Malaysian MotoGP Statistical Smorgasbord

MotoGP Facts and Stats Update

At the Australian GP, Alex Rins won for the fourth time in MotoGP and the first time since Aragon in 2020, starting from 10th, becoming the seventh different winner so far this season, one less than last year.

This is Suzuki’s first win since Joan Mir at the Europe GP in 2020. Suzuki became the fifth manufacturer to win this year along with Ducati, Yamaha, Aprilia and KTM, setting a record for the highest number of different manufacturers winning in a single premier class season.

Marc Marquez finished second for the 139th podium of his Grand Prix career and he is now tied with MotoGP.

With 100 podiums in the premier class, Marc Marquez became the fourth rider to reach the milestone of 100 premier class podiums after Valentino Rossi (199), Jorge Lorenzo (114) and Dani Pedrosa (112).

Marquez ended a sequence of 16 successive premier class races without a Honda on the podium, which was the longest sequence without a premier class podium since the Japanese manufacturer returned full-time to the premier class in 1982.

With Rins and Marquez, this is the first 1-2 with bikes from a Japanese manufacturer since Emilia-Romagna last year with Marquez winning ahead of Pol Espargaro. It ends a sequence of nine races with two Ducati riders on the podium.

Bagnaia finished third at the Australian GP for his 19th podium in MotoGP, all of them with Ducati and two less than his teammate Jack Miller, who is fourth on the list of Ducati riders with most podiums in the premier class.

With Bagnaia, this is the 24th successive MotoGP race with at least one Ducati rider on the podium, extending the Bologna factory record in the class.

Ducati riders have scored 29 podiums since Qatar. Ducati becomes the first manufacturer with 29 podiums or more in a single premier class season since Honda in 2013 (30 podiums).

Marco Bezzecchi finished fourth for his second-best result in his rookie season in MotoGP after the Dutch TT when he was second, and won the fight for the Rookie of the Year.

Fabio Quartararo crashed out in Australia which is his third DNF so far this season along with the Dutch TT and the Aragon GP.

None of the five rookies in the MotoGP class this year have won or has stood on the podium at Sepang in the smaller classes.

On race day at the Malaysian GP, Raul Fernandez, who finished 16th at the Australian GP, will be celebrating his 22nd birthday.

Francesco Bagnaia could clinch MotoGP title in Malaysia

Francesco Bagnaia has a first chance to clinch his first premier class world title, to become the first Italian to do so Valentino Rossi in 2009.

Fabio Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro and Enea Bastianini are now his only rivals and the scenarios to give Bagnaia the title are:

• He wins and Quartararo doesn’t finish on the podium,
• He finishes P2, Quartararo doesn’t finish better than P7 and Espargaro doesn’t win,
• He finishes P3, Quartararo doesn’t finish better than P11 and Espargaro doesn’t finish on the podium,
• He finishes P4, Quartararo doesn’t finish better than P14 and Espargaro doesn’t finish on the podium,
• He finishes P5, Quartararo fails to score any points and Espargaro doesn’t finish on the podium.

Aleix Espargaro scheduled for 300th Grand Prix start

Aleix Espargaro is set to become the sixth rider in history to reach the milestone of 300 Grand Prix starts.

Record-breaking MotoGP race at Phillip Island

At the Australian GP, Brad Binder finished 10th just 5.940 seconds behind winner Alex Rins, which is the second-closest top 10 of all-time.

Of the closest top 10 finishes of all-time in the premier class of Grand Prix racing, six have occurred since 2021 and all since 2018 (only races that have completed full race distance).

With 0.224s between Rins, Marquez and Bagnaia, this is also the third-closest podium time margin ever in a full-length premier class race after the 1999 Australian GP (0.124s between Tadauki Okada, Max Biaggi and Regis Laconi) and the 2006 Portuguese GP (0.176s between Toni Elias, Valentino Rossi and Kenny Roberts Jr).