MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

At the event Dorna had chosen to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the FIM Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing World Championship (that's MotoGP to you), MotoGP put on a show. Leaving aside the arithmetical arguments (2024 is the 76th season, but Silverstone was the 75th British Grand Prix, so debate naturally subsided), the event was a proper celebration of the sport.

There was a nod to history - Les Graham's AJS Porcupine, the bike which won the first ever GP world championship back in 1949, took pride of place on the grid. And the bikes were all decked out in retro liveries, paying homage to the past of the manufacturers, teams, and riders in the sport. Some going back further than others, perhaps, but that, too, is a reflection of the sport.

We were all loving the liveries until the start of the race. All of a sudden, we were cruelly reminded of just how much we rely on our visual memories when trying to figure out who is who. So when Brad Binder had a problem with a badly slipping clutch off at the start, holding his hand up to warn those behind him, we were suddenly cast into confusion.

It really seems like nobody wants to win a championship any more. The trend started in 2020, with Joan Mir beating Franco Morbidelli despite the pair crashing out of three of fourteen races. 2021 was a little better, Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia dominating for most of the year, before giving the how-can-I-find-a-way-to-lose-this approach a proper go in 2022. Bagnaia fell off in the first half of the year, Quartararo fell off in the second, and the factory Ducati rider emerged triumphant with a slim 17-point margin over the Frenchman.

But the new approach to championships - trying to fall off slightly less often than your rival - really stepped up a gear in 2023. Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia fought a thrilling battle all season long, rode some fantastic races, but kept throwing away points like disposable cutlery. Martin ended the season with four no scores, Bagnaia with seven. But Bagnaia was smart enough to crash out of sprint races, while Martin was scoring zeroes in the much more lucrative full-length grand prix races.

By the time you read this article, there is an 80% chance that the information contained within it will have been superseded. We are in the middle of MotoGP Silly Season, and in the run up to the series resuming in Assen after a short break, announcements are being made. As we saw with the news that Aprilia have signed Marco Bezzecchi to a "multiple-year deal", which is the latest fad in contract press releases, and is code for a two-year deal with options to extend. And usually, options to terminate early, though those are almost never invoked.

So where does the Bezzecchi announcement leave us? As I have written previously, and we have discussed on the Paddock Pass Podcast, Bezzecchi was part of a chain of rider (and team) movements expected to take effect before the next summer break ends and MotoGP reconvenes at Silverstone. There are more moves in the pipeline, and some may even come this week.

First, an overview of what is available and what isn't. The signing of Bezzecchi leaves just two factory seats (tentatively) open. Bezzecchi will partner Jorge Martin at Aprilia, Marc Marquez joins Pecco Bagnaia at the factory Ducati Lenovo squad, and Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder are KTM's new Red Bull Factory Racing superteam.

Open seats

With 19 riders out of contract at the end of the 2024 season, the MotoGP rider market for 2025 and beyond was always destined to be irrationally exuberant, to steal a phrase from a former central banker. After a spate of early announcements - Pecco Bagnaia staying with Ducati to the surprise of no one, Fabio Quartararo choosing money and promises from Yamaha over a pay cut and a chance to be immediately competitive on the Aprilia, and the early elevation of Fermín Aldeguer to MotoGP with Ducati - the rider market hit a quiet patch.

Too quiet, perhaps. The lack of announcements has kicked off a wave of speculation that has stretched credulity and ventured into the fantastical. Paddock rumor is matching riders with manufacturers in pairings that would have sounded more fever dream than plausible option even just a few short weeks ago.