MotoGP 2005 - Round 6

Catalunya GP Facts & Figures

This is the 14th consecutive year that the Circuit de Catalunya has been used since it was first included in the Motorcycle Grand Prix series in 1992.
Before Rossi’s victory last year, Yamaha had not won in the premier class at the Catalunya circuit since 1994 with Luca Cadalora.
Honda have taken seven wins in the premier-class at this circuit. Suzuki’s only victory at Catalunya came in 2000 with Kenny
Roberts.
Loris Capirossi’s victory at Catalunya in 2003 was the first ever for Ducati in the premier-class.
At Mugello, for the first time since 1992 the first four riders across the line in a MotoGP race were all from the same nation. The last time this occurred was at the Grand Prix of Hungary in 1992 when the first four riders across the line were all from the USA; Eddie Lawson, Doug Chandler, Randy Mamola and Kevin Schwantz. On that occasion the fifth rider was Wayne Rainey, also from the USA.
Catalunya is one of Valentino Rossi’s most successful events, being one of the five circuits at which he has stood on the top step of the podium on six occasions in the various classes, the other circuits are: Donington, Jerez, Mugello, Phillip Island and Rio. Rossi is the only rider to have won in all three classes at this circuit.
Sete Gibernau has finished on the podium three times at the Catalunya circuit, including the last two years. Last year he set a new lap record on his way to finishing in second place after qualifying in pole position.
Marco Melandri, who won the 250cc race at Catalunya in 2002, finished third here last year which was his first ever podium finish in the premier-class.
Valentino Rossi’s pole position at Mugello was the 28th time he has started from pole in the premier-class of Grand Prix racing, just one less than 1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz. Since full records are available (from 1974) only Schwantz and Mick Doohan have been on pole more than Rossi.
Although Max Biaggi’s second place finish in 2001 is his only podium finish at Catalunya in the premier-class, he has had considerable success in the 250cc class at this circuit with four GP victories and four pole positions.
Alex Barros has raced in every premier-class Grand Prix held in Catalunya. His best results have been fifth place in 1993 riding a Suzuki and in 2002 on the two-stroke Honda. In 2000 he qualified on pole in Catalunya but suffered machine failure having just taken the lead and having set the fastest lap of the race.
Colin Edwards has scored points in twenty-one of the last twenty-two races since the final race of the 2003 season. The only race in this period at which he did not score points was at Motegi last year.
Carlos Checa notched his first ever GP win at Catalunya in 1996 and he also finished on the podium in 1997 and 2002 making this the only circuit at which he has had three podium finishes.
Loris Capirossi has finished on the podium three times at Catalunya in the premier-class, including taking Ducati’s first ever premier-class victory in 2003. At the Italian GP Capirossi finished on the podium for the first time since the Australian GP last year.
Carlos Checa made his 145th Grand Prix start at the Italian GP at Mugello. As shown in the following list only two riders have made more premier-class starts in the 57 year history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing: 1. Alex Barros 215; 2. Jack Findlay 165; 3. Carlos Checa 145; 4. Randy Mamola 144; Norick Abe 144; 6. Alex Criville 139; 7. Mick Doohan 137; 8. Kenny Roberts Jnr 134; 9. Sete Gibernau 129; 10. Eddie Lawson 127
Dani Pedrosa’s victory in Italy was the 18th time he has stood on the top step of a Grand Prix podium. This makes him the most successful teenager of all time in Grand prix racing, surpassing the 17 wins achieved by Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa still has until the Malaysian GP to increase his total number of wins before celebrating his 20th birthday.
Aprilia have won the 250cc race eight times at Catalunya, including for the last three years. Honda have had four victories, the last being with Daijiro Kato in 2001. Olivier Jacque´s win in 2000 is the only win in the 250cc class for Yamaha at this circuit.
The increased strength in depth of the 250cc class was shown in Italy with eighth placed Andrea Dovizioso crossing the line less than 12 seconds after the winner Dani Pedrosa, making this the closest top eight in the 250cc class since the Czech GP in 1993
when the first eight riders across the line were covered by just under eleven seconds.
Dani Pedrosa has finished on the podium in Catalunya for the last three years; last year in the 250cc class and the previous two years in the 125cc class, including a win in 2003. From his twenty-one races in the 250cc class Pedrosa has scored ten wins, sixteen podium finishes and has only failed to finish in the top six once, at the second race of 2004 at Jerez when he fell off in the wet.
