MotoGP, Marc Marquez the bookies favourite for the 2024 title

Despite the fact he has not won a race for two seasons and will compete with a privateer Ducati that is a year old compared to that of world champion Francesco Bagnaia and runner-up Jorge Martin, the bookmakers’ bets are on Marc Marquez and team Gresini.

Marc Marquez, the favourite ahead of the tests

2024 is about to begin, as Marc Marquez prepares for a two-day test at Portimao that will see all of the Ducati riders in action with the Panigale V4 S. During the Valencia test, the Spaniard appeared to adapt fast to team Gresini Racing’s Desmosedici, with the bookmakers putting him down as favourite for the coming season, ahead of both 2023 world champion Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. The Spaniard’s odds are between 1.75 and 2.00 compared to 2.75-3.50 for Bagnaia and 5.00 for Martin.

The other factory riders lie a good way behind according to the betting experts, with Enea Bastianini fourth on the list, followed by Brad Binder with the first non-Ducati bike, and Franco Morbidelli. The bookmakers do not appear to fancy the chances of Yamaha and Honda, neither do they see the 2024 title going to Fabio Quartararo or rookie Pedro Acosta. Even more unlikely is a championship win for Luca Marini or Joan Mir, while a bet on Takaaki Nakagami would lead to the biggest payout if the Japanese were to win, between 250 and 750 times the stake.