MotoGP Facts and Stats

Last weekend Jorge Martin became the 115th different premier class winner and the 30th since MotoGP was introduced in 2002.

In his sixth MotoGP race, Jorge Martin became the first rookie to win in the class since Brad Binder last year (in his third MotoGP race) and the fifth overall along with Binder, Marc Marquez (in his second), Dani Pedrosa (in his fourth) and Jorge Lorenzo (in his third). Consequently, Martin became the first rookie to win on a bike from an Independent Team.

Martin is the fifth rider to win a MotoGP race having previously won in both Moto2 and Moto3 along with Alex Rins, Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira. Martin also became the first rider to win in the premier class of Grand Prix racing after clinching the title in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

The win for Jorge Martin is the first for a Ducati rider belonging to Independent Team in MotoGP. In addition, Martin became the ninth different Ducati rider to win in the class and the first to do so as a rookie.

This is Ducati’s sixth win at the Red Bull Ring. The Austrian track is now the most successful track for the Italian manufacturer in MotoGP.

Joan Mir finished second (taking his maiden fastest lap in MotoGP) for his best result since he took his only MotoGP win so far at the European GP last year. This is the second Suzuki podium at the Red Bull Ring, along with Mir’s second last year at the Austrian GP.

Fabio Quartararo finished third for his seventh podium out of ten races so far this year. This is Quartararo’s 17th podium in the premier class, one less than Christian Sarron who is the French rider with the most podiums in the class.

With Jorge Martin (Ducati), Joan Mir (Suzuki), Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), Brad Binder (KTM) and Takaaki Nakagami (Honda), this is only the third top five with bikes from five different manufacturers in MotoGP (since 2002) along with Catalunya/2007 and Czech/2008.

Jorge Martin is also one of the four rookies in MotoGP this year to have previously won at the Red Bull Ring in the smaller classes: in Moto2 at the 2020 Austrian GP. He crossed the line in first place at the Styrian GP but was demoted to second for exceeding track limits on the last lap. He also stood on the podium at the track twice more, third in 2017 and 2018, both times in Moto3. Enea Bastianini (third in 2016 and second in 2018, in Moto3) and Luca Marini (third in 2018 and second in 2020 in Moto2) have also been on the podium at the Red Bull Ring.

Grand Prix Racing in Austria

Motorcycle Grand Prix racing returned to Austria in 2016 after a break of 18 years. The first Austrian GP took place in 1971 at the Salzburgring, which hosted 22 GPs. This means that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Austrian Grand Prix.

At the first Austrian GP in 1971, Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta) won the 500cc race, finishing more than a lap ahead of second-placed Keith Turner. Agostini also won the 350cc race, with the other classes won by: 250cc – Silvio Grassetti (MZ), 125cc – Angel Nieto (Derbi), 50cc – Jan de Vries (Kreidler).

The last GP at the Salzburgring circuit was in 1994, when Mick Doohan won the 500cc race with an average speed in excess of 194 km/h. Due to the high-speed nature of the circuit and the limited run-off, it was considered too dangerous thereafter. The Red Bull Ring then hosted two Grands Prix before 2016: 1996 and 1997, when named the A1-Ring.

Honda won the 500cc races held at the Austrian venue in both 1996 and 1997, with Alex Criville and Mick Doohan. The Red Bull Ring is the only the second track on the current calendar where Marc Marquez has raced and never won in the premier class along with Portimão (where he only raced once this year).

Before 2016, Valentino Rossi was the only current rider to have previously raced at the circuit at a GP. His third-place finish in the 125cc race in Austria in 1996 was his first Grand Prix podium. He again finished on the podium in the 125cc race in Austria in 1997, then in second and just 0.004 seconds behind Noboru Ueda.

Ducati have taken six MotoGP wins at the Red Bull Ring since 2016 with Andrea Iannone (2016, from pole), Andrea Dovizioso (2017, 2019 and 2020/1), Jorge Lorenzo (2018) and Jorge Martin (2021/1, from pole).

In 2016 in Austria, Andrea Iannone won for the first time since he moved up to MotoGP and gave Ducati their first win since Casey Stoner won the Australian GP in 2010.

With Andrea Dovizioso crossing the line in second, this was the first 1-2 finish in a MotoGP race for Ducati since the Australian GP in 2007, won by Casey Stoner from Loris Capirossi.

The Austrian race in 2016 was also the first time that Italian riders riding Italian bikes took 1-2 in the premier class since the Finnish 500cc GP at Imatra in 1972 won by Giacomo Agostini from team-mate Alberto Pagani, both riding MV Agusta.

With Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro on the podium last year at the Styrian GP, it was the first premier class podium without a single Japanese manufacturer since the 1973 Swedish GP with Phil Read (MV Agusta), Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta) and Kim Newcombe (König).

Honda qualified on pole from 2017 to 2019 at the Red Bull Ring, all with Marc Marquez. At the  first GP in Austria last year, Yamaha (with Maverick Viñales) qualified on pole for the first time in Austria since Christian Sarron in 1988, and in 2020/2, Pol Espargaro gave KTM their first pole in the premier class.

Yamaha’s best result at the Red Bull Ring: thirds with Jorge Lorenzo (2016) and Fabio Quartararo (2019, 2021/1). Norick Abe and Luca Cadalora also finished third in 1996 and 1997, respectively, in the 500cc races held at the A1-Ring.

The average speed of the MotoGP race in Austria in 2016 was 182.4 km/h. This was the highest average speed for a GP race since Mick Doohan won the 500cc German Grand Prix in 1994 at Hockenheim at an average speed of 203.8 km/h. Last weekend at the Styrian GP, the average speed was 183.4 km/h (although the race was interrupted and restarted).

In 2017, Cal Crutchlow finished the Austrian Grand Prix in 15th place and crossed the line just 28.096 seconds behind race winner Andrea Dovizioso, which was the closest top 15 of all-time in a full-length premier class Grand Prix at the time. Incredibly, this record is no longer within the top ten on the list of the closest top 15s in the class.

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2021 MotoGP Championsip Points

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Moto2 Championship Points

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Moto3 Championship Points

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2021 Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Schedule (AEST)

Source: MCNews.com.au