Valencia Grand Prix facts and statistics

MotoGP Official statistics compiled by Dr. Martin Raines

Final race MotoGP showdown

Following his victory in Malaysia, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) arrives at the final race of the year with a 21-point deficit in the World Championship classification. If Dovizioso wins the race in Valencia, then Marc Marquez will need to finish 11th or better to take the world title.

Since the motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship series was introduced in 1949 there have been seventeen occasions previously that the premier class title has been decided at the final race of the year.

Only three riders have overturned a points deficit in the final race of the year to become premier class World Champion; Wayne Rainey in 1992, Nicky Hayden in 2006 and Jorge Lorenzo in 2015.

The largest deficit any rider has overturned at the final race of the year to win the premier class world title is eight points, done by the late, great Nicky Hayden in 2006.

If Marquez wins the Championship, he will be the youngest ever rider to win four premier class world titles and the youngest rider to win six world titles across all classes.

If Andrea Dovizioso wins the championship, he will be the oldest champion of the MotoGP era and the oldest premier-class champion since Mick Doohan in 1998.

MotoGP World Championship Points Standings

1. Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 282
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 261
3. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 226
4. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 197
5. Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 185
6. Johann ZARCO Yamaha FRA 154
7. Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA 137
8. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA 121
9. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR 104
10. Jonas FOLGER Yamaha GER 84
11. Alvaro BAUTISTA Ducati SPA 75
12. Jack MILLER Honda AUS 73
13. Scott REDDING Ducati GBR 64
14. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 62
15. Andrea IANNONE Suzuki ITA 60

MotoGP Stats

• This year will be the 19th Grand Prix of Valencia, which has been held every year at the Ricardo Tormo circuit since the first visit in 1999.
• This will be the 16th successive year that Valencia has hosted the final race of the season, making it the circuit that has been the venue for the final event of the year on most occasions. It has been the final event of the year throughout the MotoGP era.

• The Valencia circuit is named after Spanish racer Ricardo Tormo, who won the 50cc world title riding for Bultaco in 1978 and 1981. In addition to his 15 Grand Prix victories in the 50cc class he also had four wins in the 125cc class. His career ended in 1984 due to leg injuries suffered in a crash whilst test riding, and Tormo sadly died from leukaemia in 1998.
• Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) is the most successful rider at the Valencia circuit with six wins; three in MotoGP, two in 250cc, and one in the 125cc class. The next most successful rider is Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) with four wins in Valencia, all in the MotoGP class.

• The premier class race at Valencia has been won nine times by Spanish riders; Sete Gibernau won the 500cc race on a Suzuki in 2001; Dani Pedrosa won the MotoGP race in 2007, 2009 and 2012; Jorge Lorenzo won in 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016; Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) won three years ago.
• The last non-Spanish rider to win the MotoGP race in Valencia was Casey Stoner in 2011.

• Since the introduction of the four-stroke MotoGP formula in 2002, Honda has been the most successful manufacturer with eight victories at the Valencia circuit. The most recent was with Marc Marquez in 2014.

• Yamaha has had five MotoGP wins at the Valencia circuit, including last two years with Jorge Lorenzo.
• Ducati have had two MotoGP wins in Valencia: with Troy Bayliss in 2006 and Casey Stoner in 2008.

• Andrea Iannone’s third place finish last year was the fi rst podium at Valencia by a Ducati rider since Stoner fi nished second in 2010.
• Suzuki’s only podium at Valencia in the MotoGP era is a third place finish with John Hopkins in 2007.

• The MotoGP race at Valencia has only been won once by a rider who has not qualified on the front row – Marc Marquez won the race in 2014 from fifth place on the grid.
• At least one of the three classes at the Valencia Grand Prix has been won by a Spanish rider for the last eight years.
• There has never been a year when the three World Championship winners have all won their respective races at the final event of the season since it has been held in Valencia.
• The seven Moto2 races that have taken place in Valencia have been won by seven different riders: 2010 – Karel Abraham, 2011 – Michele Pirro, 2012 – Marc Marquez, 2013 – Nico Terol, 2014 – Tom Luthi, 2015 – Tito Rabat and 2016 – Johann Zarco.
• The five Moto3 races that have taken place in Valencia have been won by five different riders, all of them riding KTM machinery: 2012 – Danny Kent, 2013 – Maverick Viñales, 2014 – Jack Miller 2015 – Miguel Oliveira and 2016 – Brad Binder.
• The last rider to win the lightweight class Grand Prix at Valencia from pole position was Julian Simon in 2009.

