MotoGP | Austin, two brands beat Ducati. It hasn't happened since 2022

In the Grand Prix of the Americas we saw the sumptuous victory of Maverick Vinales and the fabulous race of the young rookie Pedro Acosta, who crossed the finish line in second position, also lifting the front wheel of his KTM RC16. In addition to this, Sunday's race in Austin provided us with something that hasn't been repeated since November 6, 2022, almost a year and a half ago.

On Sunday, two different manufacturers, Aprilia and KTM, finished the race ahead of the great dominator of the championship, Ducati, which throughout 2023 and in the first two races of 2024 had won or had never been overtaken by two different brands. The last time this happened was at the 2022 Valencia Grand Prix, the last of that season, in which Alex Rins gave Suzuki its last MotoGP victory, ahead of Brad Binder with the KTM. Third was Jorge Martin with the Pramac team Ducati. That day, Pecco Bagnaia became MotoGP world champion for the first time, bringing back to Ducati the title he hadn't won since 2007, when Casey Stoner won the world championship.

Since then, throughout 2023 and for the first two races of 2024 (therefore 22 grand prix), two different brands had never overtaken the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. Only once, in the 2023 Catalunya Grand Prix, have two non-Ducati bikes finished on the podium. But there were two Aprilias, with the wonderful one-two scored by Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.

During these 22 grands prix, between Portimao 2023 (first of last season) and Portimao 2024 (last until the Austin race last weekend), Ducati achieved 19 victories, 14 doubles (first and second) and 8 hat-tricks with a podium monopolized by red motorbikes. If we look back at the podiums from Valencia 2022 to Austin 2023, we can understand that Ducati no longer has the absolute dominance shown during this period due to two important factors.

The first is the step forward made by Aprilia as a manufacturer, with a bike that is at the level of the Ducati in terms of competitiveness, but which still lacks in terms of reliability. Maverick has also changed his way of approaching the grand prix and this year he seems to be much calmer and more concentrated. Curiosity reigns as to when the world championship will arrive at the European races, where Aleix's old school driving can give a decisive plus and make the Noale pair a serious alternative.

Another factor is Acosta's breakout. KTM was a competitive bike already last year, but it lacked a talented rider, and the quality of the Murcian is giving the Austrian brand the boost it was missing, with two podiums in the last two races, in its debut year. Binder is an excellent driver, but the reality is that he hasn't won since Austria 2021, already three years ago. 50 races have passed since that Sunday 15 August.

Obviously, a whole year has passed since that 2023 Grand Prix of the Americas, when two Japanese brands shared the podium in MotoGP. Last year Alex Rins won with the Honda LCR and Fabio Quartararo took Yamaha to third place, a situation which has not been repeated after a year. Furthermore, Marc Marquez went 45 races without a win last Sunday when he crashed in Austin while leading the race. The last time he won was in the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, although of these 45 races, Marc missed 15 due to injury, competing in the remaining 30.

All the MotoGP podiums from Valencia 2022 to Austin 2024

Valencia GP podium 2022: Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP, Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Jorge Martín, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Dorna