If a few days ago we shared the list of riders and made a brief comparison with the points totalled from 2023 to 2024 among the top ten, it’s important to do the same for the table of riders who are deeper in the standings and… there aren’t that many of surprises considering what he have seen on the track.
The following list does not include test riders who have already ridden in MotoGP this year, such as Dani Pedrosa, who has six points and is currently in 21st place.
23rd – Luca Marini, 0 points
The Italian left the Mooney VR46 Racing Team at the end of last year, where he had a Ducati Desmosedici GP22 at his disposal, and he knew beforehand that he was going to have a lot of difficulties, but he was seduced by the Honda project even though, with the Japanese factory team, it was hard to expect that after five rounds he wouldn’t have scored any points. Last year, at this stage of the season, he had totalled 86 points.
22nd – Taakaki Nakagami, 6 points
The Japanese LCR Honda rider is having a season to forget and currently has six points to his name so far, while last year, with five rounds remaining, he had 21, giving him a difference of 15 points less, which demonstrates Honda’s difficulties. This could be one of their lifelines for 2025, as Lucio Cecchinello himself has said publicly.
20th – Álex Rins, 7 points
Like Honda, Yamaha is also struggling and Rins, who moved from Honda to Fabio Quartararo’s team, has had problems. Last year Rins was even the only one to win a GP with LCR Honda and after five rounds he had earned 47 points, which means he has 40 less this year.
19th – Johann Zarco, 9 points
The Frenchman was one of those who changed teams and last year he had a Ducati Desmosedi GP23 at his disposal, the very bike that allowed Pecco Bagnaia to win the championship, so he’s in an extremely different position. In 2023 the #5 had 66 points, which means he now has 55 less.
18th – Joan Mir, 12 points
A former World Champion, Mir is in his second year with the factory Honda team, but the results have been slow to come, and while it’s true that he’s the Japanese team’s best representative, the points he’s scored so far aren’t the most favourable, but still… a lesser evil. Last year at this time Mir had only 5 points, so he has a positive balance of 7.
17th – Augusto Fernández, 13 points
The only rookie in 2023 proved to be competitive last year, but this year he seems to be having more difficulties, especially considering that at the same time of year he had 30 points, a difference of 17 points compared to the previous season.
16th – Franco Morbidelli, 16 points
Runner-up in MotoGP in 2020 with Petronas SRT, the year 2024 is of crucial importance for the Italian-Brazilian who has one of the most competitive bikes on the grid, none other than the Ducati Desmosedici GP24, but even that doesn’t seem to be helping him. It’s fair to say that a huge injury suffered during the winter put a dent in his preparation and prevented him from taking part in important tests, but it’s still true that so far he’s not surprising: in 2023 he had 40 points and this time he has 15, giving him a negative balance of 25.
Tomorrow we’ll run the list from 15th place upwards, don’t miss it!