Connect with us

We Speak Cars & Racing

Qatar Grand Prix Stats Set the Lusail Stage as Marc Marquez Arrives With the Title in Reach

Published

1 day ago

on

Marc Marquez racing his Ducati Lenovo Team MotoGP bike at the Lusail International Circuit during the Qatar Grand Prix
Marc Marquez racing at the Lusail International Circuit during the Qatar Grand Prix. Photo via MotoGP.

The numbers behind the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar tell the story of a title weekend at Lusail. Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP World Championship by 44 points as the paddock reaches the 24th Grand Prix at the circuit and the 20th run under the floodlights, and the pre race stats package lays out exactly what he, Ducati and the rest of the grid can settle on Sunday.

QATAR AIRWAYS GRAND PRIX OF QATAR — PRE-GP STATS

WELCOME TO QATAR!

This will be the 24th Grand Prix held at Lusail since it joined the calendar in 2004, and the 20th under the floodlights. From 2007 to 2022, it was the season opener, before moving later in the year in 2023 while the circuit was renovated. It opened the season again in 2024 and was round four in April 2025. Originally scheduled for April, the 2026 GP was postponed to November due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. It remains the only night race on the calendar.

Qatar is one of eight Asian countries to have hosted a GP, along with Indonesia, Turkey, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, China and India. Lusail is one of 12 tracks to have hosted a MotoGP GP in Asia: Motegi (26 MotoGP GPs), Sepang (26), Lusail (22), Suzuka (16), Shah Alam (7), Buriram (7), Mandalika (5), Shanghai (4), Istanbul (3), Sentul (2), Johor (1) and Buddh (1).

FAST FACTS: LUSAIL

  • Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP World Championship by 44 points from Jorge Martin (399 to 355), with Marco Bezzecchi third on 332.
  • Ducati lead Aprilia by 8 points in the Constructors’ Championship (537 to 529), having retaken the lead on Sunday at Sepang.
  • MotoGP Hall of Famers Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner share the record for the most MotoGP GP wins at Lusail, with four each. Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales have two each, the most of any rider on the grid.
  • In 2025, Marc Marquez won from pole, 11 years after his first win at the track, having also won the Sprint. Ducati filled the podium in both races, with Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli on Sunday after Maverick Viñales, second on the road, was demoted to P14 by a tyre pressure penalty.
  • The 2021 Doha GP produced the closest top 15 in a MotoGP Grand Prix, with 8.928 seconds between winner Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira in P15.

MOTOGP WINNERS AT LUSAIL: CURRENT RIDERS

Marc Marquez 2 (2014, 2025) – Maverick Viñales 2 (2017, 2021/1) – Fabio Quartararo 1 (2021/2) – Enea Bastianini 1 (2022) – Fabio Di Giannantonio 1 (2023) – Francesco Bagnaia 1 (2024)

SPRINT WINNERS AT LUSAIL:

Jorge Martin 2 (2023, 2024) – Marc Marquez 1 (2025)

FACTORIES AT LUSAIL: BEST RESULTS

GP wins Yamaha 10 – Ducati 9 – Honda 3. Sprint wins Ducati 3. Yamaha are the most successful manufacturer at Lusail, with 10 MotoGP GP wins for four riders: Valentino Rossi (2005, 2006, 2010 and 2015), Jorge Lorenzo (2012, 2013 and 2016), Maverick Viñales (2017 and 2021/1) and Fabio Quartararo (2021/2). Their most recent win at the track was Quartararo’s at the 2021 Doha GP, and they have not finished on the podium here since. In 2025, Quartararo finished P7.

Ducati have nine MotoGP GP wins at Lusail, with six riders: Casey Stoner (2007, 2008 and 2009), Andrea Dovizioso (2018 and 2019), Enea Bastianini (2022), Fabio Di Giannantonio (2023), Francesco Bagnaia (2024) and Marc Marquez (2025). They have also won all three Sprints held here, with Jorge Martin (2023 and 2024) and Marc Marquez (2025), and filled the podium in both races in 2025.

Honda have three MotoGP GP wins at Lusail, with Sete Gibernau (2004), Casey Stoner (2011) and Marc Marquez (2014). Their most recent podium here was Pol Espargaro’s P3 in 2022. In 2025, Johann Zarco finished P4.

