Indianapolis MotoGP Statistics and Facts
Official statistics compiled by Dr. Martin Raines
This is the eighth successive year that a motorcycle grand prix event has been held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and below are some facts and statistics related to this event:
- This will be the 28th occasion that there has been a motorcycle grand prix held in the USA. The first two events in 1964 and 1965 were held at the famous Daytona circuit. Fifteen GP events have taken place at the Laguna Seca circuit, there have been seven held previously at Indianapolis and three in Austin.
- The first motorcycle grand prix event to be held at Indianapolis in 2008 was subjected to high winds and rain due to Hurricane Ike, resulting in the MotoGP race being cut short and the 250cc race being cancelled.
- Yamaha riders won the MotoGP races on the first two visits to Indianapolis, Honda riders have won for the last five years.
- The last non-Honda rider to win the MotoGP race in Indianapolis was Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha in 2009.
- Nicky Hayden’s third place finish in 2009 is the only MotoGP podium by a Ducati rider at the Indianapolis circuit.
- The best results for Suzuki at the Indianapolis circuit are the sixth place finishes by Alvaro Bautista in 2011 and by Ben Spies in 2008 when he appeared as a wild-card.
- In the first four appearances of MotoGP in Indianapolis, one American rider finished on the podium each year: Nicky Hayden 2nd in 2008 & 3rd in 2009; Ben Spies 2nd in 2010 and 3rd in 2011. In the 2012 MotoGP race at Indianapolis, the first American rider across the line was Colin Edwards in 13th place, in 2013 it was Nicky Hayden in 9th. Last year the only American rider to start the MotoGP race in Indianapolis was Colin Edwards, who finished 13th.
- Jorge Lorenzo’s six MotoGP podium finishes at the Indianapolis circuit are more than any other rider.
- Four of the riders who will be competing this year have taken part in all seven previous MotoGP races that have been staged at the Indianapolis circuit: Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa.
- For each of the last two years in the MotoGP class at Indianapolis, Marc Marquez has qualified on pole, won the race and set the fastest lap.
- For the last four years, the rider qualifying on pole in the MotoGP class at Indianapolis has gone on to win the race.
- Ben Spies’ pole position at Indianapolis in 2010 is the last time that an American rider started from pole in MotoGP.
Valentino Rossi takes another record
With his third place finish in Germany, Valentino Rossi added to his collection of records achieved during his long grand prix career. Rossi now holds the record for the longest interval between the first grand prix podium finish and the latest podium finish across all grand prix classes. This record has been held for the last 29 years by Angel Nieto.
Below is a list of the five riders who have the longest period between the first and last grand prix podium finishes
- Valentino Rossi 125cc/Austria/1996 MotoGP/Germany/2015 18 years 342 days
- Angel Nieto 50cc/Dutch TT/1967 125cc/Italy/1986 18 years 328 days
- Loris Capirossi 125cc/Italy/1990 MotoGP/Czech/2008 18 years 90 days
- Stefan Dörflinger 50cc/Yugo/1973 80cc/Dutch TT/1989 16 years 7 days
- Tommy Robb 250cc/Ulster/1957 125cc/IOM TT/1973 15 years 302 days
Dovizioso set to take record off Rossi
At the German Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso equalled the record for unbroken sequence of successive grand prix starts, held by Valentino Rossi. Rossi did not miss a race from making his grand prix debut at the Malaysian GP in 1996 until he did not start the Italian GP at Mugello in 2010 after crashing in practice and breaking his right leg. Andrea Dovizioso made his GP debut in the 125cc class as a wild-card at Mugello in 2001, before joining the grand prix series as a full-time rider at the opening race of 2002 at Suzuka in Japan; since then he has never missed starting a race.
