Dreaded prize of MotoGP 'underachiever of the year' is dished out

Nobody wants to be an underachiever.

But unfortunately, in MotoGP's 2024 season, one rider stood out from the pack after doing much less than we anticipated.

Once again, it was a season dominated by Ducati. Marc Marquez demonstrated what the GP23 was capable of but the others riders couldn't match him - a reflection of his genius.

That left our experts pondering who was MotoGP's underachiever of the year...

Lewis Duncan: Marco Bezzecchi was expected to be thorn in the side of the main championship protagonists again in 2024, having won three grands prix in 2023 on his way to third in the standings with VR46. 

But he came nowhere near that form in 2024.

Much of that was down to the GP23 not working well with his hard-braking riding style. But his team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio was on the same bike and was 12 points clear in the standings despite missing the final two rounds to have surgery.

Bezzecchi faces a big job now at Aprilia as a factory rider going up against reigning world champion Jorge Martin. 

Jordan Moreland: Marco Bezzecchi, after his performances in 2023 and finishing inside the top 3 of the World Championship. 

His 2024 was simply not good enough, he was 239 points off Marc Marquez's top GP23 total. 

Let's hope he can improve onboard the Aprilia for 2025.

Peter McLaren: Beaten by only Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin last season, with three GP wins, I don't think anyone predicted Marco Bezzecchi dropping to 12th in this year’s world championship and last of the Ducati riders. 

The Jerez podium was his main highlight. 

As Aprilia’s Massimo Rivola said after signing Bezzecchi for 2025: “My feeling is that the real Bez is the one of last year and not this year.”