Tag: MotoGP

The 2019 Champion takes his first pole position in the premier class at the venue – the last one on the calendar he’d not yet ruled

Motegi, 19 Oct 2019: There are few things Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has not yet achieved, but one of them was a premier class pole position at the Twin Ring Motegi. After achieving the feat in the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, the number 93 ticks another box and has now been on pole in MotoGP™ at every track on the current calendar. That’s every track he’s raced at in the premier class with one exception: Laguna Seca, as now-Honda test rider Stefan Bradl stole the honours in Marquez’ rookie year of 2013. No one was going to do the same at Motegi this season, although Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and teammate Fabio Quartararo came closest, cutting a huge deficit to less than two tenths to complete the front row.

As expected, Saturday dawned wet at the Twin Ring Motegi and that meant direct entry to Q2 was already set, leaving the likes of Morbidelli and Quartararo to the task of getting in some wet track time in FP3. By the time Q1 came around later in the day, however, the track was dry enough for slicks and the fight was on. In the end, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) headed through, with home hero Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) the man to lose out by just hundredths.

Once Q2 was underway, Marquez set about creating the goalposts and then moving them. On his third lap around the reigning Champion was a second clear of the field before Quartararo just got inside that bracket; initially the only man to do so. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) then managed to get within half a second and Morbidelli within seven tenths, however, the latter making a clear statement of intent before the majority pulled in to the pits.

On their seconds runs, Quartararo came out guns blazing to get within three tenths before Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) took the baton to attack and inched closer, but Marquez seemed unstoppable and about to tick another box in his record book. On his final lap, the number 93 shaved another few hundredths off his laptime too, and ultimately it would prove enough. Morbidelli then shot up to second on his last lap; Quartararo up to third – pushing Viñales back down to P4. That’s three Yamahas in the top four, however.

Cal Crutchlow, meanwhile, moved from Q1 to P5 to make it two Hondas in the top five after a last dash improvement, with Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) completing the second row in sixth and top Ducati. The next Borgo Panigale machine was the Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso in seventh as he heads up Row 3 – with ‘DesmoDovi’ only having qualified worse at Motegi twice before: 2017 and his rookie season in the class. But in 2017, from ninth on the grid, he did go on to win…so all is far from lost. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) lines up alongside his teammate, just 0.017 in arrears.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) pulled off a stunner for Noale factory Aprilia in ninth, and he set exactly the same fastest lap as nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who found it tougher going than his fellow M1 riders. Rossi is tenth and it’s only the third time on his 20 visits to the track in the premier class he has failed to qualify on the first three rows.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was 11th and just 0.042 behind the ‘Doctor’, although the Spaniard did get the better of rookie teammate Joan Mir…by 0.016, the second smallest margin in the top ten. That should make for an interesting battle on Sunday, although the whole grid looks set to assure that – especially as better weather is expect at the Twin Ring Motegi.

Will Quartararo wrap up Rookie of the Year? Can Marquez almost single-handedly make Honda the constructors’ Champions? Or will the likes of Dovizioso, Viñales and Rins blast forward to spoil the party? Find out in the Motul Grand Prix of Japan at the slightly later local time of 15:00 (GMT +9).

Qualifying Results – Top-3:

1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 1’45.763
2 – Franco Morbidelli* (ITA – Yamaha) +0.132
3 – Fabio Quartararo* (FRA – Yamaha) +0.181

*Independent Team rider

With the crown secured before we head for the Japanese GP, the gloves could come off…but the pressure’s still on

Motegi (Japan), 15 Oct 2019: Last time out Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) won the race and Championship, and the celebrations have doubtless been continuing for the now eight-time World Champion since the paddock packed up and left Buriram. But despite that title fight being over, the season is far from it and the first of the four remaining races of the year sees us head for the hard-braking home race for so many manufacturers in the paddock – with plenty of pride on the line.

