Motegi MotoGP pre-race stats

Words and images courtesy MGP

The Mobility Resort Motegi joined the MotoGP calendar in 1999 and has hosted an event every year barring Covid-obliged cancellations in 2020 and 2021. This will therefore be the 24th GP held at Motegi. From 2000 to 2003, the GP here was named the Pacific GP. Since 2004, the track has hosted the Japanese GP. 

Japanese riders have nine wins here: Masao Azuma (125cc/1999), Shinya Nakano (250cc/1999), Daijiro Kato (250cc/2000), Youichi Ui (125cc/2001), Tetsuya Harada (250cc/2001), Makoto Tamada (MotoGP/2004), Hiroshi Aoyama (250cc/2005, 2006) and Ai Ogura (Moto2/2022). 

MOST SUCCESFULL RIDERS AT MOTEGI: 

Marc Marquez 5 (3xMotoGP, 1xMoto2, 1x125cc) – Dani Pedrosa 5 (3xMotoGP, 1x250cc, 1x125cc) – Jorge Lorenzo 3 (3xMotoGP) – Loris Capirossi 3 (3xMotoGP) – Toni Elias 3 (1xMoto2, 2x250cc) – Mika Kallio 3 (1x250cc, 2x125cc) – Alex Marquez 3 (1xMoto2, 2xMoto3) 

RACES AT MOTEGI (69): 

20 MotoGP, 3 500cc, 12 Moto2, 11 250cc, 10 Moto3, 13 125cc 

FACTORIES AT MOTEGI: BEST RESULTS 

Most wins: Honda 10 – Ducati 7 – Yamaha 4
Honda: Honda have had nine MotoGP wins at Motegi including victories with Marc Marquez in 2016, 2018 and 

2019. The other premier class win for Honda here is Valentino Rossi’s 500cc win in 2001. 

Ducati: Ducati have seven MotoGP wins here, the last of which was with Jorge Martin in 2023. The other Ducati wins here are Jack Miller (2022), Andrea Dovizioso (2017), Loris Capirossi (2005, 2006, 2007) and Casey Stoner (2010). Three Ducati riders have taken pole: Capirossi (2005, 2006), Dovizioso (2014, 2018), Martin (2023). 

Yamaha: Yamaha have four MotoGP wins here, one with Rossi (2008) and three with Jorge Lorenzo (2009, 2013, 2014). The most recent podium for Yamaha here is Fabio Quartararo’s P2 in 2019 and their last pole was with Johann Zarco in 2017. 

KTM: KTM have stood on the podium once at Motegi, finishing P2 in 2022 with Brad Binder. 

Aprilia: Aprilia best MotoGP result at Motegi is P5, scored by Aleix Espargaro in 2023. 

8 riders on the grid have MotoGP podiums here: M. Marquez (7), Martin (2), Viñales (1), Alex Rins (1), Quartararo (1), Binder (1), Miller (1), Bagnaia (1). 3 have taken pole: M. Marquez (2), Zarco (1), Martin (1). 

WHO CAN WIN WHAT: JAPANESE GP 

MotoGP Rookie of the Year: Pedro Acosta 

Acosta can mathematically wrap up Rookie of the Year this weekend. It will become official two hours before Q1, which is the cut off for any replacement riders, who could be rookies, to take part in the event. 

Moto3 World Championship: David Alonso 

Alonso can win the Moto3 title at Motegi. His rivals are Daniel Holgado, Ivan Ortola and Collin Veijer. Alonso needs to score three points more than Holgado and not concede more than five to Ortola and seven to Veijer. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF… 

900 – The next Italian rider to win in any class will take Italy’s 900th Grand Prix win.
150 – At the Japanese GP, Joan Mir is scheduled to make the 150th start in his Grand Prix career. 

76 – If at least one Ducati qualifies in the top three, it will be the 76th consecutive race that a Ducati rider starts on the front row, a run that stretches back to Valencia 2020. 

62 – Ducati are on a streak of 61 consecutive GP races with at least one rider on the podium. If they take a podium this weekend, they will extend their own record to 62. 

