bwin GRAND PRIX CESKÉ REPUBLIKY – MOTOGP BRNO · 15-16-17 August 2014
Official statistics compiled by Dr. Martin Raines
MotoGP Brno SUNDAY GUIDE INFORMATION
• Marc Marquez is on pole for the ninth time in 2014 – equalling the number of poles he had last year. Marquez is aiming to become the first rider to win the opening eleven races of the season in the premier-class of grand prix racing.
• Marc Marquez is on pole in MotoGP and Alex Marquez is on pole in the Moto3 class. They are the second pair of brothers to start grand prix races from pole on the same day; the other brothers to do this are Christian (500cc) and Dominique (250cc) Sarron, who achieved this on three occasions: French GP in 1987 & 1988, and Dutch TT in 1988.
• In second place on the grid is Andrea Dovizioso, equalling his best grid position on the Ducati, which he had seven days ago in Indianapolis.
• Andrea Iannone, who won the Moto2 race at Brno in 2011, is in third place on the grid – his second front row start of the year.
• This is the first time that Ducati have had two riders on the front row of a MotoGP race since the final race of 2006 in Valencia when Troy Bayliss was second fastest qualifier and Loris Capirossi was in third place on the grid.
• The highest placed Yamaha rider in qualifying is Bradley Smith in fourth place on the grid, his best qualifying result since the opening race of the year in Qatar when he took the final slot on the front row.
• Dani Pedrosa has qualified in the middle of the second row. Pedrosa has finished either first or second at Brno four times in the last five years, including a win in 2012.
• In sixth place on the grid is Jorge Lorenzo; at the last two races he has had back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in 2014.
• Valentino Rossi, who heads the third row of the grid, will be aiming to finish on the podium at Brno for the first time since he won the race there in 2009. Rossi is making his 245th start in the premier-class, equalling Alex Barros’ record number of premier-class GP starts.
• In eighth place on the grid is Stefan Bradl, who took his first ever GP victory in the 125cc class at Brno exactly six years ago to the day.
• Pol Espargaro is in ninth place on the grid just one place in front of his brother Aleix. The brothers are separated by just a single point in the championship standings, with Pol just having the advantage.
• With the retirement of Colin Edwards, and Nicky Hayden missing the race, the MotoGP grid is the first without a rider from USA since the German GP in 2002, a race that Kenny Roberts Jnr missed after having arm surgery and John Hopkins did not start after he fell in practice at the top of the hill and fractured a bone in his hand
Moto2
• Tito Rabat starts from pole for the seventh time this year and for the first time since the Dutch TT. All four of Rabat’s wins this year have been from pole position.
• Thomas Luthi is in second place on the grid, which is his first front row start since the Malaysian GP last year. Luthi has finished on the podium at Brno for the last two years.
• Sandro Cortese is in third place on the grid – his fourth front row start of the year. Cortese took his first ever grand prix victory in the 125cc class at Brno in 2011.
• Heading the second row of the grid is Sam Lowes, who will be aiming to get back in the top ten for the first time since the Italian GP.
• Simone Corsi is in fifth place on the grid, equalling his best qualifying result of 2014, which he had just seven days ago in Indianapolis.
• Taking the final place on the second row is Mika Kallio, his worst qualifying result since the Italian GP. Kallio won the Moto2 race at Brno last year – his first win in the Moto2 class.
Moto3
• Alex Marquez starts from pole for the second time in his GP career. His other pole was at Catalunya earlier in the year, a race he went on to win.
• In second place on the grid is Isaac Viñales, the first front row start of his grand prix career.
• Nico Antonelli has qualified on the front row for the second time this year. Antonelli’s fifth place finish at Assen is his only point scoring finish since he was ninth at the opening race of the year in Qatar.
• Heading the second row of the grid is Alex Rins – his best qualifying result since he was third fastest qualifier in Catalunya. Rins finished fourth at Brno last year, behind three riders who have moved up to the Moto2 class: Luis Salom, Maverick Viñales and Jonas Folger.
• The top placed Mahindra rider in qualifying is Miguel Oliveira, in fifth place on the grid – his best qualifying since he was in 4th place on the grid at Sepang last year.
• Jack Miller is in sixth place on the grid, which is only the second time this year that he has not been on the front row.
