The 2024 Japanese Grand Prix was hardly a classic show of all that makes MotoGP nice.
However a “tremendous boring race”, on the finish of a weekend that featured yet one more swing within the title struggle, a minimum of gave Simon Patterson loads of time to mull over your entire area’s performances at Motegi and rank them from finest to worst.
1 Pecco Bagnaia
Began: 2nd Dash: 1st Completed: 1st
A reasonably textbook weekend of domination from Pecco Bagnaia – the fourth of the season the place he walked away with the utmost 37 factors on supply.
When he’s doing what he’s good at, it tends to make MotoGP look slightly bit boring, however that shouldn’t take something away from his metronomic efficiency and excellent title administration abilities. A couple of extra weekends like Motegi and Jorge Martin’s title lead will quickly be in peril.
2 Marc Marquez
Began: ninth Dash: third Completed: third
Clearly, guidelines are guidelines – but when it wasn’t for each a techniques failure in race management that broken his qualifying and a motorcycle downgrade that’s going to hamper the remainder of the season, then Marc Marquez would have been nearer to the sharp finish.
Even because it was, although, he did an honest job holding the higher GP24s in examine. Clearly, Motegi is one in all his favoured circuits, however don’t count on his potential to alter an excessive amount of for the rest of the season.
3 Jorge Martin
Began: eleventh Dash: 4th Completed: 2nd
Not an distinctive weekend for the championship chief, however a really strong one.
He was clearly at slightly little bit of a drawback in opposition to Bagnaia right here, a reversal of fortunes from every week beforehand in Indonesia, and messing up badly in qualifying didn’t assist in any respect. However the finish end result was the naked minimal of injury to his championship lead, a powerful feat given each the tough circumstances and the best way Bagnaia dominated the weekend.
4 Enea Bastianini
Began: 4th Dash: 2nd Completed: 4th
A strong weekend for Enea Bastianini, even when it was one which very a lot cemented his place because the third of Ducati’s GP24 riders and now battling Marc Marquez for third within the championship, not Bagnaia and Martin for the large prize.
He’s nonetheless distinctive later within the race, however this was a weekend the place he left it too late to work his magic, particularly in Saturday’s dash.
5 Fabio Di Giannantonio
Began: seventh Dash: sixth Completed: eighth
Fabio di Giannantonio was bodily restricted by his ongoing accidents and feeling the ache much more than earlier than at Motegi because of the impression of all of the Japanese circuit’s laborious braking zones, so it was by no means going to be a simple weekend.
Nevertheless, he was in a position to very a lot restrict the injury to his season with a pair of completely respectable outcomes that stored him proper alongside VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, his primary marker at this stage of the yr.
6 Franco Morbidelli
Began: sixth Dash: fifth Completed: fifth
On one hand, there’s nothing in any respect to moan about with Franco Morbidelli’s brace of top-five finishes on Saturday and Sunday. But it nonetheless seems like there must be slightly bit extra coming from the Italian, provided that Ducati’s three different GP24 machines are on the rostrum extra usually than off it.
Sluggish begins to each the weekend and the races gave an excessive amount of away and in the end he was left excited about one other weekend of missed podium potential.
7 Marco Bezzecchi
Began: eighth Dash: tenth Completed: seventh
Given what we now find out about Bezzecchi’s lately downgraded GP23, it is sensible that this weekend was as soon as once more slightly off the tempo in comparison with the place we’ve seen him in current rounds.
Sadly, it doesn’t appear to be the scenario goes to alter for him this facet of his transfer to Aprilia for 2025, so it’s going to be a case of managing expectations for the rest of the present marketing campaign.
8 Brad Binder
Began: fifth Dash: DNF Completed: sixth
Motegi was a circuit that promised a little bit of hope for Brad Binder provided that its laborious braking performs to the strengths of the KTM proper now, however regardless of seeing flashes of that potential early within the weekend, it by no means fairly performed out.