Andrea Dovizioso’s second place in the 125cc race at Catalunya last year was the first time he had managed to finish at this circuit, having crashed out of the race in both 2002 and 2003.
The four teenage Honda riders, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo and Hector Barbera are the only four riders in the 250cc class to have scored points at all of the first five races of 2005.
Catalunya is Randy De Puniet’s most successful circuit, having scored his debut GP victory there in 2003 and his win in 2004 was the last time he has stood on the top step of the podium.
Sylvain Guintoli scored his best result of 2004 at the Catalunya circuit, finishing in seventh place.
Jorge Lorenzo becomes youngest rider to qualify on pole in 250cc. At the Italian Grand Prix Jorge Lorenzo started from pole in only his 5th race in the 250cc class. This gave him the honour of being the youngest ever rider to start from pole in the class.
After starting from pole position at Mugello, Jorge Lorenzo went on to finish in second place and take his first ever podium in the 250cc class. This made him the second youngest rider ever to score a top three finish in the class, just five days older than Marco Melandri when he finished on the podium for the first time at Estoril in 2000.
For the first time ever in the 57 year history of GP racing the first five 125cc GP of the year have been won by five different riders.
Gabor Talmacsi’s victory in Italy was the first ever 125cc GP win by a Hungarian rider and the first in any class by a rider from Hungary since Janos Drapal won the 350cc race at the Grand Prix of Yugoslavia at Opatija in 1973.
At the previous race in France, Thomas Luthi’s victory was the first Grand Prix win by a Swiss rider in any class since Jacques Cornu won the 250cc race at the Belgium GP in 1989. The last Swiss rider to win a 125cc race was Bruno Kneubühler at the Swedish GP in 1983.
At the second race of the year in Portugal Mika Kallio’s debut victory was the first ever by a Finnish rider in the 125cc class and the first win for a Finnish rider in any class since Pentti Korhonen won the 350cc race at the Yugoslavian GP at Opatija in 1975.
With Mattia Pasini winning the Chinese GP it means that there have now been four races in a row at which riders have taken their debut Grand Prix victories.
Including the last four races of 2004, the last nine races in the 125cc class have been won by nine different riders (Lorenzo, Stoner, Dovizioso, Barbera, Simoncelli, Kallio, Pasini, Luthi, and Talmacsi).
In each of the first five races of the year there has been one machine from Aprilia, KTM and Honda finishing on the podium. Each of these three manufacturers have had at least one victory in the 125cc class in the first five races of the year.
Already nine different riders have appeared on the podium in the 125cc class in the first five races of the year including four riders making their very first appearance; Mattia Pasini, Gabor Talmacsi, Hector Faubel and Sergio Gadea.
There have now been forty-four races in the 125cc class without a rider taking back-to-back victories. In the sequence of forty-four races there have been nineteen different riders who have taken victory (Cecchinello, Vincent, Azuma, Pedrosa, Poggiali, Perugini, Jenkner, Barbera, Nieto, Lorenzo, Ballerini, Stoner, Dovizioso, Simoncelli, Locatelli, Kallio, Pasini, Luthi, Talmacsi) including twelve first time winners (Jenkner, Barbera, Nieto, Lorenzo, Ballerini, Stoner, Dovizioso, Simoncelli, Kallio, Pasini, Luthi, Talmacsi).
Honda have had seven wins in the 125cc class at the Catalan circuit and Aprilia have had five wins. Manuel Poggiali scored the only victory for Gilera at the circuit in 2002.
Gabor Talmacsi is only the second Hungarian rider ever to win a Grand Prix, the other being Janos Drapal who won four Grand Prix in total, three in the 350cc class and one on a 250cc machine. Gyula Marsovszky, who won a single 250cc GP, was also originally from Hungary but left during the 1956 uprising and settled in Switzerland and raced with a Swiss licence.
Thomas Luthi finished 2nd at the Catalan GP in 2003, his only GP podium finish before this season. Luthi arrives in Catalunya leading the World Championship for the first time in his career.
Manuel Poggiali and Julian Simon are the only two riders in the 125cc class to have scored points at all of the first five races of 2005.
Joan Olive’s third place finish at Mugello was his second podium finish coming three years after he first stood on the podium in the 125cc race at the Dutch TT in 2002.

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