Australian MotoGP Sunday Race Day Guide
Statistics compiled by Dr. Martin Raines
MotoGP
• Marc Marquez is on pole for the eighth time in 2015. He has failed to finish on his two previous appearances in the MotoGP class at Phillip Island.
• Andrea Iannone starts from second place on the grid – his best qualifying result since he was on pole at Mugello.
• In third place on the grid is Jorge Lorenzo, his eighth successive front row start.
• Heading the second row of the grid is Dani Pedrosa, who will be aiming to take back-to-back MotoGP wins for the first time since Jerez and Le Mans in 2013.
• Cal Crutchlow starts from the middle of the second row, his best grid position since he was fourth fastest qualifier in Indianapolis.
• Taking the final place on the second row is Maverick Viñales, which is his best qualifying result since he was in second place on the grid in Catalunya.
• Valentino Rossi heads the third row, his worst qualifying result since he started the race in Indianapolis from eighth place on the grid. Rossi is making his 328th grand prix start, which equals Loris Capirossi’s record of most GP starts of all-time.
• Brothers Aleix and Pol Espargaro have qualified in eighth and ninth places, the fifth time this year that they have lined up next to each other on the grid.
• Andrea Dovizioso is in tenth place on the grid, which is the same qualifying position as last year when he went on to finish the race in fourth.
• Scott Redding, who starts from 11th place on the grid, finished seventh at Phillip Island last year, which was his equal best result of 2014.
• Fourteenth fastest in qualifying is the top Open Class rider on the grid Hector Barbera, who currently heads the Open Class classification by two points from Loris Baz.
• Mike di Meglio in 22nd place on the grid is making his 200th grand prix start.
Moto2
• Alex Rins, who won the Moto3 race at Phillip Island two years ago, starts from pole for the third time in his rookie year in the Moto2 class. The last time he started from pole, in Indianapolis, he went on to take his first Moto2 victory.
• Axel Pons starts from second place on the grid – his first ever front row start in grand prix racing. His father Sito Pons won the 250cc race on the first occasion that a grand prix was held at Phillip Island in 1989, from second place on the grid.
• In third place on the grid is Sam Lowes, who finished fifth last year at Phillip Island, which was the best result of his rookie season in Moto2.
• Tom Luthi, who starts from fourth place on the grid, has finished second at Phillip Island for the last two years.
• Mika Kallio starts from the middle of the second row – his best qualifying result since he was in third place on the grid in Indianapolis.
• New Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco heads the third row of the grid and will be aiming to finish on the podium for the 14th time in 2015 to equal the record for most intermediate-class grand prix podiums in a single season.
Moto3
• John McPhee starts from pole position for the first time in his grand prix career. He is the first British rider to start from pole at Phillip Island since Jeremy McWilliams in the MotoGP class in 2002.
• In second place on the grid is Miguel Oliveira, who has finished either first or second at the last three races.
• Efren Vazquez starts from third place on the grid, his first front row start of 2015.
• Jorge Navarro, who starts from fourth place on the grid, has been on the podium at the last two races after not finishing in the top three in his previous twenty four GP starts.
• Livio Loi is in sixth place on the grid, which is his best ever grand prix qualifying result.
• Danny Kent starts from the head of the third row, only the third time this year he has not started from one of the top four places on the grid.
• Championship challenger Enea Bastianini has qualified down in 29th place on the grid – his worst ever qualifying result in grand prix racing.