Although he was in a position to salvage a prime six come Sunday, he hoped to problem the Ducatis slightly extra – particularly as fellow KTM rider Pedro Acosta demonstrated that there was extra on supply.
9 Fabio Quartararo
Began: twelfth Dash: twelfth Completed: twelfth
It was by no means going to be a very straightforward weekend for Fabio Quartararo at Motegi given the place the Yamaha riders battle proper now with the M1, and that was mirrored in his common outcomes.
Nevertheless, issues ought to have been slightly higher than they have been, and Yamaha actually must get a grasp on fuelling points that when once more price him a place on the closing nook when he ran out of gasoline simply metres earlier than the chequered flag.
10 Johann Zarco
Began: sixteenth Dash: 14th Completed: eleventh
This was an honest weekend for Johann Zarco on the LCR Honda; possibly inferior to his final one in Mandalika however, all issues thought of, definitely a greater one than he had anticipated on the Japanese manufacturing unit’s house circuit given the bike’s deficiencies. And it bodes properly for his return to Phillip Island subsequent after his first and to this point solely MotoGP victory on the Australian circuit 12 months in the past, too.
The one factor that marks him down a bit is the contact with team-mate Taka Nakagami that took the Japanese racer out of his house race on Saturday.
11 Jack Miller
Began: 14th Dash: eighth Completed: tenth
Lastly a half respectable weekend for Jack Miller, made all of the sweeter by doing it as KTM’s kind continues to be beneath the usual it wants it to be.
Whereas undoubtedly aided by Motegi being the hardest-braking circuit of the season taking part in to the strengths of his using fashion, that shouldn’t detract from some confidence-inspiring outcomes forward of his house race at Phillip Island subsequent day trip.
12 Aleix Espargaro
Began: fifteenth Dash: DNF Completed: ninth
Frankly, this weekend actually simply wasn’t adequate from Aleix Espargaro. Each he and the Aprilia bike are higher than a solitary ninth place.
That wasn’t solely his fault on Sunday as he battled working out of gasoline and spent a lot of the tip of the race in economic system mode, however that doesn’t clarify his disappointing qualifying or the end that he threw away on Saturday afternoon within the dash.
13 Taka Nakagami
Began: twenty first Dash: DNF Completed: thirteenth
An enormous weekend for Nakagami at what, as issues stand proper now, was his closing house race (a minimum of as a everlasting MotoGP rider). It acquired off to an ideal begin, although, and he was unfortunate to overlook out on direct Q2 qualification by only some hundredths of a second.
Sadly, a very good end result wasn’t to be on Saturday when team-mate Zarco wiped him out – however credit score to the Japanese racer for each managing the danger and pushing on sufficient on Sunday to bag an honest points-scoring end.
14 Pedro Acosta
Began: 1st Dash: DNF Completed: DNF
A lot undelivered potential for Acosta, who ought to on the very least have walked away from Motegi with two podiums and a cushty lead over Binder within the inner KTM battle.
Nevertheless, he’s nonetheless a rookie and rookie errors will nonetheless occur – one thing he proved by chucking it away not as soon as however twice. He nonetheless demonstrated his tempo, and the previous adage about the way it’s simpler to make a quick rider cease crashing than to make a sluggish rider quick very a lot continues to use on this case.
15 Luca Marini
Began: twentieth Dash: thirteenth Completed: 14th
One other reasonably strong weekend for Honda’s quiet man. Luca Marini nonetheless isn’t difficult the sharp finish however, after a sluggish begin to the yr, he’s develop into a way more common factors scorer of late.
Motegi was by no means going to be a spherical that performed to the strengths of the Honda the best way that it did up to now, so holding that kind alive is spectacular sufficient all issues thought of.
16 Maverick Vinales
Began: third Dash: ninth Completed: DNF
Maverick Vinales is one other rider who actually ought to have gotten extra from the weekend. However whereas issues didn’t go brilliantly for any of the Aprilias, it’s his crash out of Sunday’s race that actually added a full cease to a weekend that peaked in qualifying and went downhill from there on.
