MotoGP: All to know about the 2024 season - rider line-up and schedule

Francesco Bagnaia became a two-time MotoGP champion after sealing the 2023 title in the Valencia season finale last year.

He edged out title rival Jorge Martin to clinch back-to-back championships in impressive fashion, as Bagnaia finished the year with a podium in each of the final seven races.

Now it is time for the Ducati rider to defend his title with the 2024 MotoGP season already underway, although Bagnaia did start his defence perfectly by winning the curtain-raiser in Qatar.

However, only two riders - Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez - have won three consecutive championships in the 21st century, so it will not come so easy for Bagnaia.

Here is all to know for the 2024 MotoGP season.

Augusto Fernandez, Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing, Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team (Photo by: Media VR46)

MotoGP rider line-up 2024

There were seven rider changes for the 2024 MotoGP season in quite an overhaul of the grid, as more than half of the teams changed their line-up. This included Gresini Ducati, who landed a major coup in prizing six-time champion Marc Marquez away from his legendary partnership with the Honda factory team. The Spaniard is now team-mates with younger brother Alex for the first time since 2020.

Alex Rins, Franco Morbidelli, Johann Zarco, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Luca Marini were the others to switch teams for 2024, while Pedro Acosta is contesting his rookie season. The 19-year-old is one of the biggest talents to come through the motorcycle ladder having won the Moto3 and Moto2 championships, while finishing on the podium in just his second MotoGP race was further evidence of his potential.

MotoGP also has a new team in 2024, as Trackhouse Racing Aprilia replaced the now defunct RNF Racing, who was denied entry for the year due to “repeated infractions and breaches of the Participation Agreement”. However, Trackhouse is using the same rider line-up as RNF from 2023 meaning no movement happened there.

2024 MotoGP teams and rider line-up

Team	Rider 1	Rider 2
Aprilia factory team	Maverick Vinales	Aleix Espargaro
Ducati factory team	Francesco Bagnaia	Enea Bastianini
Gresini Ducati	Alex Marquez	Marc Marquez
Honda factory team	Luca Marini	Joan Mir
KTM factory team	Brad Binder	Jack Miller
LCR Honda	Johann Zarco	Takaaki Nakagami
Pramac Racing Ducati	Franco Morbidelli	Jorge Martin
Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing	Pedro Acosta	Augusto Fernandez
Trackhouse Racing Aprilia	Miguel Oliveira	Raul Fernandez
VR46 Racing Team Ducati	Fabio Di Giannantonio	Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha factory team	Fabio Quartararo	Alex Rins

Who are the favourites for the 2024 MotoGP championship?

Bagnaia understandably headed into 2024 as many people’s favourite for the riders’ crown, but Martin cannot be discounted. Despite disappointingly losing out on the 2023 championship, the Pramac rider started 2024 strongly by standing on the podium in Qatar before winning the Portuguese Grand Prix two weeks later.

A fresh challenge has brought hope that Marc Marquez can also compete for the championship, despite failing to finish above seventh since his 2019 title win due to an uncompetitive Honda bike and injury problems. But with better machinery, he should be able to fight further up so Bagnaia, Martin and Marquez were viewed pre-season as the three favourites for the riders’ crown.

However, many others cannot be forgotten. Bagnaia’s team-mate Enea Bastianini is one for consideration having stood on the podium in Portugal while winning the 2023 Malaysian GP, amid a disappointing campaign for him that was blighted by injury.

Brad Binder is expected to be strong after finishing fourth in the 2023 championship and standing on the podium in this year’s curtain-raiser. Last year Marco Bezzecchi also had his best campaign yet, finishing third in the 2023 standings with three victories.

And then there is Acosta. There is intrigue around the Spaniard and many have placed him as one of their favourites, but whether a title challenge in his rookie season is too much to ask for remains to be seen.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

MotoGP calendar 2024

There are 21 rounds on MotoGP's 2024 calendar, making it the championship’s biggest season yet. It was originally meant to be 22 but the Argentina GP, initially scheduled for 5-7 April, was cancelled in January due to spending cuts from Argentina’s new president Javier Milei.

The 2024 season is still bigger than MotoGP’s 2023 campaign though, which had 20 grands prix. New for 2024 is the Kazakhstan GP, which is set to make its debut on the calendar after the new Sokol circuit could not be built in time for the intended 2023 race. Spain’s Aragon GP has also returned to the calendar after being benched for 2023, while other changes include Qatar replacing Portugal as the season opener.

