MotoGP Statistics Update Motegi
Official statistics compiled by Dr. Thomas Morsellino
MotoGP Facts and Stats
At the Thai GP, Marc Marquez has won for ninth time this year so far, which is the same total as the whole 2018 season. Only once has Marquez won more races in one season since he stepped up to the MotoGP class and that was in 2014 when he won 13.
Marquez has won at least nine GPs per season in five different seasons of his GP career, equalling Giacomo Agostini. Only Valentino Rossi did better with at least nine wins per season over eight years.
In Thailand, Marquez made it 12 successive races on the podium for the first time since he finished on the podium 12 times in a row from the last two races of 2013 through the opening 10 races of 2014, which is his record in the MotoGP class.
Marquez is now leading the Championship by 110 points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso; this is the highest margin after the opening 15 races of the season in the premier class since 2005.
Honda head to Motegi with a 77-point lead over Ducati in the MotoGP Constructors World Championship and could clinch the title in Japan if the first Honda rider across the line doesn’t concede more than two more points to the first Ducati rider.
Fabio Quartararo was second in Thailand for his fifth podium finish in his rookie season. Since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002, only three rookies have had more podium finishes: Marc Marquez (16 in 2013), Dani Pedrosa (eight in 2006) and Jorge Lorenzo (six in 2008), all on factory bikes.
Quartararo‘s podium at Buriram equals Pierre Monnerat in fourth place on the list of French riders with most premier class podium finishes behind Christian Sarron (18 podium finishes), Raymond Roche (9) and Johann Zarco (6).
Fabio Quartararo was the highest-placed Yamaha rider across the line for the fourth time this year, along with Catalunya, Austria, and San Marino and the top Independent Team rider. He is leading the Independent Team rider classification, 24 points ahead of Jack Miller and 41 ahead Cal Crutchlow.
Maverick Viñales crossed the line in third at the Thai GP, which is his 62nd podium of his Grand Prix career, equalling Marco Melandri and three less than Wayne Rainey.
Viñales stood on the podium for sixth time so far this year, one more than his whole 2018 season. Since he stepped up to MotoGP class in 2015, 2017 is the only season where he has stood on the podium more than six times (seven podium finishes).
With Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales, this is the third time this year there were at least two Yamaha riders on the podium along the Dutch TT and San Marino GP with the same riders. The last there have been more than three races with at least two Yamaha riders on the podium was in 2017 (four times).
This was the sixth time since Marc Marquez stepped up to the MotoGP class in 2013 that he was the oldest rider on the podium, along with the Assen last year and Spain and Silverstone this year, with Alex Rins and Maverick Viñales, and Assen and San Marino this year with Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo.
Fabio Quartararo is still leading the fight for the Rookie of the Year with 143 points, ahead Joan Mir (58 points), following by Frances- co Bagnaia (34) and Miguel Oliveira (29). Now 85 points clear of his sole rival for the title, Joan Mir, Quartararo must be more than 75 points ahead of the Spaniard after Motegi.
Only one rider has now scored points in all 15 of the MotoGP races in 2019: Danilo Petrucci, who crossed the line in ninth place in Thailand, his best result since he was seventh at Silverstone.
Valentino Rossi, who crossed the line in eighth place in Thailand for the second successive time and as the fourth Yamaha rider, has not won since Assen back in 2017, 42 successive races. The last time he failed to win in more than 42 successive races was from Portugal/2010 to Catalunya/2013 (44).
The only one of the four rookies in the MotoGP class this year to have previously won at Motegi in any of the smaller classes is Francesco Bagnaia in the Moto2 class last year. He did, however, cross the line in second behind fellow rookie Fabio Quartararo… but the Frenchman was later disqualified for a technical infringement.
Along with Bagnaia, Miguel Oliveira is the only other of the four rookies who has stood on the podium at Motegi, second in Moto3 in 2015 and third last year in Moto2. In addition, Francesco Bagnaia is the only one of the four rookies to have previously qualified on pole position at Motegi, last year in Moto2.
Grand Prix racing at Motegi
The Twin Ring Motegi circuit was first added to the Grand Prix calendar in 1999 and has hosted an event every year since. This will be the 21st occasion that a Grand Prix event has been held at the Twin Ring Motegi.
A total of 60 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held at Motegi since 1999 as follows: MotoGP –17, 500cc–3, Moto2 –9, 250cc–11, Moto3 –7, 125cc–13.
Since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002, Honda have had eight Grand Prix wins in the class at the Motegi circuit including victories in 2015 with Dani Pedrosa and 2016 and last year with Marc Marquez.
Ducati have had five MotoGP wins at the Twin Ring Motegi, the last of which was with Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 in wet-weather conditions. The other two Ducati riders to have won at the Japanese track are Loris Capirossi (2005, 2006 and 2007) and Casey Stoner (2010).
Yamaha have won the MotoGP race at Motegi on four occasions, the last of which was in 2014 with Jorge Lorenzo. The last podium finish for Yamaha riders at Motegi was in 2015 as Valentino Rossi took second followed by Jorge Lorenzo in third.
