MotoGP Statistics update as we head to Jerez

2019 MotoGP
Jerez Moto Stats Update

By Dr. Thomas Morsellino

Previously in MotoGP by numbers

• 198 – At the Americas GP, Valentino Rossi stood on the podium for the 198th time in the premier class and the 234th time in his Grand Prix career.

• 49 – Suzuki have scored 49 points in the MotoGP in Constructor’s World Championship since the opening race in Qatar, which is the best start to a premier class season for Suzuki since 2000.
• 40 – At 40 years and 57 days old on race day in Austin, Valentino Rossi became the oldest rider to score back-to-back premier class podium finishes since Jack Ahearn at the Belgium GP and the East German GP back in 1966.

• 19 – Since the opening Grand Prix in Qatar, 19 different riders have stood on the podium across all classes.
• 8 – Aron Canet won in Austin for the first time since Silverstone in 2017, making eight different winners in the Moto3 over the last eight races, which is the first time this has happened since the introduction of the class in 2012.
• 3 – Since the opening premier class race in Qatar, three different manufacturers have stood on the top step of the podium: Ducati, Honda and Suzuki, which is the first time this has happened in the premier class since the opening three races of 2008 with Ducati, Honda and Yamaha. Four manufacturers have never won the first four races in the class.
• 3 – The win for Alex Rins at the Americas GP was the third victory for a Suzuki rider since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002.

Jerez scheduled to host the 300th MotoGP race

The MotoGP race at Jerez will be the 300th MotoGP race to take place since the class was introduced back in 2002. Below are some facts and statistics from the 299 MotoGP races that have taken place so far.

• A total of 23 different riders have stood on the top step of the podium in the MotoGP class. The rider with most MotoGP wins is Valentino Rossi with 76, followed by Jorge Lorenzo (47), Marc Marquez (45), Casey Stoner (38) and Dani Pedrosa (31).

• A total of 45 different riders have finished on the podium in the MotoGP class. Valentino Rossi is the rider with most MotoGP podium finishes, with 175, followed by Jorge Lorenzo (114), Dani Pedrosa (112), Marc Marquez (79), and Casey Stoner (69).
• A total of eight different riders have won one race in the MotoGP class since 2002, as follows: Alex Rins, Andrea Iannone, Ben Spies, Chris Vermeulen, Jack Miller, Tohru Ukawa, Toni Elias and Troy Bayliss.
• The MotoGP winners have come from seven different nations: Spain (138), Italy (107), Australia (41), USA (4), Great Britain (3), Brazil (3) and Japan (3).
• 30 different riders have qualified on pole position in the MotoGP class (including the Malaysian GP 2011 and the British GP 2018). The five riders with the most MotoGP poles are Marc Marquez (54), Valentino Rossi (51), Jorge Lorenzo (43), Casey Stoner (39) and Dani Pedrosa (31).
• Honda is the most successful manufacturer in the MotoGP class with 142 wins. Other manufacturers who have taken MotoGP wins are Yamaha (107), Ducati (47) and Suzuki (3).

MotoGP Facts and Stats

• Alex Rins became the first first-time winner in the premier class of Grand Prix racing since Maverick Viñales won at the British GP in 2016, also riding a Suzuki.

• With Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) in Qatar, Marc Marquez (Honda) in Argentina and Alex Rins (Suzuki) in Austin, three riders from three different manufacturers have won in the three opening races. This is the first time this has happened in the premier class since the opening three races of 2008 with Casey Stoner (Ducati), Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).
• At the Spanish GP, Yamaha, KTM and Aprilia will be aiming to make it four manufacturers to win the first four races for the first time in the premier class of Grand Prix racing.
• Alex Rins has only led across the line for a total of seven laps in 2019. Other riders who have led races this year are: Marc Marquez (34 laps), Andrea Dovizioso (18) and Valentino Rossi (8).

• In Austin, Valentino Rossi stood on the podium for the second successive time, becoming the oldest rider to score back-to-back premier class podium finishes since Jack Ahearn at the Belgium GP and the East German GP back in 1966. In addition, this was his 198th podium finish in the premier class.
• With his third-place finish in Austin, Jack Miller stood on the podium for the first time since he won the Dutch TT back in 2016. Miller is now leading the Independent Team riders classification with 29 points, ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (22).