For Marquez, it’s a chance to race without his mind set quite so much on the maths – and he’ll also surely be chasing pole as Motegi is the last venue on the calendar at which he’s never achieved the feat in the premier class. He’s won though – twice in MotoGP™, once in Moto2™ and once in the 125 World Championship – so his record says it’s a surprise he’s not yet started from the front. With no Championship pressure, will he be the man to beat? Likely. But there are the team and manufacturer standings to consider, and it’s Honda’s 60th anniversary year of racing in the World Championship as well…so it won’t be quiet weekend. It will be a milestone for teammate Jorge Lorenzo too, as he celebrates 200 premier class Grands Prix.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), meanwhile, will be hoping to make more of a fight of it at Motegi. The venue has been a good one for the Italian and he is a man who’s been on pole before: the track was where Dovizioso took his first pole in the premier class in 2010, and he did it again in 2014 and 2018. He also won the 2017 showdown with Marquez in the rain – one of the most stunning duels of recent years, and there have been a few – and he’s been on the podium in the dry, so it makes for good reading. And there’s no home race pressure for the number 04, although the team and constructor standings add some back in. On that count, however, there could be more for teammate Danilo Petrucci, as the Italian is now fifth overall – although only a handful of points off Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in third and one point behind Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). He’ll want more from Motegi and the final four rounds overall.

That tight fight will certainly be one to keep an eye on. Rins will be pushing to the max to try and get the most from the home weekend for Hamamatsu factory Suzuki, as will rookie teammate Joan Mir, but Viñales is closing fast on third overall – so gaining back some consistency is also key for Rins. Suzuki will also have another machine on track too in Japan in the form of a wildcard for test rider Sylvain Guintoli, so that could aid them in their search for more speed.

Yamaha, meanwhile, have been seriously gaining traction as the latter half of the season goes on, especially Viñales as he chases down a place in the top three overall, and limelight-stealer Fabio Quartararo’s (Petronas Yamaha SRT) shining performances speak for themselves. The French rookie is now only two points off Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) overall and could conceivably still catch Viñales for top Yamaha. More pressing, though, is Rookie of the Year – with Quartararo 85 points ahead of Mir as it stands. If he leaves Japan 75 points ahead of the Spaniard, he’s taken the first of what could be a few accolades in 2019.

The Independent Team rider standings are another key battlefield. Quartararo has now got a nice buffer back to Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) in the fight for top Independent Team rider, but Miller will be pushing and so will Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol). Crutchlow is on Honda turf and will want to bounce back after an issue in Thailand…although the pressure will likely more be on the other side of the garage and home hero Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). What can the Japanese rider do? Rumour has it he’ll be undergoing surgery in the near future on his shoulder, but not before Motegi – so it’ll be a big push on home turf, with lots of home support.

So many narratives make up a MotoGP™ season and we may well be reading the first epilogue of the riders’ Championship but we’re far from the end of the story overall. Teams, constructors, rookies, Independent Team riders; milestones, records and more remain just around the corner in the final four rounds of the season, so tune in for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday 20th October at 15:00 local time (GMT +9) to see another spectacular chapter.

Championship Standings:

After winning his eighth World Championship, Marc Marquez reviews an almost perfect season which saw him take the MotoGP crown for the fourth consecutive year.

Sinking the #8ball on his first attempt, Marc Marquez won his sixth premier class title after a thrilling win at the last corner of the Thai GP. Fresh from his return to Europe, Marc Marquez sat down to discuss the 2019 season at the Campus Repsol in Madrid, Spain.

How do you feel coming home with a new World Championship?

“I arrived in Spain last night and I am very happy to be, not yet in my own house, but in my sporting home, because I have been with Repsol for many years. They have accompanied me throughout my career and I value them a lot. It has been an almost perfect year, but it can always be improved. A dream year where we took the title – which was the main objective – but we are very proud of the way we achieved it. And I speak in the plural, because I am here, but all my team, all the people around me, who help me everyday are missing.”

How was the title celebration?

“The party went well, I’m still getting my voice back! We celebrated the title as it deserves to be celebrated, because it is a World Championship and you never know when this dream is going to end, so you have to celebrate it to the fullest. We spent the night in Bangkok and had a good time with the whole team. I will not give details, but there was dancing, shouting, partying – a little bit of everything. This time there was no karaoke, but it wasn’t necessary.”

How was this season after the shoulder injury?

“It is clear that in the life of an athlete there are hard times and good times, like this one. Complicated situations are what make you strong and this winter was one of the toughest in my career because I couldn’t do what I like most in the world – riding my motorcycle. I could not train, because I needed the operation, but I overcame it with the help of all the people who pushed me. I arrived at the first race, maybe not one hundred percent, but in the best way I could be. You always think that all that work has to have a reward. Once you start and you see the results coming, it gives you even more strength.”

You said it has been an almost perfect year. Why, almost?

