MotoGP Statistics Update | Sachsenring 2018

MotoGP Statistics Update

Sachsenring 2018

With Jorge Martín winning in Moto3, Marc Márquez’ win at the Dutch TT is the 590th for Spain in Grand Prix racing. Only Italy has more GP wins, with 791 GP victories.

At the Dutch TT, Marc Márquez won his fourth race of the opening eight races of the season. In the MotoGP era since 2002, the rider who won at least half of the opening eight races of the season went on to win the title.

In each of the last eight years at the Sachsenring Marc Márquez has qualified on pole and won the race; 2010 in the 125cc class, 2011 & 2012 in Moto2 and for the last five years in MotoGP.

This year, Marc Márquez will be aiming to win for the sixth successive time in the premier class at the Sachsenring and equal his record of winning at least six successive times at any one track, achieved at Austin (CotA) earlier this year.

Álex Rins crossed the line in second at the Dutch TT, which is his best result on what was his 21st start in the premier class. This is also the best result for a Suzuki rider in this class in Assen since Kenny Roberts Jr was also second back in 1999.

Álex Rins’ second place in Assen is the fourth podium finish for Suzuki this year, equalling the podium finishes accumulated during the 2016 season. 2007 was the only season during which Suzuki had more podium finishes in the MotoGP era since 2002 – eight.

Following the Dutch TT, Suzuki have scored 100 points in the Constructor’s World Championship classification, equalling the points accumulated by Suzuki last year.

In the MotoGP era, 2007 is the only season where Suzuki scored more points after the opening eight races of the season, when they had 111 points.

With Marc Márquez, Álex Rins and Maverick Viñales, this is the first podium with all three riders coming from Spain since Aragón last year, and the 18th overall.

This is also the first Spanish 1-2-3 in the premier class without Dani Pedrosa among the three riders and the first with three Spanish riders on bikes from different manufacturers.

Maverick Viñales has scored points in the last 18 successive races. The last time he failed to score points was in Assen last year when he crashed out on the twelfth lap of the race at the last chicane.

Danilo Petrucci crashed out of the race in Assen, meaning only Viñales has scored points in all eight of the MotoGP races in 2018.

At the German GP, Andrea Dovizioso will be aiming to become the sixth rider in the history of Grand Prix racing to reach the milestone of 2000 points scored in the
premier class. With his fourth-place finish in Assen, he scored his 1986th point in the class.

Álvaro Bautista finished ninth at Assen for the third successive time. In Sachsenring, he will be aiming to become the 15th rider to reach the milestone of 2000 points scored in Grand Prix racing. Following the Dutch TT, he has 1999 points.

Following the Dutch TT, Ducati have scored 145 points in the Constructor’s World Championship classification, which is the highest points accumulated after the
opening seven races by Ducati since 2007 when they had 168 points at this stage of the season on their way to clinching their only title so far.

Yamaha riders have not won since Assen last season with Valentino Rossi (18 successive races), equalling their longest sequence without a win since the 18-race sequence that included the last two races of 2002 and the 16 races of 2003. In addition, Yamaha haven been on the podium for the last 11 races, which is their longest podium sequence without a win in the MotoGP era.

Aleix Espargaró crossed the line in 13th at the Dutch TT followed by his teammate Scott Redding, which is the first time that the two Aprilia riders score points in dry-weather conditions since Valencia back in 2016.

Franco Morbidelli, who won last year at the German GP in Moto2, missed the Dutch TT race due a left-hand injury sustained after a crash in FP3. Hafizh Syahrin, his closest rival in the fight for Rookie of the Year, failed to score any points – meaning Morbidelli is still leading the Rookie of the Year classification with 19 points.

The only two of the five rookies in the MotoGP class this year to have previously won at the German GP in any of the smaller classes are Franco Morbidelli (2017) and Xavier Siméon (2015), both in the Moto2 class. Tom Lüthi, who made his first Grand Prix appearance at this track in 2002, is the only other of the five rookies to have stood on the podium at the Sachsenring: 2nd in 125cc in 2005 on his way to clinching the title.

Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing in Germany

The 2018 German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring will be the 80th Grand Prix event to be held on the German soil and the 21st successive year at the new Sachsenring. The following are some interesting statistics about Grand Prix motorcycle racing in Germany.

