MotoGP Valencia by the numbers: A look at the statistics heading into this weekend’s grand prix
JUST one race is left in the 2014 MotoGP season, but this weekend at Valencia is a key one for an Australian’s world title hopes.
JUST one race is left in the 2014 MotoGP season, but there is still plenty to play for with an Australian rider in with a shot of winning a world championship.
Here are the numbers that matter ahead of the Valencia MotoGP.
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1961
If Jack Miller can win the Moto3 World Championship this weekend, he will become the second Australian to claim the title in the sport’s lightweight class; the first was Tom Phillis back in 1961.
360
The combined total of Grand Prix victories for the riders on the entry list for the MotoGP race in Valencia. If all of the GP winners line up on the grid for the race, it will set a new record for greatest aggregate number of GP wins for riders starting a Grand Prix race; the record has been set several times throughout the year and currently stands at 352 GP wins for the riders lining up on the grid for the MotoGP race in Australia this year.
289
Mika Kallio already has a total of 289 points in the Moto2 World Championship, which is already the greatest ever points total than any rider has ever achieved in finishing second in the intermediate-class of the World Championship.
168
At the Valencia GP, Hiroshi Aoyama is scheduled to make his 168th Grand Prix start, which will equal Nobuatsu Aoki’s record for most GP starts by a Japanese rider. Aoyama will not have a full-time ride next season, instead signing up as Honda’s lead MotoGP test rider.
109
Tito Rabat is the 109th different rider to claim a world championship title, after clinching the Moto2 World Championship in Malaysia.
86
The victory by Marc Marquez in Malaysia was the 86th win for Spanish riders in the MotoGP class since it was introduced as the premier-class of Grand Prix racing in 2002. This is just one less MotoGP win than Italian riders have achieved.
44
The victory by Marc Marquez in Malaysia was the 44th time that he had been on the top step of the podium in his Grand Prix career. This is just one less GP win than both Casey Stoner and Jim Redman, as shown in the following table. At the age of just 21, Marquez is already the equal 11th most successful GP rider of all-time in terms of Grand Prix wins.
23
At the age of 23 years and 322 days at the Malaysian GP, Bradley Smith became the youngest British rider to clinch back-to-back top five finishes in the premier-class of GP racing since John Newbold at the Czech and West German GPs of 1976.
18
The win for Marc Marquez in Malaysia was his 18th in the MotoGP class: the same number of premier-class GP wins that Wayne Gardner achieved during his career. One more win for Marquez would see him will equal the number of premier-class victories of Barry Sheene.
16
Maverick Viñales, who is still only 19 years of age, took the 16th victory of his Grand Prix career in Malaysia. Only three riders have scored more than 16 GP wins before reaching the age of 20: Marc Marquez (26 wins while still a teenager), Dani Pedrosa (21) and Valentino Rossi (17).
13
At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Marc Marquez started from pole for the 13th time in 2014, which is a new record for most pole positions in a single season in the premier-class of Grand Prix racing. A victory this weekend would also see him set a new record for most wins in a single season in the premier-class, also with 13.
11
The number of points separating Jack Miller from Moto3 championship leader Alex Marquez heading into the final round.
10
Spanish riders have won the last ten MotoGP races on Spanish soil. The last non-Spanish rider to win a MotoGP race in Spain was Casey Stoner, at Jerez in 2012.
9
Following the win by Efren Vazquez in Malaysia, Honda lead KTM in the Moto3 Constructors’ title battle by nine points, and will clinch the title in Valencia if a Honda rider finishes either first or second. If the first Honda rider crosses the line in third place, with a KTM rider winning the race, then the two constructers will be equal on points, with KTM taking the title due to a greater number of victories. Honda last won the Constructors’ title in the lightweight-class of GP racing in 2001.
6
The number of times the Moto3 world championship has been decided at Valencia (2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013). On only one of those occasions has a rider overcome a points deficit to clinch the title: Maverick Vinales in 2013, who passed Alex Rins out of the last corner to win the title while Luis Salom, the points leader heading into the race, crashed away his championship chances.
0.385
After another tremendous race-long battle at the Malaysian GP, the first three riders across the finish line in the Moto3 race were covered by just 0.385 seconds. This was the 12th time this year that the podium finishers in the Moto3 class have been covered by less than half a second.
Originally published as MotoGP Valencia by the numbers: A look at the statistics heading into this weekend’s grand prix