MotoGP | Ducati breaks records again: Honda equals 17 hat-tricks

The 18 seconds given to Brad Binder, the first of those not riding a Desmosedici GP in the Austrian Grand Prix, already say a lot about how Ducati’s dominance is becoming increasingly rampant in the 2024 season. To certify it, however, there are also more and more records, which from weekend to weekend rewrite the history of the MotoGP World Championship.

At the Red Bull Ring, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer’s streak of triples has lengthened: with the victory of Pecco Bagnaia, ahead of Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini, the number of consecutive occasions in which only Reds have climbed onto the podium in the premier class has become eight. A number that is growing, making the record increasingly difficult for competing brands to beat.

Still speaking of hat-tricks, the Bologna brand has also equalled Honda’s all-time MotoGP record, reaching 17, with the prospect of being able to try to take it alone between now and the end of the season, given the overwhelming power shown since the beginning of the season.

Since the Red Bull Ring returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2016, it has always been considered a Ducati fiefdom. Even when the Reds were not yet in a position to aspire to the title, in fact, they had already started to win in bursts on the ups and downs of Spielberg. It is no coincidence that Bagnaia’s success was the ninth, making it the track with the most victories for the brand. In this way, it has overtaken Lusail, in Qatar, where Ducati victories are eight.

But it is also becoming a sort of backyard for Bagnaia, because the reigning world champion has won for the third year in a row (also winning the two Sprints held in 2023 and 2024). The Red Bull Ring is the fourth track on which the Piedmontese has achieved three consecutive triumphs after Jerez, Mugello and Assen.

For Bagnaia, then, that in Austria was certainly a special Sunday, because he has definitively entered the Olympus of the premier class: with his 25th victory, in fact, he has equaled Kevin Schwantz in tenth place in the all-time rankings. A restricted club that only includes true legends of motorcycling.