We might only be at the sixth round of 2022 but Ducati have already managed to match a factory record. The Bologna Bullets fly on a Saturday, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) the latest to place it on pole position following his magnificent lap at the Red Bull Spanish Grand Prix. Take a look at what record they've matched, plus much more, in the ten things you need to know ahead of Sunday's Jerez showdown.
1. Francesco Bagnaia has qualified on pole position (setting a new all-time lap record at Jerez) for the seventh time in MotoGP™ and for the first time since visit to Portimao in November of last year. He will be aiming to win for the first time since Valencia last year (which is also his most recent podium).
2. This is Ducati’s third pole position at Jerez in MotoGP™, along with Loris Capirossi in both 2003, the very first pole position for the Italian factory in the class, and 2006.
3. After Jorge Martin (Qatar/Americas), Johann Zarco (Portugal), Francesco Bagnaia is the third different Ducati polesitter so far this season equalling the record for the Italian factory set in both 2018 and 2021.
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4. Failing to qualify on pole position for the first time at Jerez since he stepped up to MotoGP™ in 2019, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has qualified second for his second front row start of the season along with Indonesia, when he was on pole. He will be aiming to win for the first time in back-to-back races since Doha and Portugal last year.
5. Aprilia Racing's Aleix Espargaro has qualified third for his third front row so far this season along with Argentina (when he was on pole) and Portugal (when he was P3). Both times he went on to finish on the podium. He will be aiming to give Aprilia back-to-back premier class podiums for the first time in their history.
6. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has qualified fifth as the top Honda rider for his second-best qualifying result so far this season after Qatar, when he was third. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the first time since he won at the Emilia Romagna GP last year.
7. On pole last time out in Portugal, Johann Zarco was in Q1 for the second time this year along with Qatar. He qualified sixth for the second successive time in Jerez and will be aiming to win for the first time in MotoGP™.
8. LCR Idemitsu Honda's Takaaki Nakagami, who has finished P4 in the last two races held at Jerez, has qualified seventh for his best qualifying result since he was fifth at the Americas GP last year. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the first time in MotoGP™.
9. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), who crashed at the end of Q2, has qualified ninth as the top Suzuki rider, which is the fourth time so far this year that he starts from the third row of the grid. Eight of his 13 MotoGP™ podiums have come after he started from the third row or lower.
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10. Tied on points with Fabio Quartararo in the Championship, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) has qualified 14th for his second-worst qualifying so far this season after he was 23rd last week in Portugal. He eventually finished the race in fourth in Portimao and will be hoping to match his best MotoGP™ result at Jerez, which is P2 from 2019.