16 years of Spanish champions without rest

Spain once again has a Spanish champion MotoGP. The Madrid Jorge Martine won the title in Barcelonaduring the last test of the 2024 season, and becomes the fifth of our drivers to win the premier category of motorcycle world championship After Alex Criville, Jorge Laurent (x3), Brand Marquez (x6) and Jane Mir.

Martín makes history four years after the last Spanish MotoGP champion and keeps alive a very special streak for motorcycling in the country that lasts 16 years. During this period, from 2009 to 2024, there has been at least one Spanish champion per year in one of the three main categories: MotoGP, Moto2 (Before 250cc) And Moto3 (Before 125cc).

This year there was a risk that the streak would end without Martín. In Moto2, the Japanese was crowned Ai Ogurawith more than 50 points on Spanish Aaron Canetand in Moto3 he did it David Alonsowho runs under the Colombian flag although he also has Spanish nationality and surpassed the runner from Alicante Daniel Cowardsecond in the ranking.

2008 was the last year that Spain found itself without a champion in any of the three main categories of the Motorcycle World Championship. That year there were two Italian “kings”, Valentino Rossi And Frame simoncellirespectively in MotoGP and in the old 250cc, and a Frenchman, Mike Di Meglioin 125cc.

16 seasons have already passed since that one, during which Danny Rock And Jorge Laurent They were third and fourth in MotoGP. He was closer to the title, in 250cc, Alvaro Baptistewho was 37 points behind Simoncelli in second place. In 125cc, things were worse, with Nicholas Terolin fifth position, as the first Spaniard classified in the category.

Jorge Martín, with his second world title – which he already won in Moto3 in 2018 -, saves the furniture of Spanish motorcycling in 2024. The same thing that Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Márquez did, in 2015 and 2016, as as the only Spanish champions of these. years. Same as Julian Simon and Terol, but. two categories fewer, respectively in 2009 and 2011.

What resists is still the triplet even though ten years have passed since the last one. In 2013 and 2014, two consecutive seasons, the Motorcycle World Championship had six Spanish champions. Each time, Marc Márquez was the winner in the premier category, while in the two lower categories, Pol Espargaró And Nonconformist Vinales they handed over to Rabat And Alex Marquezin Moto2 and Moto3, respectively.

But the first Spanish treble in the same season took place in 2010, when Jorge Lorenzo, Tony Elijah and Marc Márquez won the MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc titles.

Jorge Martín is the 60th title won by a Spaniard in the Motorcycle World Championship, with twelve championships in MotoGP, 13 in 250cc/Moto2, 23 in 125cc/Moto3, four in 80cc and eight in 50cc. Only Italy, with 80 titles, has more as a country.

16 years of Spanish champions