MotoGP GP Austria: Sunday Guide, pre-event statistics

Marc Marquez qualified in pole position for the second time in a row at the Austrian GP. The Red Bull Ring is the second circuit on the current MotoGP calendar, along with Buriram in Thailand (a track which will be raced for the first time this year), where Marquez has not won in the premier class.

This is the 49th pole position for Marc Marquez at the 101st start in the premier class (48,5%), and the 77th in his career.

Andrea Dovizioso starts from second place on the grid, it is his second consecutive front row start since 2015 (France / Italy).

Andrea Dovizioso qualified just 2 thousandths behind Marc Marquez; it is the closest gap in a MotoGP qualifying session since the German GP in 2003, when Jeremy McWilliams always qualified within 2 thousandths, that time behind Max Biaggi.

Jorge Lorenzo starts from third position on the grid; it is his fourth front row in 2018, one more than last season.

Danilo Petrucci (fourth time) is the best rider of an "Independent" Team. It is his best qualifying result since second place in the 2018 German GP. Petrucci qualified fifth last year at the Red Bull Ring, but then had to retire from the race.

It is the first time that three Ducatis are among the first four places on the grid, to be precise Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Petrucci.

Cal Crutchlow, who finished 15th at the Red Bull Ring in both 2016 and 2017, qualified fifth for the second time in a row.

Johann Zarco, who won the Moto2016 race in the Austrian GP in 2, starts from sixth position on the grid and is the third rider of an "Independent" team, but is Yamaha's best rider. This is his best qualifying result since pole at the 2018 French GP.

Yamaha riders haven't won since Assen 2017 with Valentino Rossi (20 consecutive races without a win). The last time the house of the Three Diapasons had a winless streak of more than 20 races was the sequence of 22, including the 15 races of 1997 and the opening seven races of 1998.

Tito Rabat opens the third row on the grid and is the fourth Ducati rider; It is his best qualifying result since the Argentine GP, when he qualified fourth.

Andrea Iannone, who won his only MotoGP race in 2016 at the Red Bull Ring starting from pole, qualified in eighth place for the third time in a row.

Dani Pedrosa, who crossed the finish line in third place last year at the Red Bull Ring, starts from ninth on the grid; it is his best qualifying result since second place at the season-opening Spanish GP in Jerez.

Maverick Viñales qualified in 11th place on the grid, second Yamaha rider, his second consecutive fourth row.

After progressing to Q1 for the first time since Phillip Island 2017, Valentino Rossi missed out on Q2 for the first time since the 2017 Catalan GP and qualified in 14th place. It is his worst qualifying since Phillip Island 2016 when he qualified 15th and equals his worst in the dry since 2011, at Indianapolis.