Motegi: Marquez' miracle weekend

With a 52 point advantage, the World Championship trophy was something Marc Marquez had already written off upon arrival in Japan – convinced it would have to wait until Phillip Island the following weekend. But then, the best laid plans of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi saw a shocking first in MotoGP™ history as both crashed out. Marquez, in the lead, just had to get to the flag – something he did with multiple missed gears and apexes; explaining he could hardly focus.

In seven years as teammates at Yamaha, Rossi and Lorenzo had never both crashed out. That was until the 2016 Japanese GP. The Italian, falling first, saw the weight of the title defense then fall solely to Lorenzo as Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso started to slowly reel the ‘Spartan’ in and the laps ticked on. Then, without warning, the number 99 followed his teammate into the gravel – and the title was Marquez’ to lose. He didn’t.

Other news saw another spate of bad luck hit Marquez’ teammate Dani Pedrosa. Suffering an enormous highside on Friday, the ‘Baby Samurai’ broke his collarbone, amongst some other injuries, and flew back to Spain for surgery and recovery. With test rider Hiroshi Aoyama then drafted in to race in his home event, the Japanese GP got underway without the most successful rider at the track lining up – already something in teammate Marquez’ favour as he went for the title.

23-year-old Marquez crossed the line to become the youngest ever five-time World Champion, adding another to his 2010 125 title, 2012 Moto2™ win and 2013 and 2014 MotoGP™ World Championships. In four seasons in the premier class, the rider from Cervera has only lost the crown once – to Jorge Lorenzo in 2015.