The first motorcycle Grand Prix to be held in Germany was the West German Grand Prix held at the Solitude circuit in 1952, when it was reported that 400,000 spectators turned up to watch. Reg Armstrong won the 350cc and 500cc races riding Nortons, while home riders Rudi Felgenheier won the 250cc race on a DKW and Werner Haas won the 125cc race on an NSU.

The first East German Grand Prix was held at the Sachsenring road circuit in 1961. The original circuit used for this event was a closed road circuit, 8.73 km in length. The East German GP continued to be held at the Sachsenring each year until 1972, after which the original road circuit was considered too dangerous for Grand Prix racing.

The West German Grand Prix was held every year from 1952 through to 1990, when East and West joined to become a unified Germany. Four different circuits were used during this period from 1952 to 1990: Solitude, Schotten, the Nürburgring and Hockenheim.

There has been a German Grand Prix held every year since unification; from 1991 to 1994 at Hockenheim followed by three years at the Nürburgring before it moved to the new Sachsenring circuit in 1998.

In addition to those mentioned above, one other Grand Prix event has been held in Germany: the Baden-Wurtemberg GP held in 1986 at Hockenheim for just the 80cc and 125cc classes.

The newly built Sachsenring was initially just 3.508km long with one short section of track from the old road circuit. Major modifications to the circuit in 2001 and then additional alterations in 2003 resulted in the current 3.671 km track layout.

The Sachsenring is one of just five circuits on the current Grand Prix schedule that run in an anti-clockwise direction, along with Austin, Aragon, Phillip Island and Valencia.

A total of 112 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held at the Sachsenring since 1961 as follows: MotoGP –16, 500cc–16, 350cc–11, Moto2 –8, 250cc–24, Moto3 –6, 125cc–26, 50cc–5.

The best result by a German rider in the premier class at the Sachsenring since racing returned to the circuit in 1998 is second for Jonas Folger last year.

There have been seven other podium finishes for German riders at the Sachsenring circuit since 1998: Ralf Waldmann was third in the 250cc race in 1999, Steve Jenkner was third in the 125cc race in 2002, Stefan Bradl finished second in the 125cc class in 2008, Sandro Cortese finished third in the 125cc race in 2010, Stefan Bradl was second in 2011 in Moto2, Sandro Cortese won the Moto3 race in 2012 and in 2016, Jonas Folger was second in the Moto2 race.

Honda is the most successful manufacturer at the Sachsenring circuit since racing returned to it in 1998 with 14 wins, including the last eight victories for Marc Marquez.

Yamaha have had four wins in the premier class since 1998 at the Sachsenring, with two different riders: Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi.

Ducati have won only once in the premier class at the Sachsenring, with Casey Stoner back in 2008. Ducati have had five other podium finishes at the track in the premier class: Troy Bayliss was third in 2003, Loris Capirossi second in 2007, Casey Stoner third in 2010 and Dovizioso third last year.

The only win for a Suzuki rider at the Sachsenring was in the 500cc race in 1999 with Kenny Roberts Jr. The best results for Suzuki in MotoGP since 2002 is when Chris Vermeulen crossed the line third back in 2008.

Honda riders have also qualified on pole for the German GP for the last seven years; the last non-Honda rider to start from pole for a MotoGP race at the Sachsenring was Jorge Lorenzo in 2010 on a Yamaha.

Marc Márquez is the most successful at the Sachsenring with a total of eight wins over the last eight years: five in MotoGP, two in Moto2 and one in 125cc. His closest rival is Dani Pedrosa with six wins (2x 250cc, 4 x MotoGP).

The eight Moto2 races that have taken place in Sachsenring have been won by seven different riders: Toni Elías, Marc Márquez, Jordi Torres, Dominique Aegerter, Xavier Siméon, Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli. The only rider who has more than a single Moto2 win at this circuit is Marc Márquez, who won in both 2011 and 2012 from pole.

