MotoGP in Malaysia | Stats and Facts

Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix 2015 – Sepang International Circuit

Official statistics compiled by Dr. Martin Raines

Grand Prix racing in Malaysia

This is the 25th motorcycle grand prix event to be held in Malaysia and below are some facts and statistics about GP racing in Malaysia.

The first Malaysian Grand Prix was held in 1991 and has taken place every year since, with three different venues having been used; Shah Alam, Johor and Sepang.
The first Malaysian Grand Prix held at the Shah Alam circuit in 1991 saw a debut win in the premier-class for John Kocinski riding a Yamaha. Italian riders dominated the smaller classes with Luca Cadalora (Honda) winning the 250cc race and Loris Capirossi (Honda) in the 125cc class.
The Shah Alam circuit hosted the event for a total of seven years before the Malaysian GP went to Johor for a single year in 1998. The first Malaysian GP to be held at Sepang was in 1999 and this will be the 17th time that Sepang has hosted the event.
Yamaha have been the most successful manufacturer in the MotoGP class at Sepang with five victories, the last of which was in 2010 with Valentino Rossi.
Honda have had four MotoGP wins at the Sepang circuit, including the last three years.
Ducati have taken three MotoGP victories in Sepang, the last being in 2009 with Casey Stoner. Since Stoner’s win in 2009 the best result for Ducati at Sepang is fourth in 2012 with Nicky Hayden.

MotoGP Malaysia 2009 Podium - Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi — MotoGP Malaysia 2009 Podium – Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi

The best result for Suzuki at Sepang in the MotoGP era is fifth in 2010 with Alvaro Bautista.
The most successful rider at the Sepang circuit is Valentino Rossi with six GP wins (1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP). The next most successful, with four wins each, are: Casey Stoner (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 2 x MotoGP) and Dani Pedrosa (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 2 x MotoGP).
The only rider to win the MotoGP race at Sepang and to lead across the line at the end of every lap is Casey Stoner, who did so on two occasions, in 2007 and 2009.
The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang has been the deciding race in the MotoGP championship on four occasions: in 2003, 2005 and 2009 when Valentino Rossi won the title, and in 2010 in favour of Jorge Lorenzo.

Another record for Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi will add to his great collection of achievements when he lines up on the grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix. It will be his 329th grand prix, making him the rider with most grand prix starts in the 67-year history of the motorcycling world championship series.

Below is a table showing the eight riders who have made more than 250 GP starts, together with a few statistics related to Rossi’s grand prix career.

Rossi has taken part in 328 of the 866 grand prix events staged since the start of the world championship series back in 1949. This means that he has taken part in 37.9% of all grand prix events that have taken place.
During his career Rossi has competed at thirty-six different grand prix circuits.
The circuit at which Rossi has made most grand prix appearances is Jerez, where he has made twenty GP starts across the three classes.
He has finished in a point scoring position a record 294 times in the 328 GP races that he has started, a rate of 89.6%.
Rossi has won 112 times from his 328 grand prix starts – a win rate of 34.1 %.
He has finished on the podium on 210 occasions from his 328 grand prix starts, a rate of 64%.

Valentino Rossi could win the MotoGP title in Malaysia

Valentino Rossi arrives in Malaysia with an eleven-point lead at the head of the championship table over teammate Jorge Lorenzo. In order to win the title at Sepang, Rossi will need to increase his lead in the championship to at least twenty-six points. The following scenarios will result in Rossi taking the world championship in Malaysia:

If Rossi wins the race and Lorenzo does not finish in the top five.
If Rossi is second and Lorenzo does not finish in the top ten.
If Rossi is third and Lorenzo does not finish in the top in the top fourteen.

Jorge Lorenzo levels with Mick Doohan

Jorge Lorenzo’s second place finish in Australia was the 95th time that he has stood on the podium since moving up to the MotoGP class in 2008. As shown in the table below, this is the same number of podium finishes in the premierclass as five times 500cc World Champion, Mick Doohan.

Danny Kent’s title winning chances at Sepang

Following the dramatic race at Phillip Island, Danny Kent arrives at Sepang with a forty-point lead in the championship and with a great chance of becoming the first British world champion since Barry Sheene in the 500cc class in 1977. The following scenarios will result in Kent taking the world championship in Malaysia:

If Kent finishes the race in the top five.
If Kent finishes in positions sixth to eleventh and Oliveira does not win the race.
If Kent is 12th, 13th, 14th or 15th and Oliveira does not finish either first or second.
If Kent does not score any points he will still win the title if Oliveira does not finish on the podium.

