The last time that Spanish riders were on pole in all three classes was at the French GP last year when the three riders were: Sergio Gadea, Alex Debon and Dani Pedrosa. This is the first time that there have been three Spanish riders on pole at Jerez.
MotoGP
• With just 2.32 seconds separating Niccolo Canepa in 18th place on the grid and Jorge Lorenzo on pole, this is the closest MotoGP grid since the German GP last year.
• Jorge Lorenzo starts from pole for the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix last year. If Lorenzo wins the race he will be the first Spanish rider to take back-to-back MotoGP victories since Sete Gibernau in 2004. A win would also make him the fifth Spanish rider to win in the premier-class at Jerez, joining Alberto Puig, Alex Criville, Sete Gibernau and Dani Pedrosa.
• Dani Pedrosa, the winner here last year from second place on the grid, is the first Honda MotoGP rider to start from the front row this year.
• Casey Stoner has qualified on the front row for the first time at Jerez on a MotoGP machine. Stoner will be aiming to finish on the podium for the first time in any class of racing at the Jerez circuit.
• If Valentino Rossi finishes in the top three it will be his 64th podium since joining Yamaha, which will equal the record number of premier-class podiums on Yamaha currently held by Wayne Rainey.
• Randy de Puniet’s best result in his previous three MotoGP rides at Jerez is 13th two years ago.
• Loris Capirossi’s 5th place finish last year is the best result at Jerez for the Suzuki 4-stroke MotoGP machine. Capirossi’s 6th place on the grid has equalled the best ever qualifying performance by Suzuki’s MotoGP machine at Jerez.
• Seventh place on the grid is Colin Edwards’ lowest qualifying result since the Australian GP last year when he was also 7th.
• Marco Melandri is making his 100th Grand Prix start in the MotoGP class.
250cc
• Alex Debon starts from pole for just the third time in his GP career. His other poles were in Qatar and France last year. This is Debon’s 11th start at Jerez, all in the 250cc class, with best results of 5th in 2004 and 2007. Aged 33, Debon is the oldest rider to start on pole in the 250cc class since Ralf Waldmann at the Dutch TT in 2000.
• Hector Barbera’s only podium finish at Jerez was 3rd in the 125cc race in 2004.
• Since moving up to the 250cc class in 2006, Marco Simoncelli has not finished a race at Jerez, having crashed in each of his three starts.
• Following his success one week ago in Japan, Alvaro Bautista will be aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time since moving up to the 250cc class.
• Fifth placed qualifier Jules Cluzel is starting from his best ever grid position; his previous best was 11th on the grid at the Catalan GP in 2006.
125cc
• Julian Simon has qualified on pole for the second time in his GP career – his other pole was at the first race of the year in Qatar.
• Bradley Smith, who finished 3rd last year at Jerez, will be making his 50th Grand Prix start.
• If Andrea Iannone wins at Jerez he will be the first Italian rider to win three successive 125cc GP races since Marco Melandri in 1999.
• Marc Marquez has qualified on the front row for the first time – his previous best was 7th on the grid at Donington last year. Marquez is racing in a GP at Jerez for the first time having missed the event last year due to injury.
• Sergio Gadea will be aiming for a first podium finish since winning the opening race of last year in Qatar.
• Sixth place on the grid for Dominique Aegerter equals his best ever grid position from one week ago in Japan.
• Scott Redding’s seventh place on the grid is his best qualifying result since he was sixth on the grid in Japan last year.
• Danny Webb is eighth on the grid, making it three British riders qualifying in the top eight for the first time since the opening race of last year at Qatar.
• Last year’s winner Simone Corsi will be starting from 12th place on the grid – his best qualifying result of the year so far.