• Neither of the two Yamaha factory riders have won at least one of the three opening races for the second successive year. The last time that the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team did not have a win in any of the first three races of the year in two successive seasons was in 2002 and 2003.

Valentino Rossi

“I love racing in Europe because the tracks are fantastic, and I know them very well. We start at Jerez, which has been a difficult track for the Yamaha in the last two years, but we did well at the last two races, so it will be very interesting to see if we can be strong there. We have had a little break and from now on it’s ‘bam, bam, bam’, a very packed schedule until the race at the Sachsenring. We’re good, strong, and we are working well. It looks like the bike improved a lot. For sure, there are some areas that we need to work on. We need some time for that, but we can be competitive.”

• Andrea Dovizioso, who crossed the line in fourth in Austin, is now leading the Championship with 54 points, ahead of Valentino Rossi (51 points). This is the first time two Italian riders have led the Championship since Rossi was ahead of Dovizioso after the Spanish GP back in 2015.
• Franco Morbidelli finished in fifth place at the Americas GP, which is his best resul tin the MotoGP class.
• Morbidelli’s teammate Fabio Quartararo finished seventh in Austin as the highest-placed rookie, which is his best result so far. He is now leading the fight for the Rookie of the Year with 17 points ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (9), Joan Mir (8) and Miguel Oliveira (7).
• Takaaki Nakagami finished 10th in the Americas as the only Honda rider across the line, which is the lowest points accumulated by Honda in a race since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002.

• Only seven riders have scored points in all three of the MotoGP races in 2019: Danilo Petrucci, Alex Rins, Takaaki Nakagami, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro.
• Tito Rabat crossed the line in 15th place in Austin, which is his first point scoring finish since he was 11th at the Austrian GP last year before breaking his leg at the following GP in Silverstone.
• Jorge Lorenzo will celebrate his 32nd birthday on qualifying day in Jerez, which will also be the 17th anniversary of his Grand Prix debut at this track. He had to miss the opening day due to being too young.
• Hafizh Syahrin, who is scheduled to make his 100th Grand Prix start at the Spanish GP, will celebrate his 25th birthday on the race day at Jerez.
• None of the four rookies in the MotoGP class this year have previously won a Grand Prix race at Jerez in any of the smaller classes. Nonetheless, all of them have stood on the podium at least once at the track in Grand Prix racing except Fabio Quartararo.

Motorcycle Grand Prix Racing at Jerez

• This is the 33rd successive year that a motorcycle Grand Prix event has been held at the Jerez circuit since it was first used in 1987.
• Assen is the only current venue that has been used consecutively for a longer period than Jerez.
• A total of 98 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held at the Jerez circuit as follows: MotoGP –17, 500cc–15, Moto2 –9, 250cc–23, Moto3 –7, 125cc–24, 80cc–3.
• The MotoGP race this year will be the 400th Grand Prix race in Spain since the first Spanish Grand Prix held in 1951 in Montjuïc.
• Almost 24 years ago, Alberto Puig’s victory at Jerez on May 7th, 1995, was the first win for a Spanish rider in the premier class on home soil.
• Since the first Grand Prix race in the premier class in Jerez, Honda have had 21 wins at Jerez, the last of which was last year with Marc Marquez.
• Marquez’ win at Jerez last year was the 400th for a rider using Michelin tyres in Grand Prix racing. The first Michelin victory was at the TT back in 1973 with Jack Findlay.

• Yamaha have had eight wins at Jerez in the premier class, the last of which was three years ago with Valentino Rossi.
• Ducati’s only win at Jerez was in 2006 when Loris Capirossi won from pole position. The last time a Ducati rider finished on the podium at Jerez was in 2017 when Jorge Lorenzo crossed the line in third place, which was also his first podium finish for
  Ducati.
• Last year, Andrea Iannone finished in third place at Jerez, which was the best result for Suzuki at the track since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002. Suzuki’s last of its two victories at Jerez was in 2000 when Kenny Roberts won the 500cc race on his way to clinching his world title.
• Aleix Espargaro’s ninth-place finish in 2017 was the best result for an Aprilia rider in Jerez in the premier class since Doriano Romboni was sixth back in 1997.
• Mika Kallio finished 10th last year in Jerez, which is the best result at the track for a KTM rider.
• Jerez has been the most successful circuit for the Spanish riders as regards premier-class victories, with a total of 13 wins: Alberto Puig in 1995, Alex Criville in 1997, 98, 99, Sete Gibernau in 2004, Dani Pedrosa in 2008, 2013 & 2017, Jorge Lorenzo in 2010, 2011 & 2015, and Marc Marquez in 2014 and 2018.

