The Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria is indeed synonymous with being the home of Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, KTM. However, it was Ducati that managed to dominate the Red Bull Ring in the last two seasons, with Francesco Bagnaia as the champion.

The 4.346 km circuit has only 11 corners since 2022, in contrast to the Sachsenring in Germany which is slightly shorter at 3.671 km and has 13 corners.

This makes the Red Bull Ring a circuit with “Stop and Go” characteristics. This circuit demands excellent motorbike performance and high concentration from the racers throughout the race.

Riders with the most points:

Andrea Dovizioso: Three wins (Austrian GP 2017, 2019, 2020), two podiums (P2 and P3 Austrian GP 2016 and 2018), and one P5 finish. In total, he has collected 122 points, all of which were achieved while still strengthening the Ducati factory team.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda): 80 points, with three consecutive top-1 finishes at the Austrian GP in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Also finished P5 (2021) and P15 (2022) at the Austrian GP.

Next in turn are Valentino Rossi, Brad Binder, and Jorge Martin.

Riders who have led the most races in terms of laps:

Andrea Dovizioso: 41 laps.

Marc Marquez: 39 laps.

Jack Miller: 26 laps.

Next up are Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia.

Current Season’s Driver Standings Analysis:

Jorge Martin is still 3 points ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, and 49 points ahead of Enea Bastianini in third place. Bastianini, who rides the same bike as Martin and Bagnaia, is expected to make things difficult at the front.

Marc Marquez’s experience and Di Giannantonio’s new contract will be the main challengers in the race. Marco Bezzecchi, who finished third last season, certainly has more motivation to repeat his success.

KTM’s representatives are not to be underestimated, with Pedro Acosta (KTM-Tech3 satellite team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull-KTM Factory team) sitting sixth and seventh in the provisional rider standings.

Jack Miller (Red Bull-KTM Factory) and Augusto Fernandez (KTM-Tech3 satellite team) must prove their performance if they do not want their MotoGP careers to end this season.

Most likely, KTM will field their test rider, Pol Espargaro, as a wildcard in the upcoming race.

In the Aprilia camp, Aleix Espargaro is the main hope for a podium finish, considering that this season is his last memory in MotoGP.

Although Maverick Vinales is still there, Aprilia may also field their test rider, Lorenzo Savadori, as a wildcard. This is considering that Aprilia only managed to finish sixth in the previous race.

Aprilia’s satellite team, Track House Racing, doesn’t seem to be sitting idle. They have confirmed the availability of the Aprilia RS-GP24 motorbike with the same specifications as the factory team for Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.

Yamaha factory is certain to only rely on Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy-Yamaha Factory), plus their wildcard, Remy Gardner. Given that Alex Rins (Monster Energy-Yamaha Factory) and Cal Crutchlow (test rider) are still sidelined due to injury.

Honda manufacturers may not be considered much, after the performance of their 2024 RC213V series was less competitive until the 10th series at Silverstone early August.

Luca Marini, Joan Mir (Repsol-Honda Team), Johann Zarco (Castrol-Honda Team satellite team), and Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu-Honda Team satellite team) have yet to show their best performance this season.

Therefore, their test rider, Stefan Bradl, will be involved as a wildcard to obtain additional data that will be useful for the development of the next 2024 RC213V series motorbike.

Looking at the temporary constructor standings until the 10th series at Silverstone, the Aprilia manufacturer is still in second place. Keep in mind, Austria is the home of the KTM manufacturer, and their enthusiasm at home must be doubled.

So, who can surprise? The podium chances may still be owned by Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia, and Enea Bastianini. It would be more interesting if there is a Yamaha or Honda representative who can finish in the top 10 at the Red Bull Ring on August 18.