2024 MotoGP Season: GP23s Face Uphill Battle as Marquez’s Engine Woes Spark Ducati Changes

GP23 riders will be at a disadvantage throughout the remainder of the 2024 MotoGP season. Marquez's engine failure in Indonesia led to a change in parts.

The 2024 MotoGP season is entering its last four rounds starting this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. However, Marc Marquez and the other GP23 riders are at a disadvantage.

During the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika nearly three weeks ago, Marquez's engine in his Gresini-operated GP23 dramatically failed.

Ducati has not yet provided an official reason for the engine failure, but initial reports from the Race, followed by Gazzetta dello Sport, suggest that the issue was caused by a flywheel.

In recent races, a fresh flywheel was added to the GP23's engine to enhance its smoothness.

The GP23's engine braking features have posed challenges for riders such as Marco Bezzecchi this season. The Italian racer has struggled to play to his strengths in braking and has also faced difficulties with understeer when navigating corners.

The enhancement made to the bike aligned with Bezzecchi's surge in performance during the latter part of the season. He consistently finished in the top six at every Grand Prix following the Aragon race, achieving his best result of fourth place during the Emilia Romagna event.

Naturally, Marquez has secured victories in two grand prix races during the latter part of the season.

Following the engine malfunction in Indonesia, it is believed that Ducati switched back to the older flywheel configuration, suspecting that the new setup might have been responsible for the failure.

Although Marquez's performance at the Japanese Grand Prix remained strong, as evidenced by his podium finishes in both events, the next closest GP23 competitor, Bezzecchi, finished in a far-off seventh place, trailing more than 15 seconds behind the Gresini rider.

Based on the engine allocation document released by Dorna Sports, Marquez has already used up two of the seven engines he is currently permitted to utilize.

As the 2024 calendar, released before the first race began, includes 21 rounds, Marquez and other riders without concessions will have access to an eighth engine. However, this won't be available until the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Both VR46 team riders find themselves in the same situation, although Bezzecchi has had just one engine removed from his allotment, whereas Fabio Di Giannantonio has lost two.

Alex Marquez has had two of his allotted engines go out of commission.

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