Final race deciders in MotoGP

Below are a few comments on the previous occasions that the premier class world title has been decided at the final race of the year:

• 1950 – Going to the final race of the year at his home race at Monza, Umberto Masetti riding a four-cylinder Gilera had a marginal lead in the Championship over Geoff Duke riding a single-cylinder Norton. Geoff Duke won the race, but Masetti did just enough by finishing second to clinch the title by a single point.
• 1952 – Again Umberto Masetti arrived at the final race of the year with a narrow lead in the title chase, this time over the 1949 champion Les Graham (MV
  Agusta) and Irishman Reg Armstrong (Norton). Les Graham won the race, which took place over 48 laps of the Montjuich circuit in Barcelona, but once again Masetti
  did enough to clinch the title by finishing second.
• 1957 – Libero Liberati (Gilera) won the final race of the year at Monza to take the title from Bob McIntyre (Gilera). Liberati had crossed the line first at the
  Belgium GP earlier in the year, but had been disqualified for changing his machine without notifying the officials. After the end of the season Liberati was re-instated
  as winner of the Belgium GP, meaning he had won the world title in retrospect before arriving in Italy for the final race.
• 1966 – Two of the greatest rivals of all time Mike Hailwood (Honda) and Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta) were neck and neck arriving at the final race of the
  year at Monza. The two rivals battled for the lead early in the race until Hailwood’s Honda failed, allowing Agostini to cruise home to take the first of his eight
  500cc world titles.
• 1967 – In a repeat of the previous year, Hailwood and Agostini went into the final race still battling for the Championship as the Grand Prix competitors visited
  Canada for the one and only time. Hailwood won the race to give him the same points total as Agostini, and each had won five races. Agostini took the title due to his
  three second place finishes beating Hailwood’s two.
• 1975 – Giacomo Agostini was once again involved in a final race shootout with a British rider, but this time it was Phil Read, who had taken over as the
  number one rider at MV Agusta and won the title for the previous two years. Read won the final race of the year at Brno but Agostini, riding a Yamaha, cruised home
  in second place to clinch the title and become the first rider ever to win the premier class crown on both two-stroke and four-stroke bikes.
• 1978 – Kenny Roberts (Yamaha) had just an eight point lead over Barry Sheene (Suzuki) going into the final race of the year at the old 22 km Nurburgring
  circuit. Roberts finished in third place, just ahead of Sheene, to become the first American rider ever to win the premier class title.
• 1979 – Kenny Roberts once again arrived for the final race of the year battling with a Suzuki rider for the world title – this time young Italian Virginio Ferrari at
  the Le Mans circuit. After leading in the early stages of the race Ferrari crashed out, which gave the title to Roberts for the second year running.
• 1980 – For the third successive year a Suzuki rider was challenging Kenny Roberts for the world title, and this time it was fellow American Randy Mamola. The
  circuit was once again the old Nurburgring circuit, as it had been in 1978, and it was the final time that this famous track was used for motorcycle Grand Prix racing.
  Even though Mamola led the race in the early stages, Roberts always looked the favourite to take the title having only to finish in eighth place or higher. Mamola’s
  challenge evaporated mid-way through the race when he was slowed with mechanical problems.
• 1981 – For the second successive year Randy Mamola arrived at the final race of the year, this time held at the Swedish Anderstorp circuit, with a chance
  of the title. Marco Lucchinelli was the rider leading the classification and he needed to finish fifth or higher to take the championship if Mamola won the race. The
  race was held in mixed conditions with light rain falling and after leading early in the race, Mamola fell steadily back through the pack and out of the points – while
  Lucchinelli cruised home to a safe ninth to take the title.
• 1983 – Freddie Spencer (Honda) had a five point advantage on Kenny Roberts (Yamaha) when they arrived at the final race of 1983. Throughout the race,
  held at the Imola circuit, Roberts attempted to slow Spencer down to allow his teammate Lawson to catch up and possibly finish ahead of Spencer. At the final flag
  Spencer managed to take the second place needed to clinch the title and become the first Honda rider to win the 500cc crown.
• 1989 – Once again two American riders arrived at the final race of the year with a chance of the title, and this time it was Eddie Lawson (Honda) and
  Wayne Rainey (Yamaha). Lawson finished second in the race to clinch the title after a tremendous battle with Rainey and fellow American Kevin Schwantz,
  who won the race.
• 1992 – Mick Doohan (Honda) suffered severe injuries in a crash during practice at round eight at Assen, by which time he had a 65 point lead over
  Wayne Rainey (Yamaha). When Doohan returned to compete at the final two races of the year, still far from fully fit, Rainey had reduced the lead considerably and
  when they arrived at Kyalami in South Africa for the final race of the year, Doohan had just a two point advantage. In spite of Doohan’s heroic efforts to finish in sixth,
  Rainey took a safe third place to win the title by four points.
• 1993 – Strictly speaking this was the last time that the 500cc title went to the last race of the year with Kevin Schwantz (Suzuki) leading Wayne Rainey by 18
  points. In reality, Schwantz had won the title two races previously at the Italian GP when Wayne Rainey suffered a crash that ended his racing career.
• 2006 – Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) arrived at the final race of the year with an eight point advantage of closest rival Nicky Hayden (Honda). Troy Bayliss, standing
  in for injured Sete Gibernau, won the MotoGP™ race in front of Ducati teammate Loris Capirossi in a first ever one-two for the Ducati factory. Nicky Hayden filled the
  final podium place to become the last world champion of the 990cc era after Valentino Rossi had crashed on lap five and re-started to finish 13th.
• 2013 – Marc Marquez had a thirteen point lead over Jorge Lorenzo arriving in Valencia for the final race of the year. Lorenzo won the race, but Marquez
  finished third to clinch the title in his Rookie season in the MotoGP™ class.
• 2015 – Jorge Lorenzo arrived at Valencia with a seven point deficit to Valentino Rossi. Lorenzo took the title by five points by winning the race, with
  Rossi finishing fourth after starting from the back of the grid due to a penalty.

