MotoGP Statistics update heading to Argentina

MotoGP Facts and Statistics

The last eleven MotoGP races have been won by either Ducati or Honda riders: Andrea Dovizioso (5), Marc Márquez (5) and Dani Pedrosa (1).

With his 8th place finish in Losail, Johann Zarco has scored points at the last 18 successive races. The last time he failed to score any points was in Qatar last year when he crashed out after leading the first six laps of the race.

Maverick Viñales won the race in Argentina last year, becoming the first Yamaha rider since Wayne Rainey in 1990 to win the opening two premier class races of a season, and the second MotoGP era rider after Marc Márquez in 2014 to do so.

Franco Morbidelli, Tom Lüthi and Xavier Siméon are the only three of the five rookies the MotoGP class this year to have stood on the podium in Argentina. Morbidelli last year is the only one to have won at Termas de Río Hondo.

Dovizioso’s win in Qatar was his 9th in the premier class, equalling Loris Capirossi. Only three Italian riders have more premier class wins than Dovizioso and Capirossi: Valentino Rossi (89), Giacomo Agostini (48) and Max Biaggi (13).

With his win in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso won the opening race of the season for the second time in his Grand Prix career. The last time he achieved that feat was in 2004 on his way to clinching his 125cc title.

Dovizioso became the first Ducati rider to win the opening race of the season since Casey Stoner also won in Qatar back in 2009.

With his third-place finish in Qatar, Rossi extended his record of finishing on the podium every season for 19 successive years. The second longest run of successive years with Grand Prix podium finishes is 20, set by Angel Nieto.  Rossi has finished on the podium at least once in all his 18 seasons competing in the premier class, a record. His closest challenger is Giacomo Agostini with 13 successive years in the premier class with at least one podium finish.

Top independent team rider in Qatar in fourth place, Cal Crutchlow crossed the line in third last year in Argentina – his only podium that season.

14th across the line in Qatar, Hafizh Syahrin became the first Malaysian rider to score points in the premier class of Grand Prix racing.

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Termas de Río Hondo is one of the six tracks on this year’s schedule where Jorge Lorenzo has not had a win in the MotoGP class, along with Austin, Sachsenring, Sepang, Red Bull Ring, and now Buriram in Thailand as it joins the calendar.

With Pol Espargaró retiring and Bradley Smith finishing in 18th place, the Qatar Grand Prix was the first time since Assen last year that KTM failed to score any points.

Grand Prix racing in Argentina

MotoGP returns to the Termas de Río Hondo circuit for a fifth year, and below are a selection of facts and stats related to this event.

This year’s event at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit is the 15th motorcycle Grand Prix to be held in Argentina.

The first Argentina GP took place in 1961 and was held in Buenos Aires; the first time that a Grand Prix had taken place outside of Europe. Not all of the top riders attended the event and the 52-laps, 203 km 500cc race was won by home rider Jorge Kissling (Matchless) from fellow countryman Juan Carlos Salatino
(Norton).

This is the 5th year that the Argentina GP has taken place at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit. All of the ten previous Grands Prix in Argentina had taken place in Buenos Aires, the last of which was in 1999.

Three riders from Argentina have won Grand Prix races; Sebastian Porto (seven wins in the 250cc class), Benedicto Caldarella (Argentina, 1962) and Jorge Kissling (Argentina, 1961), who both had single victories in the 500cc class.

The last GP win by an Argentine rider was in the 250cc class at the Dutch TT in 2005, when Sebastian Porto won the race from Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

The only current full-time Grand Prix rider who has raced in race at the Buenos Aires circuit is Valentino Rossi, who won the 250cc race in 1998 & was third in 1999.

Marc Márquez has twice won the MotoGP race in Argentina from pole position–in 2014 and 2016. He was also on pole in Argentina in 2015 and last year, but crashed when battling for the lead.

The only riders other than Márquez to have won a MotoGP race at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit are Valentino Rossi, who won the 2015 race after starting down in 8th, and Maverick Viñales, who won last year from 6th on the grid.

Andrea Dovizioso’s second place finish in 2015 is the only podium finish for a Ducati rider in Argentina.

The best result for a Suzuki rider at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit is seventh with Aleix Espargaró back in 2015.

The four Moto2 races that have taken place at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit have been won by riders now competing in the MotoGP class: Tito Rabat (2014), Johann Zarco (2015 & 2016) and Franco Morbidelli last year. In each of the past four years the Moto2 race winner in Argentina has gone on to take the
world title.

