotoGP paddock and replaces the outgoing RNF squad. A new team doesn’t always mean new riders though, as Trackhouse retains RNF’s line-up and will compete as Aprilia’s official satellite outfit.
