MotoGP By the Numbers: Silverstone

Did you know that the first motorcycle grand prix event to be held at Silverstone in 1977 was also the first motorcycle grand prix to be held on the British mainland? And the winners at that first grand prix were: Pat Hennen (Suzuki) in the 500cc class, Kork Billington (Yamaha) in 350cc & 250cc, and Pierluigi Conforti (Morbidelli) in 125cc.

The original circuit layout used for the grand prix from 1977 to 1986 was 2.93 miles long (4.71 km) and the fastest lap in a race at the circuit during this time was set by Kenny Roberts riding a Yamaha in 1983 at an average speed of 119.5 mph (192.2 km/h). Prior to '77 the British round of the world championship had been held since 1949 on the 37.73 mile long Isle of Man TT circuit. The move from the Isle of Man was made mainly for reasons of rider safety. Below are more facts and figures that you can drop on your friends on race day.

Grand Prix Racing By The Numbers

250 - This weekend at the 2016 British Grand Prix, Valentino Rossi is scheduled to become the first rider to reach the milestone of 250 starts in the MotoGP class. Since MotoGP replaced the 500cc category as the premier-class of grand prix racing in 2002 Rossi has only missed four races, all due to injuries received in a crash during practice at the Italian GP in 2010, which resulted in him missing that race as well as the British GP, Dutch TT and Catalan GP.

150 - At Silverstone, Jorge Lorenzo is schedule to become the seventh rider to reach the milestone of 150 starts in the MotoGP class since it was introduced in 2002 as the premier-class of grand prix racing. Other riders who have passed this milestone are: Valentino Rossi (249 MotoGP starts), Nicky Hayden (216), Colin Edwards (196), Dani Pedrosa (177), Loris Capirossi (158), Andrea Dovizioso (153).

63 - The pole position by Marc Marquez at Brno was the 63rd of his grand prix career across all classes. This is the same number of pole as both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. These three riders have most poles in the modern-era of grand prix racing (since 1974) when full pole position data is available.

48 - The third place finish by Marc Marquez at Brno was the 48th time he has stood on the podium in the MotoGP class, the same number of premierclass podiums achieved by MotoGP Legend Mike Hailwood.

16 years - The last British rider to finish on the podium in the premier-class at the British Grand Prix was sixteen years ago, when Jeremy McWilliams finished third in the 500cc race at Donington in 2000.

10 – The British grand prix was held for 10 successive years at the Silverstone circuit, before the event moved to Donington Park in 1987. The British GP returned to Silverstone in 2010 with a revised circuit layout measuring 5.9 km.

6 – Since the world championship grand prix series returned to Silverstone in 2010, the best results for British riders in the MotoGP class at their home grand prix is 6th - for Cal Crutchlow in 2012 and for Scott Redding last year.

5 – The best MotoGP result for Suzuki at Silverstone is 5th with Alvaro Bautista in 2011.

5 - None of the three winners at the Czech Grand Prix were from either Spain or Italy. The last time that this occurred was at Phillip Island five years ago when the three race winners of 2011 were: Casey Stoner, Alex de Angelis and Sandro Cortese.

4 – Yamaha has won four of the six MotoGP races that have taken place at Silverstone, with Honda taking the other two victories.

2 – Only two British riders have started from pole at Silverstone, across all solo GP classes; Barry Sheene in the 500cc class in 1977 and Sam Lowes in Moto2 last year.

2 – The only two riders who have had more than a single victory at Silverstone since GP racing returned to the circuit in 2010 are Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez. Lorenzo has won the MotoGP race there three times: 2010, 2012 & 2013; Marquez won the 125cc race in 2010 and the MotoGP race in 2014.

2 – The only podium finishes for Ducati at Silverstone came last year - second place finish for Danilo Petrucci and third for Andrea Dovizioso.

2 - Avinta Ducati Team rider Loris Baz finished fourth at the Czech GP one place ahead of team-mate Hector Barbera. This is the first time that a nonfactory team has had two riders finish in the top five in a MotoGP race since the Australian GP in 2012 when Monster Yamaha Tech3 riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso finished third and fourth.

0 - With Takaaki Nakagami crashing out of the Czech GP after a collision with Simone Corsi there are now no riders in the Moto2 class that have scored points at all eleven races of 2016.

0 - With Brad Binder crashing out of the lead of the race at Brno, there are now no riders in the Moto3 class who have scored points at all eleven races of 2016.