20 – Pedro Acosta will be 20 years and 134 days old on Sunday. If he wins, he will become the second-youngest premier class winner after from Marc Marquez (20 years 63 days old in Austin in 2013). 

13 – If Ducati win, it will be Ducati’s 13th win in 13 MotoGP races in a row, extending the personal record for the Bologna factory. The last manufacturer with 13 premier class wins in a row is Honda, from the 2001 Pacific GP to the 2002 German GP. 

10 – With nine wins so far, David Alonso has chance to join Marc Marquez, Joan Mir and Fausto Gresini as riders to have taken 10 wins in a single lightweight class season. The ultimate record is the 11 taken by Valentino Rossi in 1997. 

8 – If Bagnaia wins, it’ll be his eighth win of 2024, making it his best premier class season in terms of wins. The last rider who scored eight (or more) wins in a MotoGP season is Marc Marquez with 12 in 2019. Only Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo have won eight or more in a single MotoGP season. 

7 – If a rider other than Martin, Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Bastianini, Viñales or Aleix Espargaro wins the Tissot Sprint at Misano, 2024 will have had more different Sprint winners than 2023. 

6 – There are six full-time riders on the grid who could take their maiden MotoGP win this weekend: Alex Marquez, Raul Fernandez, Luca Marini, Takaaki Nakagami, Augusto Fernandez and rookie Pedro Acosta. 

1 – KTM and Aprilia riders could give their factory a maiden premier class win at Motegi.
1 – David Alonso can become the first motorcycle racing Grand Prix champion, in any class, from Colombia. 

ON THIS DAY… 

October 3rd 

At the 2010 Japanese GP, MotoGP Legend Casey Stoner won his second MotoGP race of the season while MotoGP Legends Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo had a great battle for the second place until the last lap. 

At the 2000 Australian GP, Régis Laconi crossed the line in third place in the 500cc race, 0.124 seconds after race winner Tadayuki Okada, making it the closest podium margin in the premier class of GP racing at the time. 

October 4th 

At the 1998 Australian GP, MotoGP Legend Mick Doohan won the 53rd of his 54 wins in the premier class to clinch his fifth successive world title in the class. 

At the 1953 Spanish GP in Montjuich, Fergus Anderson became the oldest ever rider to win a premier class race (44 years 237 days old). 

October 5th 

At the 1997 Australian GP, MotoGP Legend Max Biaggi crossed the line in second place behind Ralf Waldmann in the 250cc race to clinch his fourth successive world title in the class. 

October 6th 

At the 2002 Pacific GP, Alex Barros won the MotoGP race in his first race on the Honda RC211V. At the same GP, Barros’ teammate Loris Capirossi took third for the last podium for a 500cc 2-stroke in the premier class. 

PREVIOUSLY AT MOTEGI: 

#1 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) won in Moto2 in 2018 from pole – he crossed the line second after battling Quartararo but the Frenchman was disqualified for a technical infringement. His other podium here is P2 in MotoGP last year, after P3 in the Sprint. He crashed out in 2022 when overtaking Quartararo. 

#5 Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) has three podiums here: two wins in 125ccc, in 2011 and in Moto2 in 2015 (to clinch the title), and P2 in 2016 in Moto2. He has qualified on pole here three times: in Moto2 in 2015 and 2016, and in MotoGP in 2017 with Yamaha. In his first three visits in MotoGP, he has qualified on pole (2017) or second (2018 and 2022). His best MotoGP race result here is P6 in 2018. 

#10 Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) has won once at Motegi: in Moto2 in 2019 from pole position. He finished P6 in his only MotoGP race so far at the track in 2022 as he missed the Japanese GP in 2023 due to a collarbone injury sustained in India. 

#12 Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) has been on the podium four times at Motegi: P2s in Moto3 in 2012 and 2013 and in Moto2 in 2014, and P3 in MotoGP in 2016, his best MotoGP result here. He finished P7 in 2022, equalling Aprilia’s best result in the class at the time at Motegi. In 2023, he finished P19, following a Long Lap penalty due to incorrect bike change. 

