Can anybody stop Quartararo from taking a Jerez hat-trick?

Here's everything you need to know ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, where the World Championship leader has a huge target on his back

There's a feeling like we've been here before ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Fabio Quartararo will park his Monster Energy Yamaha in pole position for the fourth straight time before then aiming to make it a hat-trick of victories around the Andalucian circuit.

Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Gran Premio Red Bull de España

The big question, therefore, is can anybody stop the Frenchman from continuing his Jerez heroics? Well here are ten stats to emerge from Saturday's action, some of which might give hope to the World Championship leader's closest rivals:

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has qualified on pole position for the fourth successive time in MotoGP™ at Jerez, a sequence that started at the Spanish GP in 2019. He has become the first premier class rider to ever achieve this feat in the 34-year history of Grand Prix racing at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto.

 

2. Fabio Quartararo has qualified on pole position at back-to-back Grands Prix for the first time since France and Aragon last year. This is his 12th overall pole position in the premier class, equalling his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate Maverick Viñales and Johnny Ceccoto.

3. On his 11 previous pole positions, Quartararo has gone on to finish on the podium seven times, including three wins: two at Jerez last year (Spain and Andalucia) and another at Portugal last time out.

4. After passing through Q1, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) has qualified second. It's his first front row start since he also claimed second on the grid at the Portuguese GP last year. He went on to finish that race in third, his most recent podium.

5. Yamaha's riders will be aiming to win the opening four premier class races of the season for the first time since 1980 with Kenny Roberts (3 wins) and Jack Middelburg (1).

6. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) has qualified third and is the highest-placed Ducati rider for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. It's his first front row start since he was third on the grid in Portugal last year, when he went on to finish second - his most recent podium.

7. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), who finished fourth last year at the Andalucia GP for a career-best MotoGP™ result - later equalled at the European GP -  has qualified fifth and is the highest-placed Honda rider. This is the best qualifying result for a Honda rider since Cal Crutchlow claimed fourth last year in Portugal.

8. Maverick Viñales, who has finished on the podium at the previous three MotoGP™ races at Jerez, has qualified seventh. It's the factory Yamaha man's worst qualifying result at Jerez since he was 11th on the grid back in 2018.

 

9. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) went directly to Q2 for the first time this season on Saturday. The World Champion will start from 10th on Sunday for the third successive time in Jerez. Last year ahe finished fifth at the Andalucian GP - the only time he has ever scored points at Jerez in the premier class in his MotoGP™ career.

10. After being forced into Q1 for only the sixth time in his MotoGP™ career (excluding Andalucia 2020), Marc Marquez then failed to move through to Q2 for just the second time in his career along with the 2015 Italian Grand Prix. He eventually qualified in 14th, which is his worst qualifying result since he moved to MotoGP™ in 2013.

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