The four Moto3 races that have taken place at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit have been won by riders now competing in the Moto2 class: Romano Fenati (2014), Danny Kent (2015), Khairul Idham Pawi (2016), who was the first Malaysian rider to win a Grand Prix race in any class, and Joan Mir (2017).

Closest ever top 15 in the premier class

Karel Abraham finished the Qatar Grand Prix in 15th place, crossing the line just 23.287 seconds behind race winner Andrea Dovizioso – the closest top 15 of all-time in a full length premier class Grand Prix. This breaks the record set last year in Aragón.

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

Year Circuit Race winner Time covering the Top 15 (sec)

1. 2018 Losail Andrea Dovizioso 23.287
2. 2017 Aragón Marc Márquez 26.082
3. 2017 Red Bull Ring Andrea Dovizioso 28.096
4. 2006 Brno Loris Capirossi 29.296
5. 2001 Phillip Island Valentino Rossi 29.738
6. 2005 Brno Valentino Rossi 29.768
7. 2017 Mugello Andrea Dovizioso 30.779
8. 2015 Losail Valentino Rossi 33.625
9. 2017 Silverstone Andrea Dovizioso 33.901
10. 2007 Jerez Valentino Rossi 36.744

MotoGP is tighter than ever at the top

0.027s between Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Márquez across the line in Qatar is the 8th smallest winning time margin in the premier class.

This is also the closest winning time margin of the opening premier class race of a season, ahead of Qatar 2015 (0.174s), Japan 1991 (0.204s), South Africa 2004 (0.210s) and Qatar 2014 (0.259s).

The Grand Prix in Qatar is the 13th opening round of a season with a winning time margin of less than a second, the 5th at that track.

Year Circuit 1st – 2nd Winning margin

1. 2018 Losail Marc Márquez/Andrea Dovizioso 0,027
2. 2015 Losail Valentino Rossi – Andrea Dovizioso 0,174
3. 1991 Suzuka Kevin Schwantz – Mick Doohan 0,204
4. 2004 Welkom Valentino Rossi – Max Biaggi 0,210
5. 2014 Losail Marc Márquez – Valentino Rossi 0,259
6. 1957 Hockenheim Libero Liberati – Bob McIntyre 0,300
7. 2000 Welkom Garry McCoy – Carlos Checa 0,366
8. 1989 Suzuka Kevin Schwantz – Wayne Rainey 0,430
9. 2017 Losail Maverick Viñales – Andrea Dovizioso 0,461
10. 1975 Le Castellet Giacomo Agostini – Hideo Kanaya 0,500
11. 1982 Buenos Aires Kenny Roberts – Barry Sheene 0,670
12. 2001 Suzuka Valentino Rossi – Garry McCoy 0,724
13. 2012 Losail Jorge Lorenzo – Dani Pedrosa 0,852

Andrea Dovizioso set the fastest lap of the race in Qatar, with a time of 1’55.242. During the race another nineteen riders set lap times within one second of this fastest lap time, equalling the premier class record set at Dutch TT last year.

Andrea Dovizioso moves above Jorge Lorenzo

With his win in Losail, Andrea Dovizioso moves above his teammate Jorge Lorenzo into seventh place in the following list of riders with the longest winning careers in the premier class of Grand Prix Racing.

Rider First GP win Last GP win premier class winning career

1. Valentino Rossi Great Britain/2000 Dutch TT/2017 16 years 351 days
2. Alex Barros FIM/1993 Portugal/2005 11 years 204 days
3. Dani Pedrosa China/2006 Valencia/2017 11 years 182 days
4. Phil Read Ulster/1964 Czech/1975 11 years 16 days
5. Giacomo Agostini Finland/1965 West Germany/1976 11 years 7 days
6. Loris Capirossi Australia/1996 Japan/2007 10 years 338 days
7. Andrea Dovizioso Great Britain/2009 Losail/2018 8 years 235 days
8. Jorge Lorenzo Portugal/2008 Valencia/2016 8 years 214 days
9. Eddie Lawson South Africa/1984 Hungary/1992 8 years 110 days
10. Mick Doohan Hungary/1990 Argentina/1998 8 years 53 days

749 Grand Prix victories for Honda

The win by Jorge Martín at the Qatar Grand Prix was the 749th win for Honda in Grand Prix racing.

Honda’s closest rival in Grand Prix racing is Yamaha with 501, followed by Aprilia (294), MV Agusta (275) and Suzuki (156).

In the premier class, Honda also leads the way with 287 race wins ahead of Yamaha (226), MV Agusta (139), Suzuki (91) and Ducati (40).

