2018 Austin MotoGP Facts and Figures
Rennie Scaysbrook | April 18, 2018
2018 Austin MotoGP Facts and Figures–The number one week for American road racing fans is here as we welcome the MotoGP circus to Austin, TX, once again.
This year the race has some added fire to it after the incredible Argentina MotoGP two weeks’ prior, where Marc Marquez endured a torrid time with three penalties for riding backward on the grid and running into Aleix Espargaro and Valentino Rossi.
Marquez will thus be out for blood at a circuit he has never lost at since Austin joined the calendar in 2013. He is quite simply the man at Circuit of the Americas, but don’t rule out last years’ second-place finisher Rossi, who will be hungry to avenge his Argentina disaster.
Thanks to MotoGP.com, we have a few facts and figures for you here to get you fired up for the 2018 MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas!
2018 Austin MotoGP Facts and Figures
MotoGP class
- Following Argentina, Cal Crutchlow leads the MotoGP™ Championship standings with a score of 38 points. This is the lowest score for a rider leading the Championship after the opening two races of the year since the current points scoring system was introduced in 1993.
- 33 points cover the top 15 in the MotoGP™ Championship classification which is the smallest margin in the premier class after the first two races since the introduction of the current points scoring system in 1993.
- With his 2nd place finish in Argentina, Johann Zarco stood on the podium for the 4th time in the premier class, becoming the 4th highest French rider with podium finishes in the class after Pierre Monneret (5), Raymond Roche (9) and Christian Sarron (18).
- Johann Zarco has scored points in the last 19 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. That makes his points scoring record in MotoGP™ 95 percent since graduating to the class in 2017.
- Johann Zarco is now in third in the Championship, the highest placed rider from France in the premier class since Jean-Philippe Ruggia was also third after the second race in Laguna Seca back in 1990.
- Álex Rins finished in third place in Argentina, the first podium finish for a Suzuki rider since Maverick Viñales was also third at Phillip Island in 2016. It was the 20th podium finish for Suzuki since the introduction of the MotoGP™ class in 2002.
- Álex Rins is the 14th Spanish rider to stand on the podium in the premier class.
- Neither of the two Yamaha factory riders has won at least one of the two opening races of the year; the first time that has happened since 2014.
- Marc Márquez hasn’t won since the Australian Grand Prix last year. It’s just the second time he’s not won one of the first two races of the year since he joined the MotoGP™ class in 2013.
- Marc Márquez was classified in 18th in Argentina, which was the first time he failed to score any points since he had an engine issue in Silverstone last year.
- Tito Rabat crossed the line in seventh place in Argentina, his best result in what was his 37th premier class race.
- Austin is one of just four current circuits where Valentino Rossi has not had a MotoGP™ victory, along with Aragón, the Red Bull Ring, and Buriram, which joins the calendar this year.
- Franco Morbidelli (2017) is the only one of the five rookies in the MotoGP™ class this year to have previously won at COTA in any of the smaller classes.
- Three years ago, at Austin, Xavier Siméon started from pole position in the Moto2™ class for the second time in his career.
- Hafizh Syahrin is one of the 10 riders who has scored points in both of the two opening races of the year, and he is currently leading the fight for Rookie of the Year.
2018 Austin MotoGP Facts and Figures
Moto2 class
- At Argentina, Mattia Pasini won for the 2nd time on what was his 100th Moto2™ start. It was the 22nd win for an Italian rider in the class since its introduction in 2010, and the 222nd in the intermediate category.
- Mattia Pasini crashed last year at COTA at Turn 1 while he was battling in fourth place, having started the race from second on the grid – equaling his best qualifying result at that time. He managed to get back on his bike to eventually cross the line in 22nd position.
- Xavi Vierge finished in second place in Argentina, equaling his best result across the line from Japan last year.
- Miguel Oliveira crossed the line in third at Termas de Río Hondo, which is his tenth podium in Moto2™. Sam Lowes is the only rider on the current grid who has more podium finishes in the class, with 11. Last year at Austin, Oliveira finished sixth in Texas after battling with Dominique Aegerter for fifth.
- Iker Lecuona finished in 11th place in Argentina, which is his best result across the line on what it was his 21st Grand Prix start. This will be Lecuona’s second year competing at Austin but last season he had to withdraw from the event at the end of the second day due to injuries sustained during the preseason.
- Sam Lowes (2015 and 2016) and Dominique Aegerter (2014) are the only two riders in the current Moto2™ field who have stood on the podium in the Moto2™ class at Austin since its introduction to the calendar in 2013. Lowes took his first ever Grand Prix win at the track in 2015.
- Romano Fenati is making his 100th Grand Prix start in the Americas GP. He won for the second successive time last year at the Austin circuit in the Moto3™ class to become the first rider to win twice on two different tracks since the introduction the class in 2012, in Jerez (2012-2014) and Austin (2016-2017).
- Brad Binder, who crashed out of the race in Argentina, will compete at Austin for the first time in the Moto2™ class. Ricky Cardús stood in for the South African rider last year as Binder missed the event due to injury.
- The second youngest rider on the grid, Fabio Quartararo, will celebrate his 19th birthday on the opening day in Austin. He finished second at Austin in Moto3™ in 2015 to claim his first podium on just the second Grand Prix start of his career.
2018 Austin MotoGP Facts and Figures
Moto3 class
- Marco Bezzecchi won for the first time of his Grand Prix career in Argentine to become the 49th Italian rider to win in the lightweight category and the sixth in the Moto3™ class. Last year Bezzecchi finished 17th at the COTA, his best result across the line at that time.
- Bezzecchi win’s at Termas de Río de Hondo was the first for a KTM rider since Andrea Migno in Mugello last year.
- KTM took its 65th race win in the lightweight category to move into third place of the most successful manufacturer in the class behind Aprilia (151) and Honda (207).
- Second in Termas de Río Hondo, Arón Canet stood on the podium for the ninth time of his Grand Prix career. He qualified on pole position last season in Austin for the second time in the class, setting a new best lap record. He fought for the lead in 2017 before crashing out.
- Fabio Di Giannantonio crossed the line in third in Argentina–his ninth podium finish in Moto3™, equalling Jorge Navarro. Di Giannantonio finished on the podium last year in Austin, 0.023s behind teammate Jorge Martín.
- Jorge Martín and teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio are the only riders on the grid who have stood on the podium at Austin.
- Jorge Martín finished in 11th in Argentina, which was the first time he has missed out on the podium since Japan last year. He crashed during the race on his first two visits to Austin.