The day belonged to Ducati as Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) made history on his way to pole position, while three more Bologna bullets will launch from the front two rows. It sets up a mouthwatering race on Sunday, and to get you in the mood, here are 10 juicy stats you should know ahead of the Michelin® Grand Prix of Styria.
1- Jorge Martin has qualified on pole position (setting a new all-time lap record at the Red Bull Ring) for the second time in his rookie season. Last time was at the Doha GP, where he took his first and only podium in MotoGP™ so far, finishing in third place.
2- With his second pole so far this season, Jorge Martin becomes the first rookie to take more than one pole position since Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), did so on six occasions in 2019.
3- This is Ducati’s second MotoGP™ pole at the Red Bull Ring. Andrea Iannone achieved the first in 2016, with the Italian beating compatriot to Andrea Dovizioso to victory five years ago.
4- Ducati riders have won five of the six MotoGP™ races at the Red Bull Ring since the Austrian track was introduced to the calendar in 2016 with three different riders: Andrea Dovizioso (3 wins), Andrea Iannone (1) and Jorge Lorenzo (1).5- Fabio Quartararo has qualified third for his 31st front row start in what is his 43rd race in MotoGP™, a 72% front row success rate. Over his 30 previous front row starts, he went on to finish on the podium 15 times (including six of his seven premier class wins so far).
6- Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) has qualified in fifth place as the top Suzuki, in his best qualifying result since he was fifth at last year’s European GP. He has only had 5 MotoGP™ 2nd rows in the past, none of which were a front row. Three of them have led to podiums, including his one win in Valencia.
7- Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) has qualified sixth, equalling his worst qualifying result of the season so far from Qatar and Spain. This is the second time this year there are four Ducati riders on the front two rows along with the Doha GP.
8- Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who crashed at the end of Q2, has qualified eighth, the highest-placed Honda rider. This is the first time he fails to start from the front two rows at the Red Bull Ring. He will be aiming to win for the first time at the track.
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IS SUZUKI'S NEW UPGRADE MIR'S FINAL PIECE TO THE PUZZLE?
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QUARTARARO PRAYING FOR THE SUN TO COME OUT ON SUNDAY
9- Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who qualified on pole position last year at the Red Bull Ring (but in the Austrian GP), has qualified ninth for his worst qualifying result at the track since he was 11th in 2018.
10- After coming through Q1, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) qualified in 11th for his best qualifying result since he was 10th in Teruel last year. The other time he qualified 11th was at the Aragon GP, when he went on to take his second and most recent podium.