JAKARTA - After Fabio Quartararo won the victory in Portugal and claimed the top of the standings for the first time this year, the top four drivers head to the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez by just eight points.
That is the tightest top four margin after five races with MotoGP's current scoring system.
Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) in second place equals Quartararo points, followed by Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) with a distance of three points and Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) in fourth.
Last week's Portugal GP results also saw for the first time four different riders have won in five MotoGP races since 2020, with Quartararo, Brad Binder, Andrea Dovizioso, and Miguel Oliveira.
The fight is full of surprises and unpredictably continued back-to-back at Jerez where Quartararo became one of the favorite riders on the Andalusian circuit.
The reigning world champion from Team Yamaha will be looking for another win at Jerez after missing last year's race in Spain due to an arm pump problem.
Quartararo is unbeaten at Jerez 2020, opening the season with two straight wins there.
"In Portimao, we were lucky because the track was quite suitable for our bike", said Quartararo, quoted by Antara from the team's official website.
"Jerez is another circuit that fits our strong point, so I will do my best. Last year I could have won easily here had it not been for my arm pump problem. I will try again this year."
Jerez has so far brought up nine winners in the MotoGP class since 2002: Valentino Rossi (6), Marc Marquez (3), Jorge Lorenzo (3), Dani Pedrosa (3), Fabio Quartararo (2), Jack Miller (1), Casey Stoner (1), Loris Capirossi (1), and Sete Gibernau (1).
SEE ALSO:
Honda last won at Jerez through Marquez in 2019.
While Ducati has two wins there through Loris Capirossi in 2006 and Jack Miller last year.
Suzuki's last two wins at Jerez came in 2000 when Kenny Roberts Jr won the 500cc race on his way to claiming the world title this year. In 2019 Alex Rins finished second, which was Suzuki's best result in the Jerez MotoGP.
Aleix Espargaro's P6 in 2021 equaled Aprilia's best result in the premier class at Jerez 1997 made by Doriano Romboni.
Pol Espargaro finished P6 at the 2020 Spanish GP, being the best result of KTM's premier class at Jerez.
Jerez, which will host its 37th consecutive Grand Prix since its debut in 1987, is the most friendly circuit for Spaniards in the premier class with a total of 14 wins (beating Le Mans and Sachsenring, on 13).
The host racers who triumphed at Jerez were Alberto Puig (1995), Alex Crivielle (1997, 1998, 1999), Sete Gibernau (2004), Dani Pedrosa (2008, 2013, 2017), Jorge Lorenzo (2010, 2011, 2015) and Marc Marquez (2014, 2018, 2019).
With Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia, and Franco Morbidelli on the Jerez podium last year, it was the first time no Spaniard has been on the podium since 2003 when Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, and Troy Bayliss celebrated. Also in 2003, no Spaniard finished at Jerez when Carlos Checa did not finish the race and Sete Gibernau crashed.
Ten riders on the MotoGP grid this season have won GPs in various classes at Jerez: Marc Marquez (3), Fabio Quartararo (2), Pol Espargaro (2), Alex Marquez (1), Brad Binder (1), Luca Marini (1 ), Enea Bastianini (1), Jack Miller (1), Maverick Viñales (1) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (1).
Stefan Bradl, who will be a wildcard in the Spanish GP, will make his 200th GP start in his career.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)