• There has been at least one Spanish rider on the podium in the MotoGP race at Jerez for the last 15 years, a sequence that started in 2004.
• Valentino Rossi is the most successful rider at the Jerez circuit with nine wins; a single victory in both the 125cc and 250cc classes add to his seven in the premier class.
• 2016 was the first time since 2009 that Spain did not have at least one winner across the three classes in Jerez.
• There have been five different winners in the MotoGP class at Jerez in the last seven years: one for Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, two for Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.

• The nine Moto2 races that have taken place at Jerez have been won by nine different riders: Toni Elias, Andrea Iannone, Pol Espargaró, Tito Rabat, Mika Kallio, Jonas Folger, Sam Lowes, Alex Marquez and Lorenzo Baldassarri.
• Philipp Öttl won for the first time in his Grand Prix career in Jerez last year, 21 years and 345 days after his father Peter’s last win at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello back in 1996. They became the seventh father and son in Grand Prix history to win.
• The seven Moto3 races that have taken place at the Jerez circuit have been won by six different riders: Romano Fenati (2012 and 2014), Maverick Viñales (2013), Danny Kent (2015), Brad Binder (2016), Aron Canet (2017) and Philipp Öttl (2018). None
  of the them have won from pole.

Great weekend for Alex Rins and Suzuki in Texas

In Austin, Alex Rins won for the first time on what was the 34th start of his career in the premier class. Below are some facts and statistics regarding the feat.

• Alex Rins’ win in Texas was the third for Suzuki since the introduction of the MotoGP class back in 2002, along with Chris Vermeulen at the French GP back in 2007 and Maverick Viñales at the British GP in 2016.
• This is Suzuki’s first win in the premier class in the United States. Suzuki have had four wins in smaller classes in the US: at Daytona with Hugh Anderson in the 50cc class (1964) and the 125cc class (1964 and 1965), and Ernst Degner in the 50cc class (1965).
• Before the Spanish GP, Alex Rins is thirdin the Championship,becoming the highest-placed Suzuki rider in the premier class after the opening three races of the season since Kenny Roberts Jr. led after the Japanese GP in 2000.
• Following the Americas GP, Suzuki have scored 49 points in the Constructors’ World Championship classification, which is the highest points accumulated after the opening three races by Suzuki since 2000 when they had 55 points at this stage of the season.

• With his win in Austin, Alex Rins became the 10th different Spanish rider to have won in the premier class of Grand Prix racing along with Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa, Alex Criville, Sete Gibernau, Maverick Viñales, Carlos Checa, Toni Elias and Alberto Puig.
• Alex Rins became the first rider to have won at least once in Moto3, in Moto2 and in MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas.
• With his win in Texas, this is Alex Rins’ seventh successive top five finish since Japan last year. In addition, Rins has scored points in the last 12 successive races. The last time he failed to score any points was in Germany last year when he crashed on the opening lap.
• In his Grand Prix career, Alex Rins’ first win in each of the solo classes he competed in came in the United States: Americas/2013 (Moto3), Indianapolis/2015 (Moto2) and Americas/2019 (MotoGP).

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“We are still feeling very happy about the positive start to the Championship, and especially with the victory we had in Austin with Alex. But we are conscious that from now on the races will be very different from the previous ones. Jerez will be a tricky one due to the unusual configuration of the track, very narrow and with some very technical parts. Our formula is to approach every race with humility, without pre-conceived ideas, and to use our working method which is step by step. We have seen that our GSX-RR has a lot of potential, and that Alex and Joan are growing very fast, each one on his own path. But we are also aware of some areas where we can improve, and this is our main objective. Our goal is to get as close to the top as we can, and then play our cards in the race. Staying consistently in the Top 10 and Top 5 which will give us the chance to fight for some good results.”

MotoGP weekend schedule
Times in AEST

2019 MotoGP – Round Three
MotoGP Championship Points Standings