Marquez seals 2019 MotoGP title with Thai GP win

At just 26 years of age, Marc Marquez has now become the youngest ever rider to win six MotoGP premier class titles, after successfully defeating Fabio Quartararo in a thrilling final corner showdown to win the Thai GP and wrap up the 2019 MotoGP title. This also marks the Honda rider’s eighth world championship victory.

Heading into the race, Marquez only needed to outscore Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso by two points to clinch the title. However, instead of playing it safe, the Honda rider seemed as determined as ever to cross the finish line in first place. Polesitter Fabio Quartararo, who was gunning to secure his first victory, enjoyed a strong start, while behind him, Marquez was able to move up to 2nd place. The two then spent a majority of the race in close proximity, trading fastest laps several times. All the while, Marquez was setting himself up for an attack in the closing stages of the race.

Marquez finally showed his hand on lap 23, passing Quartararo at Turn 3. But he then ran wide, which allowed Quartararo to re-take the lead. This set the stage for a nail-biting final lap. Marquez once again tried to pass Quartararo at Turn 3 and this time around, he was able to make the move stick. But Quartararo refused to back down, and launched an attack at Turn 12. However, Marquez was able to outpace the Petronas Yamaha SRT rider on the run to the finish line to win the race. “I was planning the weekend to try to win the race. It doesn’t matter the championship, it doesn’t matter the distance between me and Dovi (Dovizioso). My target was to try to find the best way to win the race and that’s what I did,” said an ecstatic Marquez after the race.

As a result, Marquez has been able to wrap up the 2019 MotoGP title with four rounds yet to go – a testament to just how strong of a season it’s been for him. So far, he’s managed to finish on the podium in 14 out of 15 races, clinching nine race victories along the way.

Maverick Vinales dropped out of contention to win the race early on after strolling with a full fuel load in the initial laps, and he had to settle for 3rd place. Behind him, Dovizioso was able to hold on to 4th place, while Alex Rins finished 5th after passing Franco Morbidelli on lap 15. Joan Mir secured a 7th place finish, followed by Valentino Rossi and Danilo Petrucci. Meanwhile, Aleix Espargaro’s retirement prompted Takaaki Nakagami into the top 10.

Results

POS

RIDER

TEAM

BIKE

LAPS

GAP

1

Marc Marquez

Honda

Honda

26

39m36.223s

2

Fabio Quartararo

Petronas Yamaha

Yamaha

26

0.171s

3

Maverick Vinales

Yamaha

Yamaha

26

1.380s

4

Andrea Dovizioso

Ducati

Ducati

26

11.218s

5

Alex Rins

Suzuki

Suzuki

26

11.449s

6

Franco Morbidelli

Petronas Yamaha

Yamaha

26

14.466s

7

Joan Mir

Suzuki

Suzuki

26

18.729s

8

Valentino Rossi

Yamaha

Yamaha

26

19.162s

9

Danilo Petrucci

Ducati

Ducati

26

23.425s

10

Takaaki Nakagami

LCR Honda

Honda

26

29.423s

11

Francesco Bagnaia

Pramac Ducati

Ducati

26

30.103s

12

Cal Crutchlow

LCR Honda

Honda

26

33.216s

13

Pol Espargaro

KTM

KTM

26

35.667s

14

Jack Miller

Pramac Ducati

Ducati

26

39.736s

15

Andrea Iannone

Aprilia

Aprilia

26

40.038s

16

Miguel Oliveira

Tech3 KTM

KTM

26

40.136s

17

Tito Rabat

Avintia Ducati

Ducati

26

44.589s

18

Jorge Lorenzo

Honda

Honda

26

54.723s

19

Karel Abraham

Avintia Ducati

Ducati

26

56.012s

20

Hafizh Syahrin

Tech3 KTM

KTM

26

1m01.431s

-

Aleix Espargaro

Aprilia

Aprilia

17

Retirement

-

Mika Kallio

KTM

KTM

3

Retirement



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