#20 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) has stood on the podium once at Motegi, finishing P2 in MotoGP in 2019, his sixth podium of that season to win the fight for the Rookie of the Year. In 2018, he fought for the win with Bagnaia in Moto2 and crossed the line in P1 before being disqualified for a technical infringement. 

#21 Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) has finished once on the podium here, finishing P3 in Moto2 in 2016. He finished P6 in 2019 for his best MotoGP result at Motegi so far. 

#23 Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) has one win here, in Moto3 in 2016 (his second GP win). He has raced only once at Motegi in MotoGP, finishing P9 in 2022. He missed the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix following his injury sustained earlier in Catalunya and was replaced by Michele Pirro. 

#25 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) finished P9 in his second MotoGP race at Motegi in 2023, which is his best Grand Prix result at the track. 

#30 Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda LCR)’s best GP result at Motegi is P4 in Moto2 in 2016. In 2017, he qualified on pole becoming the first Japanese rider to do so in the intermediate class at his home GP since Shuhei Aoyama in 2007 at Motegi. He has scored points twice in MotoGP here: P15 in 2018 and P11 in 2023. 

#31 Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) has race at Motegi twice, both times in Moto2, and has stood on the podium once, finishing third in 2023. 

#32 Lorenzo Savadori (Trackhouse Racing) has raced at Motegi twice, both times in 125cc, but failed to score any points: crashing out in 2009 and retiring in 2010. 

#33 Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has finished on the podium three times here: P3s in 2014, and P2 in 2016 in Moto3, and P2 in 2022 in MotoGP, which is the best KTM result at the track in the class. He finished P2 in the Sprint here last year but crashed out on Sunday. 

#36 Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) finished P8 at Motegi in 2019 for his best result in any class at the track so far. He missed the Grand Prix in 2022 following an ankle injury sustained earlier at the Austrian GP, and was replaced by Takuya Tsuda. 

#37 Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) has one podium at Motegi, when he was P2 in Moto2 in 2022 on his way to clinching the title. He finished P7 in his first MotoGP race here in 2023. 

#41 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing)’s best MotoGP result at Motegi is P4, scored in 2016 with Suzuki. 

#42 Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) has finished on the podium once at Motegi with P3 in MotoGP in 2018 (his third podium in the class). In 2023, he came back from a leg injury sustained at the Italian GP but withdrew after the opening day. 

#43 Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has one win at Motegi, in MotoGP in 2022 (his most recent win). In 2023, he qualified third and finished the race in sixth place. 

#49 Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) has a best GP result of P5 at Motegi, taken in 2016 in Moto3. He finished P8 in MotoGP in 2022, the best of his two MotoGP visits to the track. 

#72 Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) has finished on the podium twice at Motegi: P3 in 2017 (his maiden GP podium) and a win in 2018 (to reduce the gap to one point behind Championship leader Jorge Martin), both times in Moto3. His best MotoGP result here is P4 scored in 2023, after qualifying fourth despite a heavy crash in Q2. 

#73 Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) has had three wins at Motegi: in 2013 (his maiden GP win) and in 2014 (on his way to clinching the title) in Moto3, and in 2017 in Moto2. He finished P13 in his first MotoGP race here in 2022 and missed the 2023 Japanese GP due to ribs injury sustained earlier in India. 

#87 Remy Gardner (Yamaha Factory Racing Team) has a best GP result of 12th at Motegi, scored in Moto2 in 2017. He raced in MotoGP here only once, in 2022, finishing P19. 

#89 Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has finished on the podium three times here: P3 in Moto2 in 2019 (his maiden podium in the class), P2 in MotoGP in 2022 and a win in MotoGP in 2023 (from pole). He also took the Sprint win in 2023, for his third double of that season (Sprint and GP wins). 

#93 Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) has 10 podiums at Motegi, including five wins: in 125cc in 2010 (from pole), in Moto2 in 2012 (and after dropping down to 28th entering the first corner) and in MotoGP in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He missed the podium two times in his nine visits to the track in MotoGP, finishing P4 in 2015 and in 2022. In 2022, he qualified on pole for the first time since the 2019 Japanese GP (1071 days).