Rider Number of successive GP events First race in sequence Last race in sequence
1= Valentino Rossi 230 (125cc, 250cc, 500cc, MotoGP) 125cc/Malaysia/1996/Shah Alam MotoGP/France/2010/Le Mans
1= Andrea Dovizioso 230 (125cc, 250cc, MotoGP) 125cc/Japan/2002/Suzuka MotoGP/Germany/2015/Sachsenring
3 Max Biaggi 201 (250cc, 500cc, MotoGP) 250cc/GB/1992/Donington MotoGP/Valencia/2005/Ricardo Tormo
4 Randy de Puniet 190 (125cc, 250cc, MotoGP) 125cc/Malaysia/1999/Sepang MotoGP/Germany/2010/Sachsenring
5 Sandro Cortese 177 (125cc, Moto3, Moto2) 125cc/Spain/2005/Jerez Moto2/Germany/2015/Sachsenring
Honda target 700th grand prix win
The two victories for Honda riders in Germany take the total number of grand prix wins for Honda as an official constructor to 698. Two more grand prix wins for Honda and they will become the first manufacturer to reach the milestone of 700 grand prix wins. Below are some facts and figures about these Honda grand prix wins:
- The breakdown of Honda wins by class following the German grand prix is:
MotoGP – 109,
500cc – 156,
350cc – 35,
250cc – 207,
Moto3 – 14,
125cc – 164,
50cc – 13. - A total of 79 different riders have achieved grand prix wins riding Honda machinery.
- Honda’s most successful year was 1997 when they achieved 31 grand prix wins (15 x 500cc, 12 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc).
- Honda have won 24% of the 2,907 solo grand prix races that have taken place in the 67-year history of motorcycle grand prix racing.
- The venue where Honda have had most grand prix success is the Assen circuit, where Honda have achieved a total of fifty-eight grand prix victories.
The following table shows the 10 most successful Honda riders in terms of GP wins
Other milestone Honda wins
- 1 – Tom Phillis – 125cc – 1961 – Spain – Montjuic
- 100 – Luigi Taveri – 50cc – 1966 – Dutch TT – Assen
- 200 – Jim Filice – 250cc – 1988 – USA – Laguna Seca
- 300 – Alex Criville – 500cc – 1992 – Dutch TT – Assen
- 400 – Haruchika Aoki – 125cc – 1996 – Brazil – Jacarepagua
- 500 – Valentino Rossi – 500cc – 2001 – Japan – Suzuka
- 600 – Dani Pedrosa – 250cc – 2005 – Australia – Phillip Island
Grand Prix racing numbers
- 200 – At the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Julian Simon is scheduled to make his 200th grand prix start.
- 96 – Dani Pedrosa’s second-place finish in Germany was the 96th time he has stood on the podium since moving up to the MotoGP class in 2006; this is one more premier-class podium finish than Mick Doohan. Only Valentino Rossi has more premier-class podium finishes than Pedrosa, with 169.
- 65 – Johann Zarco’s sixty-five point lead in the world championship classification is the greatest points lead any rider has had at the head of the intermediate-class championship standings after nine races.
- 32 years – Xavier Simeon’s Moto2 win at the German Grand Prix was the first grand prix win in any class by a Belgian rider since Didier de Radigues won the 250cc race at the Belgium Grand Prix that took place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 1983.
- 26 – Andrea Iannone celebrates his 26th birthday on the day of the race in Indianapolis.
- 21 – The victory by Marc Marquez in Germany was the 21st time that he has stood on the top step of the podium in the MotoGP class; this is just one less premier-class race win than Geoff Duke, Kenny Roberts and John Surtees.
- 15 – Bradley Smith has scored points at the last fifteen MotoGP races. This is the longest ever sequence of point scoring finishes in consecutive races by a British rider in the premier-class of grand prix racing.
- 11 – The last eleven MotoGP races in the USA have all been won by Honda riders. The last non-Honda MotoGP winner in the country was Jorge Lorenzo, at Laguna Seca in 2010.
