Although the first information given, both on television and by official channels, is that Marc Márquez raced the Indonesian GP with the sixth engine of his 2024 season – an engine on which the crankcase broke and ended up catching fire -, the truth is that at the last moment the team decided to use engine number 5, already fitted for the first time at the Aragon GP and used only in part of Saturday morning’s free practice at Motorland.
The same engine number 5 was used in two sessions of Misano 1 and three of Misano 2, before being used in Indonesia in two test sessions, in Q2, in the Sprint and in the long race, when it failed leaving the driver stranded Catalan.
That engine, which broke and burned, has not been removed from Marquez’s allocation for the moment, as Ducati has placed it under investigation. But in Japan Marc used engines number 6 (Practice, FP2, Q2, Sprint, and race) and 7 (FP1, Practice and FP2).
This means that Marquez has two retired engines, 1 and 2, to which 5 will be added, thus leaving him with only four engines, all used, to tackle the Australian and Thai Grands Prix.
Of these engines, #7 is practically new, having only been used in FP1, Practice and FP2 in Japan; while the #6 was used for the first time in Aragon and took to the track 23 times, including the long races of Motorland, Misano 1 and Motegi, and the Sprints of Aragon, Misano 1 and 2, and the one in Japan, then It has good mileage.
The other two used engines, 3 and 4, were used for the first time in France and Catalonia respectively in mid-May.
Marc Márquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The eighth engine can be used from Malaysia
Under current rules, each MotoGP rider is entitled to seven identical engines for the first 18 Grands Prix of the season. In the case of a calendar of 20 or more races, each driver would be entitled to an eighth engine, which can only be used after the 18th race, i.e. in Malaysia, after the next Australian and Thai Grands Prix.
Thus, Marquez will have to face two of the most demanding races of the season with a certain lack of engines, given that he has five in total: two very used ones that he has not used since the races in Italy and Austria, one with 23 outings on the track, one almost new (#7) and the one he will be able to use for the first time in Sepang, the eighth engine.
Compared to the rest of the Ducati riders, the Spaniard is the one who reaches the final part of the season in the worst situation, according to the official MotoGP engine register.
The information provided indicates that Pecco Bagnaia has six engines, one of which debuted in Japan, in addition to the eighth which it will be able to mount in Malaysia. The two-time world champion has withdrawn only one of his engines, the #2, from circulation. Jorge Martin also has seven engines for his Prima Pramac Racing GP24. Six used, one of which was mounted for the first time in Japan and not used in the race, in addition to the eighth engine.
Enea Bastianini, Marquez’s rival in the fight for the championship podium, has six engines at his disposal, five used and the eighth will arrive in Sepang. The seventh engine was instead assembled in Indonesia. The other Ducati satellite riders, who like Marc have the 2023 engine, also have more engines available, in addition to the eighth that will be released.
Alex Marquez has five used engines (one of which with a very low mileage), Marco Bezzecchi has six used engines available and his Pertamina VR46 teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio has five engines, all however with a certain mileage.
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