Grand Prix racing numbers

188 – Andrea Iannone has scored a total of 188 points so far in 2015, with two races of the year remaining. This is the highest points score by a Ducati rider in MotoGP since Casey Stoner finished fourth in the championship in 2010 with a score of 225 points.
99 – The win by Marc Marquez in Australia was the 99th win for Spanish riders in MotoGP since it became the premier-class of grand prix racing in 2002. Spain are the nation with the most wins in the MotoGP class – the number of victory for other nations is: Italy – 91, Australia – 40, USA – 4, Brazil – 3, Japan – 3
25 – Danilo Petrucci will celebrate his 25th birthday on the day of qualifying in Malaysia.
22.84 seconds – Twelfth placed finisher in Australia, Danilo Petrucci, crossed the line just 22.84 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez. This is the closest top twelve in a full length MotoGP race since it became the premier-class of grand prix racing in 2002. Only once before in the premier-class have the top twelve been closer, at the 500cc race at Phillip Island in 2001 when the first twelve riders across the line were covered by just 20.303 seconds.
18 years 346 days – Lorenzo Baldassarri’s third place finish in Australia is his first podium in grand prix racing. This makes him the youngest Italian rider to finish on the podium in the Moto2 class and the second youngest Italian rider of all-time, after Marco Melandri, to finish on the podium in the intermediate-class of grand prix racing.
14 – Although he did not make it onto the podium in Australia, new world champion Johann Zarco has finished on the podium thirteen times so far in 2015 and he needs just one more top three finish in the remaining two races to equal the record of 14 podiums in a season in the intermediate-class (Moto2/250cc), held jointly by Marc Marquez (2012) and Tito Rabat (2014).
6.8 seconds – At the Australian Grand Prix Maverick Viñales crossed the line just 6.8 seconds behind Marc Marquez. This is the smallest gap that a Suzuki rider has had to the race winner in MotoGP since Loris Capirossi finished fifth riding a Suzuki at Mugello in 2009 when he crossed the line just 3.274 seconds after race winner Casey Stoner.
4 – Sepang is one of four circuits on the current schedule where Jorge Lorenzo has not had a win in the MotoGP class, along with: Austin, Sachsenring and Termas de Rio Hondo.
3 – The sixth place finish by Maverick Viñales in Australia won him the Rookie of the Year title. This is the third time that he has been the top rookie; in 2011 in the 125cc class and last year in Moto2.
1.058 seconds – Just 1.058 seconds separated the MotoGP race winner in Australia Marc Marquez and fourth placed Valentino Rossi. This is the closet top four in the MotoGP class since the Portuguese MotoGP race in 2006 at Estoril when Colin Edwards crossed the line in fourth just 0.864 seconds behind race winner Toni Elias.

Moto2 stats and facts

The five Moto2 races that have taken place at Sepang have been won by five different riders: 2010 – Roberto Rolfo, 2011 – Tom Luthi, 2012 – Alex de Angelis, 2013 – Tito Rabat and 2014 – Maverick Viñales.
Johann Zarco has had a single podium finish at Sepang – third in the 125cc race in 2011 behind Maverick Viñales and Sandro Cortese. Zarco finished fourth last year in Malaysia after a great battle in the closing stages with Dominique Aegerter.
Tom Luthi has won twice at Sepang, on both occasions after qualifying on pole position; the 125cc race in 2005 and the Moto2 race in 2012.
Sam Lowes crashed out of the Moto2 race in Malaysia last year on the fifth lap; he re-started and continued until the end of the 14th lap when he entered the pits and retired from the race.
Mika Kallio has finished on the podium at Sepang on four occasions, each time in second place – the 125cc races in 2003, 2005, 2006 and the Moto2 race last year.
Tom Luthi (2011) and Esteve Rabat (2013) are the only two riders currently competing in Moto2 who have won in the class previously at Sepang. Ridders currently competing in Moto2 who have grand prix wins at Sepang in the lightweight-class are: Tom Luthi (125cc – 2005), Julian Simon (125cc – 2009), Sandro Cortese (Moto3 – 2012) and Luis Salom (Moto3 – 2013).
Alex Rins has been on the podium for the last two years in the Moto3 race in Malaysia – second in 2013 and third last year after starting down in 17th place on the grid. He also set a new Moto3 lap record last year while making his way through the field.

Moto3 stats and facts

Danny Kent finished fourth last year in Sepang, just eight-tenths of a second behind race winner Efren Vazquez.
Miguel Oliveira finished third and set a Moto3 lap record two years ago at Sepang. Last year in Malaysia he crashed at Turn 13 on the first lap.
Efren Vazquez won the Moto3 race in Malaysia last year, the second of his two wins achieved during the 2014 season.
John McPhee qualified in second place on the grid last year in Malaysia and then crashed out on the final lap when battling with the leading group of riders.