Suzuki and Kenny Roberts Jr. won the first premier class Grand Prix (500cc) held at Motegi in 1999 and repeated the win in 2000. Since the introduction of MotoGP class in 2002, Maverick Viñales’ third-place finish in 2016 and Alex Rins’ third-place last year are the only podiums for Suzuki at Motegi.
The best result for an Aprilia rider in MotoGP at Motegi is a seventh-place finish, with Alvaro Bautista back in 2016 and Aleix Espargaro in 2017.
In 2017, Pol Espargaro crossed the line in 11th place at Motegi, which is the best result for KTM at this track in the premier class of Grand Prix racing.
Then-Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo is the last rider in MotoGP to have won after qualifying on pole position, in 2013. The last pole position for a Honda rider came with Casey Stoner back in 2011. Last year, Andrea Dovizioso qualified on pole position; his most recent.
Dani Pedrosa is the rider with most GP wins at the Motegi circuit with five (3 x MotoGP, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc) followed by Marc Marquez with four (1 x 125cc, 1 x Moto2, 2 x MotoGP). Five other riders have had three GP victories at Motegi: Loris Capirossi (3 x MotoGP), Toni Elias (2 x 250cc, 1 x Moto2), Mika Kallio (2 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc), Jorge Lorenzo (3 x MotoGP), and Alex Marquez (2 x Moto3, 1 x Moto2).
Home riders have taken eight GP victories at the Motegi circuit: Masao Azuma(125cc/1999), Shinya Nakano(250cc/1999), Daijiro Kato(250cc/2000), Youichi Ui (125cc/2001), Tetsuya Harada(250cc/2001), Makoto Tamada(MotoGP/2004) and Hiroshi
Aoyama (250cc in 2005 and 2006).
The last Japanese rider to finish on the podium at Motegi in any of the three classes is Hiroshi Aoyama, second in the 250cc race in 2009.
The nine Moto2 races that have taken place at Motegi have been won by eight different riders: Toni Elias (2010), Andrea Iannone (2011), Marc Marquez (2012), Pol Espargaro (2013), Tom Lüthi (2014 and 2016), Johann Zarco (2015), Alex Marquez (2017) and Francesco Bagnaia (2018).
The seven Moto3 races that have taken place at Motegi have been won by six different riders: Danny Kent (2012), Alex Marquez (2013 and 2014), Niccolo Antonelli (2015), Enea Bastianini (2016), Romano Fenati (2017) and Marco Bezzecchi (2018).
Marc Marquez is 2019 MotoGP World Champion
Marc Marquez is the youngest-ever rider to win six premier class titles, at the age of 26 years and 231 days, taking the record from Giacomo Agostini, who was 29 years and 25 days old when he won his sixth premier class title at the 1971 East German GP.
Marquez is also the youngest rider of all-time to reach the milestone of eight World Championships, taking the record from Mike Hailwood, who was 27 years and 112 days old when he won his eighth title, the 1967 350cc crown, at Brno.
Marquez has joined Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini as one of only three riders to have taken six or more premier class World Championships.
Marquez is one of only six riders to have taken eight or more World Championships over all classes, the others being Carlo Ubbiali (9), Mike Hailwood (9), Valentino Rossi (9), Angel Nieto (13) and Giacomo Agostini (15).
Marquez has won all his MotoGP titles riding Honda motorcycles and moves above Mick Doohan as the rider with the most premier class titles with the Japanese manufacturer (5).
Only one Spanish rider has won more world titles than Marquez: Angel Nieto, who won 13 World Championships (seven in the 125cc class and six in the 50cc class) between 1969 and 1984.
Marquez has won at least five GPs per season over the past ten years, across three different categories: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP, beating his own record set over the last two years. Previously, Mike Hailwood was the only rider to have achieved at least five victories per season over seven years, across at least three classes, between 1961 and 1967.
MotoGP Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
| 1 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 325 |
| 2 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 215 |
| 3 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | SPA | 167 |
| 4 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 163 |
| 5 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 162 |
| 6 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 145 |
| 7 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | FRA | 143 |
| 8 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | AUS | 119 |
| 9 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 102 |
| 10 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | ITA | 90 |
| 11 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | SPA | 80 |
| 12 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | JPN | 74 |
| 13 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | SPA | 58 |
| 14 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | SPA | 46 |
| 15 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | ITA | 34 |
| 16 | Andrea IANNONE | Aprilia | ITA | 33 |
| 17 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | POR | 29 |
| 18 | Johann ZARCO | KTM | FRA | 27 |
| 19 | Jorge LORENZO | Honda | SPA | 23 |
| 20 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | SPA | 18 |
| 21 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | GER | 16 |
| 22 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | ITA | 9 |
| 23 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | FRA | 7 |
| 24 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | KTM | MAL | 7 |
| 25 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 5 |
Motegi MotoGP Time Schedule AEDT
Source: MCNews.com.au