KTM made their full-time MotoGP debut here in 2017 and have two GP podiums at Lusail, both P2 with Brad Binder, in 2022 and 2024. Binder also finished P2 in the 2024 Sprint. In 2025, Pedro Acosta was their best finisher, in P8.

Aprilia’s best MotoGP GP result at Lusail is P4, with Aleix Espargaro in 2022 and Maverick Viñales in 2023. Aleix Espargaro finished P3 in the 2024 Sprint. In 2025, Marco Bezzecchi was their best finisher, in P9.

11 riders on the permanent grid have MotoGP GP podiums here: M. Marquez (6), Bagnaia (4), Binder (2), Martin (2), Viñales (2), Zarco (2), Bastianini (1), Di Giannantonio (1), Marini (1), Morbidelli (1) and Quartararo (1).

6 have taken pole: Martin (3), M. Marquez (2), Viñales (2), Bagnaia (1), Marini (1) and Zarco (1).

WHAT HAPPENS IF…

81 — If Marc Marquez wins, he will take his 81st MotoGP GP win, eight less than MotoGP Hall of Famer Valentino Rossi.

64 — If Francesco Bagnaia finishes on the GP podium on Sunday, he will equal MotoGP Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey in ninth place on the list of riders with the most MotoGP GP podiums, with 64.

42 — If Jorge Martin finishes on the GP podium on Sunday, he will equal MotoGP Legend Loris Capirossi on 42 MotoGP GP podiums.

12 — If Marco Bezzecchi wins on Sunday, he will be the first rider to take his first 12 MotoGP GP wins at 12 different tracks.

10 — A Ducati win would be their 10th MotoGP GP win at Lusail, equalling Yamaha’s record at the track.

9 — Eight different riders have won a MotoGP GP in 2026: Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, Martin, Di Giannantonio, Marc Marquez, Ogura, Raul Fernandez and Acosta. A new winner would equal the record of nine different MotoGP GP winners in a season, set in 2016 and equalled in 2020.

8 — The last seven MotoGP GPs at Lusail have produced seven different winners. A new winner would make it eight.

6 — The MotoGP GP at Lusail has been won six times from outside the front row.

4 — If Martin takes pole, it will be his fourth at Lusail, equalling the record held by Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner.

4 — There are four riders on the grid who could take their maiden MotoGP GP win this weekend: Luca Marini, rookie Diogo Moreira and replacement riders Iker Lecuona and Jake Dixon.

3 — A win for Marc Marquez or Maverick Viñales would be their third MotoGP GP win at Lusail. Marc Marquez would also be the first rider to win back-to-back MotoGP GPs here since Andrea Dovizioso in 2018 and 2019.

2 — Jorge Martin has won two of the three Sprints held at Lusail. Ducati have won all three.

1 — KTM and Aprilia riders could give their factory a maiden MotoGP GP win at Lusail.

PREVIOUSLY AT LUSAIL

#5 Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) has two MotoGP GP podiums at Lusail, P2 in both races held in 2021. On his MotoGP debut here in 2017, he led the first six laps before crashing out. He took pole in 2018. In 2025, he finished P4, Honda’s best GP result at the track since 2022.

#10 Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) took pole and finished P3 in 2023, his best MotoGP GP result at Lusail. In 2025, he finished P10 from 15th on the grid.

#12 Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) has two MotoGP GP wins at Lusail with Yamaha: in 2017 from pole, and at the 2021 Qatar GP. In 2025, his first visit with KTM, he crossed the line second but was demoted to P14 by a tyre pressure penalty.

#21 Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) finished P3 in 2025, his first MotoGP GP podium at Lusail, after leading 10 laps.

#23 Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) took his maiden MotoGP GP win at Lusail in 2022 with Gresini. In 2025, his first visit with KTM, he finished P11 from 20th on the grid.

#33 Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has two MotoGP GP podiums at Lusail, P2 in 2022 and 2024, KTM’s best result at the track in the class.

#37 Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished P9 on his MotoGP debut here in 2024, setting the fastest lap of the race as the youngest rider to do so in the class.

#49 Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took his maiden MotoGP GP win at Lusail in 2023, after a battle with Francesco Bagnaia.

