Jorge Martin Wins MotoGP World Title 2024, First From Independent Team
Jorge Martin officially became the 2024 MotoGP world champion after completing the Catalunya Grand Prix race by finishing in third place. The 16 points from the race made Martin's total points this season reaching 508 points, 10 points ahead of Francesco Bagnaia who was runner-up with 498 points despite winning the race in Catalunya.
The race at the Barcelona Circuit took place at a fairly hot track temperature, which made the tire selection strategy very crucial. Francesco Bagnaia started the race with a combination of hard tires up front and soft behind, which gave the advantage of acceleration and grip on the fast track. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin chose a hard-hard combination, aiming to maintain stability and tire resistance until the end of the race in high temperature conditions.
Marc Marquez is also in the spotlight by finishing in second place, winning an additional 20 points and a total of 392 points which put him in third place in the final standings of MotoGP 2024, under Bagnaia. Marquez's performance at the Catalunya GP shows his competitiveness even though this season is full of challenges.
Martin's success in becoming world champion made a new history in MotoGP. He became the first racer of an independent structure team to win a world title in the modern MotoGP era, with Ducati Prima Pramac Racing.
This achievement not only shows Martin's consistency and performance advantages throughout the season, but also creates a new record. Martin is the only racer in MotoGP history to make more than 500 points in a season, with a total of 508 points. This extraordinary feat earned him the nickname "The Martinator".
"It's amazing, I don't know what to say. Thank you to these people for them. We hope to continue to develop, and that's what matters," Martin said here after the race.
The Catalunya GP race itself is full of drama and tight competition. Even though Bagnaia appeared impressive and won the race, the result was not enough to overtake Martin's points in the final standings of the season. Martin still confirmed his position as world champion with a margin of 10 points that Bagnaia did not catch up with.
Martin's victory is in the main spotlight, marking a new era in MotoGP competition, as well as being proof of the greatness of independent teams that are able to compete at the highest level.
Martin himself is the 18th world champion in the MotoGP era and is the fifth Spanish to win world racing champion. This is also Martin's last race in Ducati Pramac because next year he will race for the Aprilia team.