Jorge Martin wins 2024 MotoGP championship

Jorge Martin has won the 2024 MotoGP World Championship after finishing third in the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona with Francesco Bagnaia victorious in the race.

The Spaniard becomes the first independent team world champion in the modern era with Pramac, having won seven sprints and three grands prix in a consistent 2024 campaign.

It is Martin’s first world championship at the premier class level and comes in his final race for both Ducati and Pramac, ahead of a factory Aprilia switch in 2025.

Martin came into Sunday’s 24-lap grand prix at Barcelona 19 points in front of double world champion Bagnaia, after the latter won the sprint to cut down the Pramac rider’s 24-point advantage.

Starting from pole, Bagnaia led every lap of the grand prix and scored an 11th Sunday win of the season.

But with Martin holding down third for the whole race, it was enough to give the Spaniard the championship by 10 points.

Bagnaia grabbed the holeshot from pole off the line on his factory Ducati, with Martin slotting into second ahead of Gresini’s Marc Marquez.

Marquez passed Martin at Turn 1 on the second lap and set about chasing down Bagnaia.

Bagnaia and Marquez quickly pulled out a small gap to Martin, who had Bagnaia’s team-mate Enea Bastianini behind him.

But Martin was dealt a helping hand from his friend Aleix Espargaro, who engaged in a tight battle with Bastianini across laps three to five - with the retiring Aprilia rider coming out on top.

At the front, Bagnaia couldn’t shake Marquez, though the Gresini rider couldn’t find a way to get close enough to attempt an overtake.

By the start of lap 15, Bagnaia’s lead was over half a second and it grew to over a second as he reached the chequered flag on the 24th tour.

Martin’s race was lonely after Espargaro gave him breathing space in his battle with Bastianini, with the Pramac rider completing the podium to win the championship.

Alex Marquez on the sister Gresini Ducati beat Espargaro in a tense late battle for fourth, with the Aprilia rider ending his MotoGP career with a fifth on home soil.

Brad Binder came from 18th to sixth on the factory KTM, which wins him fifth in the championship after Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta slumped to 10th.

Bastianini was seventh, which means Marc Marquez finishes third in the championship.

Franco Morbidelli was eighth for Pramac ahead of Marco Bezzecchi in his last race for VR46.

Miguel Oliveira ended his last grand prix with Trackhouse 12th behind Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, while Jack Miller’s final KTM outing saw him finish 11th.

Johann Zarco was top Honda in 14th as Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) took the final point as he departs for KTM in 2025.

Takaaki Nakagami was 17th in his last MotoGP race, while Honda’s Joan Mir crashed out.