#63 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has four MotoGP GP podiums here: P3 at the 2021 Qatar GP from his maiden MotoGP pole, P2 in 2023, a win in 2024 from fifth on the grid, and P2 in 2025 from 11th on the grid.

#72 Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing)’s best MotoGP GP result at Lusail is P9, in 2025, his first visit with Aprilia.

#89 Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) has two MotoGP GP podiums at Lusail, P3 at the 2021 Doha GP and P3 in 2024. He has won two of the three Sprints held here, in 2023 and 2024, and has taken pole three times. In 2025, on his first weekend of the season with Aprilia, he crashed out of the GP, sustaining injuries which saw him miss the following seven GPs.

#93 Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) has two MotoGP GP wins at Lusail, both from pole: in 2014, the start of his run of 10 wins in a row, and in 2025, when he also won the Sprint. His other podiums here are P3 in 2013, on his MotoGP debut, P3 in 2016, and P2 in 2018 and 2019.

#96 Jake Dixon (Honda HRC Castrol) has never raced in MotoGP at Lusail. He replaces Joan Mir.

WHO CAN WIN WHAT: QATAR GP

MotoGP World Championship: Marc Marquez. Marc Marquez leads Jorge Martin by 44 points, Marco Bezzecchi by 67 and Pedro Acosta by 104. He will be Champion at Lusail if he has an advantage of 74 points (or more) over Martin and Acosta, and more than 74 over Bezzecchi, at the end of the Grand Prix.

MotoGP Teams’ World Championship: Aprilia Racing. Aprilia Racing lead Ducati Lenovo Team by 115 points. They will seal the title at Lusail by leaving Qatar more than 132 points ahead of Ducati Lenovo Team.

MotoGP Rookie of the Year: Diogo Moreira. Diogo Moreira leads Toprak Razgatlioglu by 60 points. He will win the fight for the Rookie of the Year at Lusail if he leaves Qatar more than 74 points ahead of Razgatlioglu.

Moto2 Teams’ World Championship: LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP lead CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team by 61.5. They will seal the title at Lusail with an advantage of more than 90 points at the end of the Grand Prix.

Moto3 Teams’ World Championship: CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team lead Red Bull KTM Ajo by 106 points. They will seal the title at Lusail with an advantage of 90 points (or more) at the end of the Grand Prix.

Moto3 Rookie of the Year: Brian Uriarte. Brian Uriarte leads Veda Pratama by 74 points and can win the fight for the Rookie of the Year at Lusail by leaving Qatar more than 50 points ahead of Pratama.

Read Next

More from We Speak Media
Related Topics:
Continue Reading

We Speak Cars & Racing

Steven Drevicki Wins Record Sixth USAC East Coast Sprint Car Title in Closest Points Race in Series History

Published

1 day ago

on

November 6, 2026

By

Steven Drevicki driving the No. 19 sprint car in USAC East Coast Sprint Cars action at Bridgeport Motorsports Park
Steven Drevicki, 2026 USAC East Coast Sprint Cars Presented by Baer Den Farms champion. Photo by Steve Koletar.

Steven Drevicki extended his own record with a sixth USAC East Coast Sprint Cars Presented by Baer Den Farms championship in 2026, holding off Christian Bruno by 28 points in the closest title fight in series history to complete his second three-peat in the No. 19.

“It doesn’t ever get old.”

Steven Drevicki can confidently say that after achieving his record-extending sixth career USAC East Coast Sprint Cars Presented by Baer Den Farms driving championship in 2026.

In what was the closest points race in series history, Reading, Pennsylvania’s Drevicki claimed the title by a 28-point margin over Christian Bruno. The previous closest title fight (44 points) came during the series’ inaugural season in 2018 and had the very same driver standing at the top — Steven Drevicki.

Drevicki won the first three series crowns in 2018, 2019, and 2020. He has now achieved his second three-peat after grabbing the championship in 2024, 2025, and 2026, all six of which have come in his own No. 19.

“It’s wild to think about six,” Drevicki reflected. “I don’t know that it’s even sunk in.”

Drevicki achieved two feature victories, both at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park, to go along with a series high 11 top five finishes, plus top 10 results in all 12 of his feature starts during the 2026 campaign.