MotoGP Facts and Stats

• Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) is already guaranteed at least second place in the MotoGP championship, which is the highest finish in the premier class by an Italian rider on an Italian motorcycle since Gianfranco Bonera finished second in the 500cc title race in 1974 riding an MV Agusta.
• Dovizioso’s win at Sepang was the 42nd time he has finished in the top three in the MotoGP class, which is the same number of premier class podium finishes as fellow Italian Loris Capirossi. Only three Italian riders have more premier class podium finishes than Dovizioso: Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Giacomo Agostini and Max Biaggi.
• The fourth place finish for Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in Malaysia was the first time since the Italian Grand Prix at the beginning of June that he had finished a race and not been on the podium.
• The first and second place finishes for Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo in Malaysia was just the fourth time that Ducati riders have taken a one-two
  finish in the MotoGP class. The other occasions are: Valencia 2006 (Bayliss/Capirossi), Australia 2007 (Stoner/Capirossi) and Austria 2016 (Iannone/Dovizioso).

• At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the two Ducati riders were followed home by Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha rider Johann Zarco. This is the first time that no factory Yamaha or Honda rider has been on the podium in a MotoGP race since the Japanese Grand Prix in 2007, which was won by Loris Capirossi on a Ducati followed by Randy de Puniet on a Kawasaki and Toni Elias on a satellite Honda.
• Valentino Rossi is the only rider to have competed at all eighteen previous Grand Prix events that have taken place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.
• Following his second place at Sepang, Jorge Lorenzo has a total of 137 points heading into the final race of the year. Since Casey Stoner won the MotoGP title in 2007, only two riders have scored more than 137 points in their first season on a Ducati – Andrea Dovizioso, who ended the 2013 season with 140 points, and Valentino Rossi, who scored 139 points in 2011.

• Jorge Lorenzo’s second place finish in Malaysia was the 110th time he has stood on the podium in the MotoGP class, just one less MotoGP podium finish than Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team). Only Valentino Rossi has more premier class podium finishes than these two great Spanish rivals.
• With one race of the 2017 season remaining, Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) has already accumulated 121 points this season, which is the best single season total for a Ducati rider in an Independent Team. The previous record was 115 points by Alex Barros in 2007. Petrucci is scheduled to make his 100th grand prix start in Valencia, all of which have been in the MotoGP class.
• Dani Pedrosa is scheduled to make his 277th GP start in Valencia, moving him into a clear fourth place above Alex Barros is the all-time Grand Prix starts list. The only riders who have made more Grand Prix starts than Pedrosa are Valentino Rossi (364 grand prix starts), Loris Capirossi (328) and Jack Findlay (282).

• Having already clinched the rookie of the year title in Australia, Johann Zarco’s third place finish at Sepang also secured him the Independent Team rider title. With one race still to go of the 2017 season his score of 154 points is already the sixth best points haul by a rookie during the MotoGP era. The only riders who have bettered this score as MotoGP rookies are: Marc Marquez (334 points in 2013), Ben Spies (176 in 2010), Jorge Lorenzo (190 in 2008), Andrea Dovizioso (174 in 2008), Dani Pedrosa (215 in 2006). Of these only Ben Spies and Andrea Dovizioso rode for Independent Teams during their rookie season.

Moto2 Facts and Stats

• Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) won his first back-to-back Grand Prix races since 2015, which was his last year in the Moto3 class.
• Oliveira’s win in Malaysia is the first back-to-back win from non-Kalex riders since 2014 when Anthony West (Speed Up) won in Assen and Dominique Aegerter (Suter) won at Sachsenring. This is also the first back-to-back win in the intermediate category for KTM since 2007 (Malaysia/Valencia).