- 9 РWith his 11th place finish in Germany, Maverick Vi̱ales became the first rookie to score points in his first nine MotoGP races.
- 6 – Jorge Lorenzo is the rider with most podium finishes in Indianapolis, with six podiums from seven MotoGP starts at the circuit.
- 6 – Marc Marquez has won on each of the six occasions that he has raced in the MotoGP class in America; three times in Austin, at Indianapolis for the last two years and at Laguna Seca in 2013. Only once in these five appearances in MotoGP in America has Marquez not been on pole; at Laguna Seca in 2013 when he qualified in second place on the grid behind Stefan Bradl.
- 5 – Honda riders have won the MotoGP race in Indianapolis in each of the last five years.
- 3 – Xavier Simeon is just the third Belgium rider to win a grand prix race; the other two are – Didier de Radigues who won a total of four grand prix races (2 x 350cc, 2 x 250cc) and Julien Van Zeebroeck won three times in the 50cc class in the mid 1970s.
Moto2Â stats and facts
- Although the first World Championship event at Indianapolis was staged in 2008, the first intermediate class race did not come until one year later, as the 2008Â edition of the 250cc race was delayed and eventually cancelled as the remnants of Hurricane Ike hit the Speedway.
- At Indianapolis last year the red flag was shown on the fourth lap of the Moto2 race due to a four-rider crash involving Mattia Pasini, Randy Krummenacher, Anthony West and Azlan Shah. The race was re-started over a reduced distance of sixteen laps.
- Johann Zarco’s best result at Indianapolis in the Moto2 class is 8th in 2013. Last year in Indianapolis Zarco qualified in fourth place on the grid, but dropped back through the race to finish 10th. Zarco’s current total of 179 points is the highest points total achieved after nine races in the intermediate-class of grand prix racing since Dani Pedrosa had accumulated 181 points from the first nine 250cc races of 2005.
- Tito Rabat has twice been on the podium in the Moto2 class in Indianapolis; 3rd in 2011 and a race win two years ago. Last year he finished fourth at Indianapolis, one of only four occasions in 2014 that he did not stand on the podium.
- Last year in Indianapolis, Sam Lowes ran off the circuit into the gravel on the seventh lap when running in 11th place. He rejoined in 26th place and finally finished the race in 24th. Lowes took his first grand prix win in Austin earlier this year and he will be aiming to become the first rider to win two Moto2 races in the USA in one season.
- Mika Kallio started on pole last year at the Indianapolis grand prix and led across the line at the end of every lap. This was his first podium finish at the Indianapolis circuit and it is the last time that he has stood on the top step of the podium.
- In addition to Rabat and Kallio mentioned above, other riders currently competing in the Moto2 class who have won in Indianapolis are: Luis Salom ( Moto3/2012) and Alex Rins ( Moto3/2013).
- Luis Salom will celebrate his 24th birthday on the first day of practice in Indianapolis.
- Following his win in Germany, Xavier Simeon could become the first ever Belgian rider to take back-to-back grand prix wins.
Moto3Â stats and facts
- Danny Kent’s best results at the Indianapolis grand prix are two 12th place finishes in the Moto3 races in 2012 and 2014. Kent currently stands at the top of the Moto3 championship standings with 190 points; this is the highest points total any rider has achieved after the first nine races of the year in the lightweightclass of grand prix racing since Valentino Rossi was on 195 points following the opening nine races of the 1997 season.
- Efren Vazquez took his first ever GP win in the Moto3 class last year in Indianapolis. Vazquez is the only rider currently competing in the Moto3 class who has won a grand prix at the Indianapolis circuit.
- Romano Fenati finished second last year in Indianapolis, just 0.065 seconds behind the race winner Vazquez after leading out of the final corner and losing out on the sprint to the line.
- Other than Vazquez and Fenati, none of the other riders currently competing in the Moto3 class have had a grand prix podium finish at the Indianapolis circuit.