After chasing after the point lead for much of the season, Drevicki took over the top spot from Bruno with three races remaining, then capped the title with a 4th, a 1st, and a 6th in his final three outings of the year.

“This one was tougher,” Drevicki acknowledged. “The competition keeps getting tougher and tougher every year with where the series is at. The series is really going into a good direction. The level of competition took a big step up again this year and they kept the pressure on and that makes it cool to win them.”

Drevicki credits a midseason stretch in which he delivered top five after top five from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, including a dominant wire-to-wire win at Bridgeport in August where he led all 25 laps. In a September return to Bridgeport he slid J.R. Fulper for the lead amid a three-car battle with two laps remaining; Fulper’s car soon began to stumble without fuel. As Drevicki quipped, “a little luck never hurts.”

Drevicki is a mechanical engineer by trade for the Industrial Crane Company, a graduate of Penn State University’s Mechanical Engineering department, and grew up in a racing family. He started in quarter midgets in 2000, advanced to micros and then to midgets, where he was a two-time American Racing Drivers Club titlist in 2014 and 2015.

“My mom and dad have been huge supporters throughout my entire racing career,” Drevicki praised. “I wouldn’t be where I am without all of their support through the years. I basically own the team, more or less, myself. Dad helps where he can, but it’s pretty much my team. Scott (Gantert) has been helping on the crew for 17 years.”

He credits longtime supporters DeGre Engineering, Roadrunner Race Fuels, Fastener Specialties, Fastlane Jewelry, BDB Graphics, NAPA of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, RPM Chassis, and Penske Shocks.

“When you think about that part, most of the sponsors and people that I’ve been with have been with me for 10 years in one capacity or another. They’re not sponsors; they’re friends at this point. To keep those relationships and that support structure around me intact for that long is really special to me.”

Five different drivers earned USAC East Coast victories in 2026: Christian Bruno, Briggs Danner, Steven Drevicki, Kenny Miller III, and Chelby Hinton.

Bruno was runner-up for the second time in three years, led all drivers with five victories (Big Diamond Speedway in May, all three Selinsgrove Speedway events, and Port Royal Speedway in September), and led in feature laps led (69) and heat race victories (7).

Briggs Danner raised his USAC East Coast record win total to 32 with two wins in the Hogue Racing Enterprises No. 39 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park and Action Track USA.

Kenny Miller III won twice in nailbiters (Bedford in April and Action Track USA in August), took third in the standings in the family owned No. 23m, and made the biggest charge of the season, +11 from 19th to 8th in July at Action Track USA.

Chelby Hinton took over the Hogue Racing Enterprises No. 39 at season’s end and swept the final Halloween weekend events at Bridgeport in his USAC East Coast debut, winning Friday’s Non-Winners Showdown and Saturday’s final points race.

Kyle Spence finished fourth and Joe Kata fifth, both with their best career points performances. Olivia Thayer finished eighth and was honored as Rookie of the Year. Bob Swavely, crewman on Christian Bruno’s JMO Motorsports No. 3BC, was named Mechanic of the Year.

Four drivers started all 12 feature events in 2026: Christian Bruno, Steven Drevicki, Joe Kata, and Kenny Miller III.

Stat leaders: Driver Champion Steven Drevicki; Rookie of the Year Olivia Thayer; Most Wins 5 — Christian Bruno; Most Laps Led 69 — Christian Bruno; Most Top-Fives 11 — Steven Drevicki; Most Top-Tens 12 — Steven Drevicki; Most Heat Race Wins 7 — Christian Bruno; Biggest Charge (+11) Jul 8 at Action Track USA — Kenny Miller III (19th to 8th).

Final driver points (top 10): 1 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pennsylvania — 847; 2 Christian Bruno, Deptford, New Jersey — 819; 3 Kenny Miller III, Morgantown, Pennsylvania — 787; 4 Kyle Spence, Bear, Delaware — 671; 5 Joe Kata, Goshen, New York — 643; 6 Ed Aikin, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania — 572; 7 Ronald Helmick, Quakertown, Pennsylvania — 551; 8 (R) Olivia Thayer, Hanover, Pennsylvania — 496; 9 Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — 433; 10 Chris Allen Jr., Old Bridge, New Jersey — 419.

By Richie Murray — USAC Media

Read Next

More from We Speak Media
Continue Reading

Trending