Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) 70th career win that he secured at the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand had greater significance than just another win for the Spaniard; it also secured Honda the 2018 Constructors Championship.
Coming into Round 18 of the season, the Japanese factory sat 39 points ahead of nearest rivals Ducati and with the Constructors Championship only taking into account the leading rider on their respective manufacturer, there were only 50 points up for grabs.
So, with Marquez gaining another 25 points for Honda and leading Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) only managing to pocket 10 points after finishing P6, title number two of the season was won. Now? The triple crown is firmly in sight, with Marquez’ individual title sealed in Japan.
Marquez reflected on Honda’s 69th Constructors Championship across all class: “For Honda it’s important, to have two Championships, now the Constructors Championship is done. Now, just the Team Championship. We’ll try to achieve it because we’ll have the triple crown. Perfect season. We can have the perfect season, but we still need to improve for next year.”
HRC President Yoshishige Nomura also shared his thoughts: “We are very happy with this new Constructors World Championship. Two weeks ago, we earned the Riders title in Japan with an amazing performance from Marc Marquez. He has been so consistent and fast all the season. Today he won again and we took our seventh MotoGP™ Constructors Title out of the last eight seasons, and our third in a row.
“It’s the 24th Premier Class Constructors crown for our Factory, which also tops the rankings as the most successful Manufacturer ever, with 69 Constructors Titles across all classes. Moreover, the numbers Honda has achieved are unprecedented in motorcycling racing: since 23 April 1961, when Thomas Edward Phillis took Honda’s first ever win in Montjüic, our history has been filled with victories, having reached 750 across all classes with Cal Crutchlow’s MotoGP win in Argentina this year.”
A successful 2018 could be made even sweeter in Valencia. A 39-point advantage over Movistar Yamaha MotoGP puts Repsol Honda Team in a strong position in the Team Championship – can they do it?