Fresh off of sealing the 2019 MotoGP title at the previous round in Thailand, Marc Marquez showed no signs of slowing down as he eased to victory at the Japanese GP. Marquez’s 10th race win of the year also ensured that Honda was crowned the 2019 constructors’ champions at Motegi.
Marquez did briefly lose the lead after an underwhelming getaway at the start as Fabio Quartararo passed him at Turn 7. But Marquez was able to reclaim the lead just three corners later with a late lunge into the tight Turn 10. Quartararo nearly lost the front of his YZR-M1 as he attempted to cutback which then gave Jack Miller the chance to make a move. The battle between the two gave Marquez some breathing space and he was able to pull away out at front. He held on to that advantage for the remainder of the race to cross the line in first place and bag his fourth race win in a row. With this being Marquez’s 54th premier class victory, he has now equaled 500cc legend Mick Doohan’s tally.
By lap 10, Franco Morbidelli, Maverick Viñales and Andrea Dovizioso had all passed Miller, making it an intense battle for the remaining two podium positions. Dovizioso was on a charge and had steadily moved up to 3rd place, and the final few laps saw the Ducati rider inch closer to Quartararo. With two laps to go, he had reduced the gap to just 0.8secs. However, Dovizioso couldn’t get close enough to attempt a final lap lunge and had to settle for 3rd place – the Italian rider’s 100th podium finish across the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP classes.
A maiden premier class victory may have evaded Quartararo once again, but his impressive run this season sees him clinch the 2019 Rookie of the Year title. Behind the leading trio, Viñales ended up finishing in 4th place; the works Yamaha rider closely trailed Dovizioso for several laps, but his challenge faded in the closing stages. Cal Crutchlow beat Morbidelli by 0.047secs on the run to the finish line to bag 5th place. The Suzuki Ecstar duo of Alex Rins and Joan Mir ended up securing 7th and 8th place respectively, with Danilo Petrucci and Miller rounding up the top 10. Valentino Rossi was running in 11th place when he crashed out with just three laps to go.
The 2019 MotoGP riders and constructors’ titles may have wrapped up, but it’s yet a close battle for the teams’ title with Ducati leading Repsol Honda by just 17 points. The results in the next race at Phillip Island could play a crucial role in determining the outcome of this battle.
Results
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