Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) will start from pole position for the 2020 myWorld Austrian Grand Prix, and next up is race day. Get yourself set with 10 stats that emerged from the brilliant qualifying session below:
1. This is Viñales’ 10th pole in the premier class, equalling Kenny Roberts Jr. On his nine previous premier class pole positions, Viñales went on to win the race on two occasions (Qatar and France in 2017).
2. This is the first pole position for a Yamaha rider at the Red Bull Ring since the track was introduced to the MotoGP™ calendar in 2016, and the first of a Yamaha rider to claim pole in the premier class in Austria since Christian Sarron back in 1988 (Salzburgring).
3. Ducati riders have won every MotoGP™ race at the Red Bull Ring since the Austrian track was introduced to the calendar in 2016, with three riders standing on the top step: Andrea Dovizioso (2 wins), Andrea Iannone (1) and Jorge Lorenzo (1).
4. This is Fabio Quartararo’s (Petronas Yamaha SRT) 11th successive front row start, a sequence that started last year in Misano, and the 17th front row start since he stepped up to MotoGP™ last year. Over his 16 previous front rows, he went on to finish on the podium nine times, including two wins.
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who is the most successful rider at the Red Bull Ring with two wins, has qualified in fourth place, which is his worst qualifying result at the track so far. But his best qualifying result since he was third… in Austria last year.
6. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has qualified in fifth place which is his best qualifying result since he was second in Misano last year, as well as the best qualifying result of a KTM rider at the Red Bull Ring.
7. This will be Joan Mir’s (Team Suzuki Ecstar) first race in MotoGP™ at the Red Bull Ring, after he missed last year’s race through injury.
8. After passing through Q1, Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), who was on pole position in Brno, has qualified P9. He will be aiming to stand on the podium in back-to-back MotoGP™ races for the second time, after doing so in Malaysia and Valencia in 2017.
9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) has qualified 10th as the highest-placed Honda rider. This is the first time there is no Honda riders on the front two rows of the grid in MotoGP™ at the Red Bull Ring.
10. After winning in Brno, Brad Binder has qualified in 17th place as the fourth-best KTM rider, which is his worst qualifying result in his rookie season so far. He will be aiming to become the first rookie to take back-to-back premier class wins since Marc Marquez in 2013 (four in a row from Sachsenring to Brno).