The six Moto3 races that have taken place at the Sachsenring have been won by six different riders: Sandro Cortese, Álex Rins, Jack Miller, Danny Kent, Khairul Idham
Pawi and Joan Mir. Only two of them have not been won from pole position: Khairul Idham Pawi (2016) and Joan Mir (2017)

Marc Márquez levels with Casey Stoner

The win for Marc Márquez at the Dutch TT was the 69th time he has stood on the podium in the premier class, the same number as Casey Stoner. Only six riders have stood on the podium on more occasions than Stoner and Márquez in the MotoGP/500cc class.

Most Podiums in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing

• Valentino Rossi 195 Podiums – 89 x 1st – 58 x 2nd – 48 x 3rd
• Dani Pedrosa 112 Podiums – 31 x 1st – 40 x 2nd – 41 x 3rd
• Jorge Lorenzo 112 Podiums – 46 x 1st – 43 x 2nd – 23 x 3rd
• Mick Doohan 95 Podiums – 54 x 1st – 31 x 2nd – 10 x 3rd
• Giacomo Agostini 88 Podiums – 68 x 1st – 20 x 2nd
• Eddie Lawson 78 Podiums – 31 x 1st – 31 x 2nd – 16 x 3rd
• Casey Stoner 69 Podiums – 38 x 1st – 11 x 2nd – 20 x 3rd
• Marc Márquez 69 Podiums 39 x 1st – 21 x 2nd – 9 x 3rd
• Wayne Rainey 64 Podiums – 24 x 1st – 22 x 2nd – 18 x 3rd
• Max Biaggi 58 Podiums – 13 x 1st – 26 x 2nd – 19 x 3rd

This was the 108th podium finish across all classes for Marc Márquez, three less than Max Biaggi, who stands in eighth place in list of riders with the most podium finishes.

Márquez also moved ahead of Casey Stoner into fifth place in the list of riders with most Grand Prix wins in the premier class. Stoner won 38 races in the premier class while Marquez has now won 39.

Jorge Lorenzo equals Alex Barros

At the Dutch TT, Jorge Lorenzo made his 276th Grand Prix start, equalling Alex Barros in sixth place on the list of riders with most Grand Prix starts. In addition, in Assen, Álvaro Bautista equalled Bruno Kneubühler with 264 starts.

Most starts in Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing (All classes)

• Valentino Rossi 373
• Loris Capirossi 328
• Dani Pedrosa 285
• Andrea Dovizioso 284
• Jack Findlay 282
• Alex Barros 276
• Jorge Lorenzo 276
• Héctor Barberá 267
• Angel Nieto 265
• Alex De Angelis 265
• Bruno Kneubühler 264
• Álvaro Bautista 264
• Tom Lüthi 257
• Randy de Puniet 253
• Simone Corsi 252

Historic race weekend at the Dutch TT

Dani Pedrosa finished the Dutch TT in 15th place, crossing the line just 16.043 seconds behind race winner Marc Márquez, which is the closest top 15 of the all-time in a full length premier class Grand Prix. This breaks the record set earlier this year in Qatar.

The following list shows the ten closest top 15 finishes of all-time in the premier class of Grand Prix racing, seven of which have occurred since 2017 (only races that
have completed full race distance are considered for inclusion in the following table).

Closest top 15 finishes of all-time in the premier class

1. 2018 Assen Marc Márquez 16.043
2. 2018 Losail Andrea Dovizioso 23.287
3. 2017 Aragón Marc Márquez 26.082
4. 2017 Phillip Island Marc Márquez 26.168
5. 2018 Mugello Jorge Lorenzo 26.644
6. 2017 Red Bull Ring Andrea Dovizioso 28.096
7. 2006 Brno Loris Capirossi 29.296
8. 2001 Phillip Island Valentino Rossi 29.738
9. 2005 Brno Valentino Rossi 29.768
10. 2017 Mugello Andrea Dovizioso 30.779

The average age of the three riders on the MotoGP podium in Assen was 23 years 292 days, making it the youngest podium of the MotoGP era since Assen 2016 when Jack Miller won from Marc Márquez and Scott Redding. Then, the average age of the three riders was 22 years 277 days.

This is the first time in his 69 podium finishes in the premier class that Marc Márquez is the oldest of the three riders.

