MotoGP, Everything you wanted to know about the Austin GP (and didn’t dare to ask)

MotoGP returns to the Circuit of the Americas (CotA) for an eighth year. Until 2019, the circuit held the Americas GP for
seven successive years. The 2020 Americas GP was canceled due to Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, FP3s in Moto3, Moto2
and MotoGP were canceled due to weather conditions.

In total, there have been 32 previous Grand Prix events hosted in the USA: Laguna Seca (15), Indianapolis (8), Austin (7)
and Daytona (2). A total of 75 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held in the USA since 1949:
500cc/MotoGP – 32, 250cc/Moto2 – 22, 125cc/Moto3 – 19, 50cc – 2nd

Honda’s last MotoGP win at Austin: Marc Marquez in 2018 (after qualifying on pole but starting fourth). Honda is the
most successful manufacturer with six wins, all of them with Marquez. Honda riders have won 15 of the last 16 MotoGP
races held in the USA. The last non-Honda MotoGP winner in the country was Alex Rins at Austin in 2019. Prior to Rins,
the last one was Jorge Lorenzo at Laguna Seca in 2010. Honda have also won 18 of the 24 premier class races that have
taken place in the USA in the MotoGPì era (since 2002).

Suzuki is the only other manufacturer to have won at Austin in MotoGP, with Alex Rins in 2019. This was Suzuki’s first
win in the premier class in the US. They have had four wins in smaller classes in the US at Daytona with Hugh Anderson
in 50cc (1964) and 125cc (1964/1965), and Ernst Degner in 50cc (1965).

Yamaha’s best MotoGP result at Austin is second with three different riders: Valentino Rossi (2017 and 2019), Maverick
Viñales (2018) and Jorge Lorenzo (2016).

Ducati have had four MotoGP podiums at Austin with Andrea Doviziosothird in 2014 and second in 2015 (the best
Ducati’s result at Austin), Andrea Iannone, third in 2016, and Jack Miller, third in 2019 (his first podium with Ducati).

Pol Espargaro finished eighth in 2019 in Austin, which is the best result at the track for a KTM rider.

Aleix Espargaro’s 10th-place finish in 2018 equaled the best result for Aprilia at COTA, taken by Stefan Bradl in 2016.

Marc Marquez has qualified on pole for all of the seven MotoGP races that have taken place at COTA. He won six of them
from 2013 to 2018 but crashed out in 2019 while leading. In addition, Marc Marquez has won on 10 of the 11 occasions
he has raced in MotoGP in America: six times at Austin, three times at Indianapolis and at Laguna Seca in 2013.

Only once in 11 MotoGP appearances in America has Marquez not qualified on pole: Laguna Seca in 2013 when he
qualified second behind Stefan Bradl. He qualified on pole in 2018 at Austin but started fourth after a grid penalty.

The only riders currently competing in MotoGP who have won in the class in American are Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez
and now Alex Rins.

On the 21 podium finishers in the seven previous MotoGP races held at Austin, all have been riders from either Spain or
Italy, except Jack Miller, third in 2019.