Ducati’s Marc Marquez clinched his seventh MotoGP championship at the Japanese Grand Prix and his first since 2019 after he took an unassailable lead in the world championship with five rounds to spare.
Marquez needed to outscore his brother and title contender Alex of Gresini Racing by three or more points by the end of the weekend, and finished second behind his teammate Francesco Bagnaia in Sunday’s race to clinch the title.
Honda’s Joan Mir was third, while Alex finished sixth, giving Marc a 201-point lead over his brother. Alex was the first to approach Marc and congratulate him, giving him a warm embrace when they came to a stop.
Marc had his head in his hands after he crossed the line, and when the magnitude of the accomplishment hit him, the Spaniard let out a scream.
A six-year wait between championships
Marquez then came to a stop in front of a big screen and, with tears in his eyes, watched a montage of his struggles over the past six years, which included more than 100 crashes and four operations, as he reclaimed the title after 2,184 days.
The coronation was complete when he added his name, etched on a silver plaque, to the cylindrical MotoGP trophy known as the Tower of Champions.
“It’s impossible even to speak … I just want to enjoy the moment, but it’s true that it was difficult, it was super difficult, but now I’m at peace with myself,” Marquez said as he fought back tears.
“I did a big mistake in my career, to come back too early (from surgery), and then I fight, fight, fight – and I won again! So I’m at peace.”
Ducati’s pole sitter and Saturday’s sprint winner Bagnaia had a strong start, and two laps later, he was more than a second clear of KTM’s Pedro Acosta while Marquez slotted in behind his Spanish compatriot in third place.
Bagnaia in control
By lap seven, Bagnaia was comfortably in control in the lead, but Marquez seemed to be struggling to match Acosta’s pace, giving Mir the opportunity to close in and challenge him for third place.
Marquez eventually found a way past Acosta when he tucked into his slipstream and overtook him on lap 11, but he was staring at a gap of four seconds to his teammate Bagnaia, who was streaking away to his second victory of the season.
With 11 laps left, Acosta was clearly struggling for grip, and Mir pounced to move up to third as the 2020 champion chased a rare podium finish, having retired from 10 races this season.
The Ducati paddock had a few heart-stopping moments in the second half of the race when Bagnaia’s bike began emitting smoke as Marquez began to close in rapidly, but the Italian was eventually able to nurse his bike to the chequered flag.
“I don’t want to take the spotlight from Marc, he deserves the spotlight today,” said Bagnaia, who has been MotoGP champion twice in 2022 and 2023.
“But in any case, I’m happy. It’s just a little shame that it arrived now [so late in the season] … I hope that from now on I will continue in this way, because like this I can fight.”
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