10 things you need to know before the Pirelli Qatar Round
Prepare for the season finale with our facts and stats
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) is only one win short of the all-time season record of wins, 17, set by Doug Polen in 1991. Rea already recorded 16 wins last season.
2. There is another record in sight for Rea: a seventh double in a single season would be unprecedented in WorldSBK history. So far, the value of six has been recorded four times in history: the first was Doug Polen in 1991, followed by Troy Bayliss in 2002, and then Rea achieved the feat in 2017 and now 2018.
3. Chaz Davies has finished on the podium in his last five races here and could equal the record sequence of six consecutive Losail podiums set by Biaggi from 2007 to 2009.
4. There is another record already in the bag for Rea: after the first race in Losail, his count of races at the top of the championship will be 100. His best competitor in this field is Troy Bayliss at 92.
5. There have been 12 different winners out of 18 races held in Qatar so far, no-one has won here more than twice. No less than six riders are tied for the record number of wins here (2): Troy Corser, James Toseland, Ben Spies, Sylvain Guintoli, Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea.
6. Seven different riders have secured pole in qualifying in the history of the Qatar round. The only ones who have qualified on pole twice are Troy Corser (2007-2008) and Jonathan Rea (2016-2017).
7. The most successful manufacturer at Losail is Suzuki, with five wins. Aprilia is just behind at four, with Ducati next up at three.
8. In the last four visits to the Losail circuit, both wins were by a single manufacturer: Yamaha in 2009 (Spies); Aprilia in 2014 (Guintoli) and 2015 (Torres, Haslam); Ducati in 2016 (Davies); Kawasaki in 2017 (Rea).
9. Only three wins out of 18 came from the pole spot in Qatar: the double recorded by Ben Spies in 2009 and Race 1 last year (Rea).
10. Only three manufacturers recorded pole here and they did it three times each: Yamaha, Ducati and Kawasaki.
Follow all the action from the final round of the season – and it won’t be one to miss – with the WorldSBK VideoPass.