It’s abundantly clear that he nonetheless hasn’t fully sorted his race-start points, and it’s a large blot on his copy guide that he retains managing to get it so unsuitable that he leads to conditions the place crashes develop into more likely.
17 Remy Gardner
Began: twenty second Dash: 18th Completed: seventeenth
A reasonably respectable weekend for Yamaha’s stand-in check rider, all issues thought of.
Remy Gardner has repeatedly been thrown in on the deep finish this yr on a motorcycle and tyres very totally different from the World Superbike machine he’s additionally attempting to compete on this yr, and the gap to Alex Rins ought to reassure Yamaha that he’s been the fitting option to deputise for the injured Cal Crutchlow.
18 Lorenzo Savadori
Began: twenty second Dash: seventeenth Completed: DNF
Actually, there’s not an excessive amount of we are able to say about Lorenzo Savadori’s weekend changing Miguel Oliveira.
He got here, he examined, and he didn’t end Sunday’s race – however that was attributable to yet one more technical downside for the Trackhouse machine reasonably than any error of his personal. Count on him to be slightly nearer to the sharp finish if his providers are wanted at Phillip Island.
19 Joan Mir
Began: seventeenth Dash: DNF Completed: DNF
It’s not the simplest weekend to evaluate for Joan Mir, contemplating he failed to achieve both chequered flag however that he was additionally fast when he was on monitor.
Pushed out broad early on within the dash and compelled to work extra time to catch up (earlier than in the end crashing), his tempo when he was doing so was adequate for the highest eight. Nevertheless, a second likelihood to indicate his potential was ended early on in Sunday’s race by an errant Alex Marquez with a transfer that understandably left 2020 world champion Mir fuming.
20 Raul Fernandez
Began: thirteenth Dash: eleventh Completed: fifteenth
There’s some extent the place you’ve actually acquired to ask the place it’s all going unsuitable for Raul Fernandez. He’s clearly proficient, and the Aprilia is an effective bike (even when it wasn’t significantly so at Motegi), however it looks as if at any time when the remainder of the producer’s crew have a little bit of a foul weekend, Fernandez falls off a cliff.
Until he begins to make even slightly little bit of progress (one thing that was promised earlier within the season), Aprilia is definitely going to begin worrying if his new two-year deal was actually the fitting alternative.
21 Augusto Fernandez
Began: 18th Dash: fifteenth Completed: DNF
One in all these weekends, Augusto Fernandez will get an opportunity to indicate his MotoGP potential – however as soon as once more Motegi wasn’t it.
It lastly seems like he’s making progress on the bike as he works with new crew chief Alberto Giribuola, however for no matter cause he can’t appear to string all of it collectively on the subject of races.
22 Alex Rins
Began: nineteenth Dash: sixteenth Completed: sixteenth
It’s little marvel actually that Rins was left bitterly disillusioned on Sunday night, as a result of his Motegi weekend was a fairly poor displaying.
Clearly struggling to get essentially the most out of the Yamaha, his largest downside proper now’s that team-mate Quartararo is doing a decidedly higher job. Certain, a few of that’s completely due to Quartararo’s expertise with the M1 – however Rins is approaching the purpose now the place that excuse is getting much less convincing, particularly right here the place he had Gardner additionally biting at his heels.
23 Alex Marquez
Began: tenth Dash: seventh Completed: DNF
It’s one factor being the worst-performing Ducati out of its eight, so long as you’re nonetheless securing respectable outcomes from time to time on it, one thing that Alex Marquez is greater than able to.
However whenever you’re as a substitute torpedoing others off the monitor whereas method additional down the order than you ought to be given the extent of the Gresini bundle, there’s no excuses for each his continued dips in kind and the reckless locations that he all too usually finds himself in.