Jorge Lorenzo qualified tenth at the Dutch TT, just 0,376 seconds behind pole-sitter Marc Márquez, which is the closest top ten in qualifying in the premier class since Jerez in 2007 where there was just 0.325s between Dani Pedrosa and Kenny Roberts Jr.

The Catalan GP and the Dutch TT are the first back-to-back Grands Prix where each of the three winners took victory after qualifying on pole since 1986 in West Germany and Austria.

Moto2 Facts and Stats

Francesco Bagnaia won for the fourth time from the eight opening races of the season, becoming the fifth rider to win four or more races in the opening eight races since the introduction of the Moto2 class in 2010 along with Stefan Bradl (2011), Marc Márquez (2012), Tito Rabat (2014) and Franco Morbidelli (2017). Each of them went on to win the title each year.

Francesco Bagnaia is now leading the Championship by 16 points ahead of Miguel Oliveira; this is the highest margin after the opening eight races in the Moto2
class since 2015.

Last year in Germany, Bagnaia crossed the line in third place from 10th on the grid after battling with Simone Corsi.

Fabio Quartararo finished second at the Dutch TT, which is his first back-to-back podium finish in Grand Prix racing and the first from a Speed Up rider since Sam Lowes in the Americas and Argentina GPs in 2015. In Germany, he will be aiming to become the first Speed Up rider to be on the podium three times in a row.

Álex Márquez was third in Assen, which is his fifth podium finish this year–one less than last year–and his 12th in the Moto2 class, equalling Julián Simón and Stefan Bradl. He crashed out of the race last year in Germany on the fifth lap at Turn 2, breaking his C5 and C6 vertebrae.

Marcel Schrötter finished fourth in Assen, equalling his best result from France and Barcelona earlier this year. His best result at the German GP is ninth last year. He
will be aiming to become the third German rider to stand on the podium at the Sachsenring in Moto2, after Stefan Bradl and Jonas Folger.

Miguel Oliveira, who fought for the win with Franco Morbidelli at the Sachsenring last year, finished sixth place as the top KTM rider at the Dutch TT, equalling his worst
result of the year along with Le Mans.

Dominique Aegerter is the only rider currently competing in Moto2 to have won at the Sachsenring in the class. However, Simone Corsi (2013 & 2014), Francesco Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira last year have stood on the podium at this track.

Mattia Pasini (125cc–2006), Danny Kent (Moto3 –2015), Khairul Idham Pawi (Moto3 –2016) and Joan Mir (Moto3 –2017) are the four riders currently racing in Moto2 who have won in the lightweight class at this circuit.

Moto3 Facts and Stats

At the Dutch TT, Jorge Martín won for the fifth time in his Grand Prix career. This is the 225th Spanish win in the lightweight class and the 53rd in Moto3. All of his wins came after qualifying on the front row.

Jorge Martín missed the race last year in Germany after breaking his right leg following a heavy crash in FP2. However, he did win two Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup races at the Sachsenring, in both 2013 and 2014.

Arón Canet crossed the line in second place in Assen, which is his third podium finish of the year. Each of them has been a second place. Canet crashed out of the race at the Sachsenring after qualifying on pole position last season, which is his last pole position so far.

With Jorge Martín and Arón Canet, this was the first Spanish 1–2 since Qatar earlier this year with the same riders, and the 37th for Spain in the lightweight category.

Enea Bastianini was third in Assen, which made it his first back-to-back podium finish since 2016. Along with Arón Canet, Bastianini is the only other Moto3 rider on the current grid who has qualified on pole at the Sachsenring and not won the race.

Fabio Di Giannantonio is the only rider who has scored points in each of the opening eight Moto3 races this season.

None of the riders currently competing in Moto3 have ever won at the Sachsenring in the class. However, Enea Bastianini (2015 & 2016) and Marcos Ramírez (2017) have been on the podium at this track.

The last three Moto3 races that have taken place at the Sachsenring have been won by Honda riders, while the first three Moto3 races have been won by KTM riders.

Sandro Cortese is the only German rider to have won at this track in the Moto3 category, in 2012.

The second oldest rider in the current Moto3 field, John McPhee, who crashed out of the race in Assen, will be celebrating his 24th birthday on qualifying day at the Sachsenring