Did you know…?
– This weekend’s race will be the 31st GP to be held at Jerez. After Assen, it is the circuit on the calendar that has had the most races, hosting a GP uninterruptedly each year since 1987.
– Jerez is the third circuit with the most overall GPs held, following the Dutch track which is the only event remaining since the beginning of the World Championship, and Spa-Francorchamps, which celebrated 40 races.
– Of the 30 races disputed in Jerez to date, only three of them have been in the rain: in 2000, 2004 and 2011.
– With 5 victories, Jorge Lorenzo has the second highest number of victories at the Jerez track, (behind Rossi’s eight).
– Lorenzo has achieved seven pole positions at Jerez, the rider with the most poles at this circuit.
– Lorenzo has started from the first row of the grid at every Jerez MotoGP race he has taken part in.
– Jorge Lorenzo holds Jerez’s track record (1’38.735 in 2015), fastest lap record (1’37.910 in 2015), and pole record (1’37.910 in 2015).
– One year ago, coinciding with the GP of Spain, Ducati announced Lorenzo’s move to the team.
– At the Spanish Grand Prix on May 5, 2002, Jorge Lorenzo became the youngest rider to take part in a World Championship race, at 15 years and 1 day old.
– At last year’s GP four Ducatis clocked the top 4 speeds in the race: the bikes of Dovizioso, Iannone, Barbera and Redding.
– Ducati has had only one victory in Jerez which was in 2006 with Loris Capirossi when it was the first race of the season. Ducati has had only three additional podiums, with Bayliss in 2003, Stoner in 2009 and Hayden in 2011.
– The final corner of the circuit, named after Jorge Lorenzo, has decided many races and generated much controversy. The most notable were the races in 2005 with the collision between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau, and the one in 2013 between Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo.
– At Jerez Jorge Lorenzo will be taking part in his 160th race in the premier category, equalling Jack Findlay and placing himself in the Top 10 of all time. For his part Andrea Dovizioso is in eighth place in this particular category, with 164 races in MotoGP including Sunday’s.