“Because when you have an excess of confidence it is when mistakes can arrive. It happened in the race we least expected, which was Austin, where I fell when I was leading with a four second advantage. It was a seemingly done victory and, because of how relaxed I was, I fell. That’s why you always have to be completely focused, you can’t get confused, and you have to learn from mistakes. It has been a very good year, but it does not mean that we can stop working.”

You made your mother suffer a lot by risking the last corner. How did she react?

“Yes! I had already made her quite angry on Friday, because we started the weekend with a big scare. You take the hit, but the people around you suffer much more. Both my mother, my father; the whole family suffers. They have been behind me for many years, they are the base and, when a four-year-old asks for a motorcycle and the father or mother does not give it to him, it is impossible to get here. But logically they have been suffering for many years.”

Agostini has said he believes you can beat his 15 titles. How do you feel about it?

“I get along very well with him and I have heard these statements. I don’t like the word impossible, I will never say it, but it is almost impossible. It means winning double what I have achieved so far. I have never been obsessed with a number or a name – I just enjoy my passion for racing. I feel very lucky that it is my job, where I try to do my best.”

“Honda makes a motorcycle and the rider has to have the ability to adapt. There is a whole technical group behind us, they are human, and it’s with the results of their work that you have to know how to adapt and get the most out of each situation.”

-Marc Marquez, 2019 MotoGP World Champion

You always say that you get where you are thanks to your rivals. How much do you need Fabio Quartararo and a strong Jorge Lorenzo next season?

“The closer, the better! We are in an era in MotoGP in which the mechanical equality, although the final numbers of the championship do not reflect it, is one of the best it has been. I say this because there are four factories capable of winning races and fighting for a World Championship. This means that there are at least eight bikes with chances of winning races, and it is something that did not happen before. You have to know how to reinvent yourself, learn from veterans like Valentino [Rossi], Jorge or Dovi and also from young riders, like Fabio or Viñales.”

What can be improved from this year?

“It has been a very good year and it will be difficult to improve. But one of my idols is Rafa Nadal and when you see him in a match and wonder what he can do better, he always takes a new step forward. Or when Messi scores a goal, you think again that he can’t do better and then he goes and scores another which is better. I try to model myself on them; they are always improving. I will try to learn from mistakes. Rivals show you your level and that is where we will try to continue growing.”

Would it be a dream for you to be Champion alongside your brother again?

“My brother is working hard, putting together a very good year. He is winning with heart, but there are four races left in which he has to show the best of himself, manage the pressure. For my part I will not put more pressure than he already has, just help him to enjoy it, stay as concentrated as possible and push. If you try and then it does not happen, you will have a clear conscience.”

After Friday’s fall, did you think about slowing down? Why did you want to win the title in Thailand?

“I wanted to get the title in Thailand because it was the first match-ball. When you have a certain advantage in the championship, you look for new motivations. I like to live in the present and go race by race. On Thursday before starting the Grand Prix I already said that my intention was to win this weekend, or at least try. Then your rivals tell you if you can or can’t, they give you the answer immediately on track. That’s why I tried until the last corner, because it is more beautiful to achieve the championship with a race win. Across the season you are building and understanding that you can be Champion and you have to look for the motivation to have that euphoria when you cross the finish line.”

What was the turning point of the season where you saw that you could win the title?

“There have been two important moments this year. The first was in Jerez, after Austin’s mistake, when we won in the same way as we intended to win in Austin. There are 25 points, but you show your rivals that your confidence is the same, that the desire and mentality is the same. And the other was in Barcelona. We won the race and several rivals were unable to score. It was a shame, because it was not a mistake of their own, but they were the turning points in this championship.”

Does Honda make a motorcycle for Marc Marquez, or is Marc Marquez the rider who best understands the Honda?

“Honda makes a motorcycle and the rider has to have the ability to adapt. The positive for our team and our structure is that the three riders that have the same motorcycle, Jorge [Lorenzo], Cal [Crutchlow] and I, have the same comments and feedback for evolution. There is a whole technical group behind us, they are human, and it’s with the results of their work that you have to know how to adapt and get the most out of each situation.”

What motivation do you have for the four remaining races?

“The first objective I have in Japan is to try to finish the race, because after being a Champion, every year I have fallen in the next race. I already said in Aragon that my intention was to try to finish on the podium in all the remaining races and it remains the same, without forgetting that there is a Constructors Championship that we are leading and also the Team Championship, which Ducati is now leading, but the Repsol Honda Team is just 19 points behind and we will keep pushing for it.”