Dani Pedrosa and Mick Doohan are the most successful Honda riders in Grand Prix racing with 54 wins each, ahead of Jim Redman. On the current grid, Marc Márquez is the closest rival to Dani Pedrosa, in fi fth place with 35 wins.

Marc Márquez level with Wayne Rainey

The second-place finish in Qatar by Marc Márquez was the 64th time he has stood on the podium in the premier class, taking him to joint ninth in the all-time podium list shown below, equaling Wayne Rainey.

Rider Total podiums Wins Seconds Thirds

1 Valentino Rossi 192 89 58 45
2 Dani Pedrosa 112 31 40 31
3 Jorge Lorenzo 110 44 43 23
4 Mick Doohan 95 54 31 10
5 Giacomo Agostini 88 68 20 0
6 Eddie Lawson 78 31 31 16
7 Casey Stoner 69 38 11 20
8= Wayne Rainey 64 24 22 18
8= Marc Márquez 64 35 20 9
10 Max Biaggi 58 13 26 19

Moto2 Facts & Stats

Francesco Bagnaia won for the first time in his Moto2 career to become the seventh Italian to win a race in this class. With Lorenzo Baldassarri in 2nd, this was the first Italian 1–2 since Aragon last year with Franco Morbidelli ahead of Mattia Pasini.

Last year in Argentina, Bagnaia qualified in 13th on the grid. He was in 6th place on the final lap but he crossed the line in 7th behind Simone Corsi, which was his best result in any class on this track. He is aiming to become the second Italian to take back-to-back Moto2 victories, after Franco Morbidelli. He has scored points at every race since he crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix last year.

Lorenzo Baldassarri’s 2nd place finish in Qatar was his first podium since he won in Misano two years ago. His 4th place finish from 10th on the grid in Termas de Río Hondo last year was his best result of that season. Baldassarri equalled this best result later in Catalunya.

Mattia Pasini is scheduled to make his 100th start in the Moto2 class at Argentina, his 210th overall, to become the eigth rider to reach that milestone since the introduction of this class back in 2010.

Álex Márquez is scheduled to make his 100th Grand Prix start in Termas de Río Hondo. Last year in Argentina, Márquez crashed out of the race in the final lap while sitting in 2nd place behind his teammate Franco Morbidelli.

Miguel Oliveira qualified on pole position and crossed the line in 2nd last year in Argentina to become the first Portuguese rider to start from pole position and stand on the podium in the intermediate category. He also set the fastest lap of the race.

Sam Lowes and Miguel Oliveira are the only two riders of the current field who have qualified on pole position and stood on the podium in the Moto2 class in Termas de Río Hondo.

Brad Binder qualified in 24th position on the grid in Argentina last year; he worked his way through the field to finish the race in 9th place despite an arm injury sustained during the winter that forced him to miss the following events until the Italian GP.

Moto3 Facts & Stats

With his win at Losail, Jorge Martín became the 6th Spanish rider to win back-to-back races in the Moto3 class with Joan Mir, Luis Salom, Álex Márquez, Álex Rins and Maverick Viñales. Martín’s win in Qatar is also the 580th for Spain in Grand Prix racing.

Martín’s win at Losail is the 13th successive victory for Honda in the Moto3 class. The last three Moto3 race that have been held in Argentina were won by a Honda rider. Romano Fenati is the only rider who has won with KTM on this track, in 2014.

Jorge Martín and John McPhee are the only riders on the grid who have stood on the podium in Argentina, last year. McPhee also qualified on pole position for the 3rd time of his career.

Aron Canet finished in 2nd place in Losail, which was his 7th podium finish in Moto3, equalling Francesco Bagnaia. Canet’s best result in Argentina is an 11th place finish scored last year. In his rookie season in 2016, he was 6th before crashing out of the race two laps before the end.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta stood on the podium for the first time on what it was his 37th start in Grand Prix racing at Losail. Last year was his first time in Argentina; he was 28th before crashing out of the race nine laps before the end.

Niccolò Antonelli finished fourth in Qatar, his best dry-weather result since he was fourth in Mugello back in 2016. He finished 10th in Argentina two years ago from 8th on the grid, his best result at that track.

Last year in Argentina, Nicolò Bulega crossed the line in 13th before he was penalised post-race and dropped out the points.

Gabriel Rodrigo will be aiming to become the first Argentine rider to win in the lightweight category. He always failed to score points at that track. Last year, he managed to line up on the grid despite a collarbone injury sustained in Qatar, but he crashed out ten laps before the end.

The oldest rider on the Moto3 grid, Jakub Kornfeil will celebrate his 25th birthday on race day in Argentina – while Kaito Toba will celebrate his 18th birthday on Saturday.