Ducati in Japan
– Andrea Dovizioso won the Japanese Grand Prix last year after beating Marc Márquez in the last corner of the track. The race took place under heavy rain and became one of the most spectacular wet race duels in history.
– Andrea is already familiar with winning in Japan, something he achieved in 2004, the year in which he became the 125cc World Champion.
– Ducati claimed the World Champion title with Casey Stoner at the 2007 Grand Prix of Japan, when there were still three races remaining until the end of the season. That GP was won by his teammate Loris Capirossi in what was to be the last victory of his sporting career.
– Ironically, Ducati claimed the World Champion title at the Motegi track, which is owned by Honda.
– Ducati’s first podium in MotoGP came at the 2003 GP of Japan with Loris Capirossi, which was the Italian bike’s debut race in the category. At that time, the Japanese round was held at the Suzuka circuit.
– Three of Capirossi’s eight victories were on the Ducati at the Motegi track, and all of them consecutively from 2005 to 2007.
– Ducati has scored five victories at Motegi. In addition to the three that Capirossi won, there was one by Stoner in 2010 and last year’s win by Dovizioso.
– Jorge Lorenzo has three wins at Motegi, all of them in MotoGP (2009, 2013 and 2014).
– Dovizioso is the only rider who can stop Márquez from claiming the title, but only if he finishes ahead of the Spaniard.
Curiosities
– Motegi is a so-called stop & go track because it has six major acceleration points followed by six strong braking points. It is the circuit where first gear is used the most, up to three times, and where more speed changes are made, with a total of 30 per lap.
– In 1999 the first GP was held at the Motegi circuit, and it has remained on the calendar ever since. From 2000 to 2003, it was held under the name Pacific GP, while on the other occasions it was called the GP of Japan.
– The Motegi circuit is also called the Twin Ring, because it is actually two circuits inside a single enclosure, of which they only share the pit lane.
– The strongest braking point of the whole track is turn 11, where speeds go from 308 km/h to 86 km/h in 5.2 seconds over a distance of 263 meters. To do this, riders exert a pressure of 7.6kg on the brake lever.
– With five victories to his name, Dani Pedrosa is the rider who has won the most at Motegi and the only rider who has won in all three classes (1 win in 125cc in 2002, 1 in 250cc in 2004, 3 in MotoGP in 2011, 2012 and 2015).
– Motegi is located 145 km north of Tokyo and 40 km from Mito, which is the nearest city.
