PICTURES: Ducati unveils 2024 MotoGP livery for Bagnaia, Bastianini
The colours were unveiled during a team presentation, also featuring the factory Ducati WorldSBK team, on Monday morning in the snow-covered mountains of Madonna di Campiglio, Italy.
The latest livery features some new fluorescent red ‘that recalls the curve in the Ducati logo’ and more flashes of blue, courtesy of Italian telecommunications company TIM and the ongoing Shell Advance logos.
Bagnaia’s #1 is now black and Bastianini’s #23 white.
Having won 17 of last year’s 20 MotoGP races, its fourth manufacturers’ championship in a row and swept the riders’ title top three, Ducati starts as the clear favourite for this year’s crown.
Again supporting eight Desmosedici riders, Bagnaia’s biggest opposition could again come from within the Ducati ranks - including last year’s title runner-up Jorge Martin (Pramac) and multiple race winner Marco Bezzecchi (VR46), not to mention the arrival of eight-time world champion Marc Marquez (Gresini).
Bastianini meanwhile starts as something of a dark horse.
A four-time 2022 winner for Gresini, the Italian’s debut year in factory colours was interrupted by injuries in the Portimao opener and then Catalunya, where Bagnaia miraculously escaped fractures when he fell under the wheels of Brad Binder.
Victory at Sepang was a lone 2023 highlight for Bastianini, who never felt fully comfortable with the engine braking and corner entry characteristics of last year’s GP23.
But initial tests suggest the new GP24 is more towards the natural style of both factory riders.
Meanwhile, the new MotoGP concession system will work against Ducati, which starts the season with reduced tyres for private testing and no wild-cards. In WorldSBK, the factory’s reigning champion Alvaro Bautista will need to carry ballast to meet the new minimum combined weight limit.
“There have been some rule changes. This is going to make things harder for us. Our competitors [in WorldSBK and MotoGP] will have a series of advantages,” said Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali.
The Lenovo and Pramac Ducati teams will again run the latest (2024) factory spec bikes, with VR46 and Gresini on last year's GP23s.
The Ducati Lenovo duo will resume development work when 2024 pre-season begins at Sepang in Malaysia on February 6-8, followed by a final test in Qatar and then the season-opener at Lusail on March 8-10.