2024 MotoGP calendar

Date	Event	Circuit	UK time	Local time	Winner
8-10 March	Qatar Grand Prix	Losail International Circuit	5pm	8pm	Francesco Bagnaia
22-24 March	Portuguese Grand Prix	Algarve International Circuit	2pm	2pm	Jorge Martin
12-14 April	Grand Prix of the Americas	Circuit of The Americas	8pm	2pm	TBC
26-28 April	Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito de Jerez	1pm	2pm	TBC
10-12 May	French Grand Prix	Bugatti Circuit	1pm	2pm	TBC
24-26 May	Catalan Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya	1pm	2pm	TBC
31 May - 2 June	Italian Grand Prix	Mugello Circuit	1pm	2pm	TBC
14-16 June	Kazakhstan Grand Prix	Sokol International Racetrack	9am	2pm	TBC
28-30 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	1pm	2pm	TBC
5-7 July	German Grand Prix	Sachsenring	1pm	2pm	TBC
2-4 August	British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit	1pm	1pm	TBC
16-18 August	Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring	1pm	2pm	TBC
30 August - 1 September	Aragon Grand Prix	MotorLand Aragon	1pm	2pm	TBC
6-8 September	San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix	Misano World Circuit	1pm	2pm	TBC
20-22 September	Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit	11am	3:30pm	TBC
27-29 September	Indonesian Grand Prix	Mandalika International Street Circuit	8am	3pm	TBC
4-6 October	Japanese Grand Prix	Twin Ring Motegi	6am	2pm	TBC
18-20 October	Australian Grand Prix	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	4am	2pm	TBC
25-27 October	Thailand Grand Prix	Chang International Circuit	8am	3pm	TBC
1-3 November	Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit	7am	3pm	TBC
15-17 November	Valencian Community Grand Prix	Circuit Ricardo Tormo	1pm	2pm	TBC

How to watch MotoGP in 2024

Every round of the 2024 MotoGP season is available to watch via TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and United States. This means MotoGP is not free-to-air as a subscription is needed to watch TNT.

New customers can buy TNT for £18 per month and that deal includes all four sport channels and Discovery+. Discovery+ is TNT’s live streaming platform, so MotoGP can be watched via a mobile or tablet device, as well as a console in 2024.

Free-to-air highlights are available via ITV though, as well as the official MotoGP channels like YouTube and its website. The 2024 MotoGP season will be live broadcast in well over 50 regions including Spain (DAZN), Italy (Sky) and Australia (FOX Sports).

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

MotoGP race weekend format

MotoGP holds a sprint race at every round and not just selected weekends. A MotoGP weekend begins with the first of three practice sessions on Friday morning, before the second one that afternoon and FP3 on Saturday morning. After the final practice session is qualifying where the grid gets split in half.

So, first is qualifying one which features the 12 slowest riders from second practice. The two fastest riders from Q1 then progress to Q2, also featuring the 10 quickest riders from second practice, where pole position is contested.

Whoever claims pole in Q2 will start in first for both the sprint race and grand prix. So, the final session on a Saturday is the sprint race - half the distance of the main race - with the grand prix then taking place on Sunday.

2024 MotoGP weekend format

Day	Event(s)
Friday	First practice   Second practice
Saturday	Third practice   Qualifying one   Qualifying two   Sprint race
Sunday	Grand prix

MotoGP rule changes for 2024

MotoGP introduced a few rule changes for 2024 with some proving to be quite significant. The race weekend format has changed as until 2023, the Q2 riders were decided by the combined lap times from free practice one and two.

However, teams and riders complained this meant they were unable to achieve any meaningful testing in those sessions because it was all about lap time. So, a change was introduced for 2024 stating only second practice determines who qualifies for Q2 with first practice returning to testing-only.

This season has also seen MotoGP embark on its first steps towards sustainable fuels. The 2024 Qatar motorcycle GP was the first race in the series’ history to be completed by a grid using fuels of part-non-fossil origin ahead of MotoGP’s target to be using 100% non-fossil fuels by 2027. Right now, it is approximately 40%, which has had no effect on lap time.

Michelin also reduced the minimum front tyre pressure to 1.8 bar and, initially, if a rider was to breach it they were set to receive disqualification, but such a drastic measure has been replaced by time penalties.

Meanwhile, the concession system was also revised for 2024 to help struggling manufacturers and hinder 2023 champion Ducati. Concessions place limits on testing, engine development and tyre allocation, among other things, with the system split into four categories.

Only Ducati is ranked A, which means it has received the harshest limits in 2024 with KTM and Aprilia in C, while Yamaha and Honda are D rank meaning it should help both Japanese manufacturers the most.