Following a double podium in Argentina and Marc Marquez’s success in Texas, the Repsol Honda Team prepare for the first European round of 2016 while leading the Riders, Constructors and Team standings. The Red Bull Grand Prix of Spain will be held on Sunday at the iconic Jerez Circuit, which first hosted a motorcycle grand prix in 1987, and the Spanish duo of Marquez and Dani Pedrosa will have the opportunity to race in front of their home fans at a track they both love and where they have recorded strong results.

Marc scored his first Jerez victory in 2014, and he has reached the podium there on four additional occasions—2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015. Last year’s second-place finish was especially remarkable, as Marc raced with an injured hand, having undergone an operation on Saturday of the preceding week to treat a fracture to his left little finger, suffered while training.

Dani also had undergone surgery, three weeks before last year’s appointment, to treat arm pump and was replaced for the third (and last) consecutive race by Hiroshi Aoyama, who unfortunately crashed out of the Sunday race. Dani’s missing the race interrupted his enviable record at the Andalusian track, as he had climbed the podium for ten consecutive years, from 2005 to 2014, earning two MotoGP wins, in 2008 and 2013, and a 250cc victory in 2005.

A post-race test is scheduled for Monday, 25 April.

Marc Marquez

Championship Standing: 1st - 66 points

“We’re very happy to head to Jerez with a small advantage in the championship standings because I think our rivals are going to be very strong there. I’m also very happy with the work we’re carrying out with Honda and my team because we’ve improved step by step at every race: we found a good base setup in Qatar and we further bettered it slightly in several areas, such as engine braking and electronics, in Argentina and Texas. Anyway, there’s still work to do and margin for improvement, especially in acceleration. Besides this, the tracks are different in Europe—narrower, with a different tarmac—so we have to wait and see how we can manage the situation. Of course I love to be back in Spain after three flyaway races. Racing in front of my home crowd and my fan club is always very nice and gives me a special emotion and extra motivation.”

Marc Marquez Statistics | More Statistics

Date of Birth 17/02/1993
Birthplace Lleida, (Catalonia) – Spain
Height 168 cm
Weight 59 kg
Hobbies Mountain Biking, Video games
Racing Number 93
First Race 1998 “Enduro per nens”
Grand Prix Debut 2008 125cc Portugal GP (KTM 125 FRR)
GPs raced 232 (46 in 125cc, 32 in Moto2, 154 in MotoGP)
GP pole positions 91 (14 in 125cc, 14 in Moto2, 63 in MotoGP)
Total GP podiums 139 (14 x 125cc, 25 x Moto2, 100 x MotoGP)
Total GP wins 85 (10 x 125cc, 16 x Moto2, 59 x MotoGP)
First GP Win 2010 125cc Italian GP (Derbi RSA 125)
World titles 8 (1 x 125cc - 2010, 1 x Moto2 - 2012, 6 x MotoGP - 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Dani Pedrosa

Championship Standing: 5th - 27 points

“I’m looking forward to racing in Jerez as it’s one of my favourite circuits on the calendar, and I particularly missed it not being able to race there last year. We’ll try and give our best in front of our fans, starting the race weekend with a positive mood after the promising feeling we had at the last race, even if it had an unfortunate ending. I believe we could have fought for second place in Texas, so we must start from that and work hard beginning with FP1 on Friday.”

Dani Pedrosa Statistics | More Statistics

Date of Birth 29/09/1985
Birthplace Sabadell, (Catalonia) – Spain
Height 160 cm
Weight 51kg
Hobbies Cycling, Motocross, Windsurfing, Cinema
Racing number 26
First race 1997 Pocket bike race
Grand Prix debut 2001. 125cc Japanese GP, Suzuka – (Honda RS125R)
GPs raced 295 (46 in 125cc, 32 in 250cc, 217 in MotoGP)
GP pole positions 49 (9 in 125cc, 9 in 250cc, 31 in MotoGP)
Total GP podiums 153 (17 x 125cc, 24 x 250cc, 112 x MotoGP)
Total GP wins 54 (8 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 31 x MotoGP)
First GP win 2002. 125cc Dutch GP, Assen – (Honda RS125R)
World titles 3 (1 x 125cc - 2003, 2 x 250cc - 2004, 2005)
MotoGP 2016

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
Location Information

Built in 1986 and hosting its first Grand Prix one year later, the circuit of Jerez is now one of the most popular MotoGP venues and the focal point for a city fanatical about sport. Set in a slight valley in the south of Spain, Jerez is blessed with consistently… read more.

Length 4.423 kilometres / 2.748 miles
Width 11 metres
Left corners 5
Right corners 8
Longest straight 0.607 kilometres / 0.377 miles
Constructed 1986
Modified 2002
Resurfacing Complete resurfacing before 2018 round

Circuito de Jerez, Jerez, Spain - View in Google Maps

www.circuitodejerez.com

Records

Pole Position 1m 36.170s (165.5km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022)
Race Lap 1m 37.216s (163.7km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2023)
Race Time 41m 00.554s (161.7km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022)
2023 Race Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2023 Sprint Winner Brad Binder (KTM)