• Last year, Miguel Oliveira finished 13th in Valencia from 15th on the grid after missing four races due to an injury sustained at Aragon.
• Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) crossed the line in second for the second successive time in Sepang; the first back-to-back podiums for a South African rider in the intermediate category since Kork Ballington back in 1980. Binder won his last Moto3 race last year at Valencia before joining the Moto2 class.
• 2017 Moto2 World Champion Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was third across the line at Sepang, which is his 20th podium finish in Moto2. He was third last year at Valencia, which was his fifth successive podium at that time. He led four laps before eventually being beaten by Johann Zarco and Tom Lüthi.
• Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) will miss the Valencia race due to an injury sustained in Malaysia before stepping up to the MotoGP class. He is the runner-up in Moto2 for the second successive year.
• The seven Moto2 races that have taken place at the Valencia have been won by seven different riders: Karel Abraham (2010), Michele Pirro (2011), Marc Márquez (2012), Nico Terol (2013), Tom Lüthi (2014), Tito Rabat (2015) and Johann Zarco (2016).
• On these seven riders only Michele Pirro, Tito Rabat and Johann Zarco managed to win from pole position in Valencia.
• In addition to Brad Binder, other riders currently competing in Moto2 who have had Grand Prix race wins in Valencia are: Simone Corsi (125cc – 2008), Tom Lüthi (Moto2 – 2014) and Miguel Oliveira (Moto3 – 2015).

Moto2 Championship Points

1. Franco MORBIDELLI Kalex ITA 288
2. Thomas LUTHI Kalex SWI 243
3. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 216
4. Alex MARQUEZ Kalex SPA 190
5. Francesco BAGNAIA Kalex ITA 161
6. Mattia PASINI Kalex ITA 148
7. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Kalex JPN 128
8. Simone CORSI Speed Up ITA 110
9. Brad BINDER KTM RSA 109
10. Xavi VIERGE Tech 3 SPA 98
11. Hafizh SYAHRIN Kalex MAL 96
12. Dominique AEGERTER Suter SWI 82
13. Jorge NAVARRO Kalex SPA 60
14. Luca MARINI Kalex ITA 59
15. Fabio QUARTARARO Kalex FRA 56

Moto3 – Facts and Stats

• Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) won for the tenth time this season at Sepang. Only Valentino Rossi (11-1997) has managed to win more races in the lightweight category in one season.
• Mir’s win in Malaysia is his eleventh in Moto3, a new record since the introduction of the Moto3 class back in 2012. He equals Youichi Ui and Kazuto Sakata tally in the lightweight category.

• Joan Mir crossed the line in second at Cheste last year from seventh on the grid, his third podium at that time, and was beaten across the line by Brad Binder with a 0.056 second gap.
• Jorge Martín (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3) finished second in Sepang; his eighth podium finish this season, equalling Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers), and the ninth in his career so far.
• Honda won for the 16th time this year at Sepang, but the manufacturer has never won in the Moto3 class at Valencia. Dani Pedrosa (125cc – 2002) is the only Honda rider who has managed to win at this track in the lightweight category.
• Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) finished third last year in Valencia, equalling his best Grand Prix result at the time. Migno has since won his first GP, at Mugello this year.
• KTM riders have won all five Moto3 races that have taken place at Valencia: Danny Kent (2012), Maverick Viñales (2013), Jack Miller (2014), Miguel Oliveira (2015) and Brad Binder (2016). None of the riders currently competing full-time in the Moto3 class have won a Grand Prix race at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.
• 16 different riders have won the 18 races that have taken place at the Valencia in the lightweight category: only Maverick Viñales (2011-2013) and Hector Faubel (2006-2007) managed to win twice at this track.
• The five riders in contention for the Rookie of the Year award in Moto3 are separated by 22 points: Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team), Marco Bezzecchi
  (CIP), Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda Team Asia), Manuel Pagliani (CIP) and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia). Among them, only Bezzecchi has stood on the podium this year (Japan).

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

1. Joan MIR Honda SPA 321
2. Romano FENATI Honda ITA 235
3. Aron CANET Honda SPA 192
4. Jorge MARTIN Honda SPA 171
5. Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Honda ITA 153
6. Enea BASTIANINI Honda ITA 130
7. John MCPHEE Honda GBR 123
8. Andrea MIGNO KTM ITA 118
9. Marcos RAMIREZ KTM SPA 107
10. Philipp OETTL KTM GER 104
11. Nicolo BULEGA KTM ITA 81
12. Livio LOI Honda BEL 80
13. Juanfran GUEVARA KTM SPA 78
14. Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda JPN 66
15. Bo BENDSNEYDER KTM NED 61