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The first motorbike riding Championship with 500cc bikes awarding points to riders was held in 1949 under the control of Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM, International Motorcycling Federation). British rider Leslie Graham of Team AJS Porcupine was the inaugural 500c Champion. Since 1949, we have had 26 different Riders' Champions belonging to 6 different nations have been Champions in the Premier Class and 365 different riders have won races across all classes. We take a look at 5 Riders with the most pole position starts :
#5 Casey Stoner
Two-time World Champion Casey Stoner was one of the most aggressive and entertaining racers that the sport has ever had. The Aussie legend who now serves as a test driver for Team Ducati having retired from MotoGP after the 2012 season won the Championship in 2007 with Team Ducati and repeated his feat in 2011 with team Repsol Honda. His biggest achievement was taking his Ducati to victory in 2007 despite the fact that Yahama and Honda were better off that year. The Aussie won at his home race at Philip Island Circuit a record 6 times including in his final race in 2012. He has started from pole on 39 different occasions.
#4 Jorge Lorenzo
Two-time 250cc champion in 2006 and 2007, Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo made his MotoGP debut in the year 2008 riding for Team Yamaha. In a 9 year partnership with Team Yamaha, Lorenzo won the Riders Championship on 3 different occasions and also was runner-up thrice. He has a total of 47 race wins from 187 starts and has stood on the podium 114 times. Lorenzo has started from pole position in 43 races so far.
#3 Marc Marquez
One of only 3 riders to have won the Championship across all three classes, Spaniard Marc Marquez has been in supreme form ever since he made his MotoGP premier class debut in the year 2013. That year he became the youngest ever MotoGP World Champion at the age of just 20. He would defend his title in 2014 winning a whopping 10 races in a row. The 4-time champion has grabbed pole position 50 times and his 50th pole came at the inaugural Thailand Grand Prix in 2018.
#2 Valentino Rossi
Italian racing legend Valentino 'The Doctor' Rossi is the only person in Motor-racing history to win Championships across 4 different classes. This includes Championships in the 125cc, 250cc, 500c and MotoGP class. He has won 7 Premier Class Championships and the Italian approaching 40 is still going strong and may well add a Championship or two before calling it quits. His tally of 89 MotoGP race wins and 196 podium finishes are second to none. Rossi has started from pole on 55 different occasions.
#1 Mick Doohan
Winner of 5 consecutive World Championship titles between 1994 and 1998, Mick Doohan is the most accomplished rider from Down Under. The Aussie from Gold Coast has won 54 MotoGP races and has had 96 podium finishes. His 1997 title-winning season will go down in history books as one of the most dominant title-winning seasons ever. Doohan has been on pole a record 58 times.
