MARVELLOUS MARQUEZ
World champ storms to victory at Sepang
WORLD champion Marc Marquez proved why he is the finest rider in the world at the moment after scoring an emphatic victory at the Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix yesterday.
The Repsol Honda rider clinched pole on Saturday but had to start from seventh on the grid at the Sepang Circuit yesterday after being slapped with a six-grid penalty for an incident with Italian Andrea Iannone (Suzuki Ecstar) in qualifying.
But the penalty only further fuelled his desire to win and he was already in third place by the second lap of the race, which played out in completely dry conditions.
He overtook Frenchman Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) for second place on the fifth lap leaving him with only Italian great Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) to deal with in front of him.
Rossi did well to defend his lead for some time, to the delight of an adoring Malaysian crowd, before he slid and crashed on the 16th lap.
It was smooth sailing for Marquez from the on, securing the win in 40 minutes 32.372 seconds. Fellow Spaniard Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) took second (+1.898s) while Zarco (+2.474s) completed the podium.
Spanish duo Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) came in fourth (+4.667s) and fifth (+6.190s). Italian Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), who won here in the wet in 2016-2017), settled for sixth.
It was Marquez’s first win at Sepang since 2014 and the first time he has won from a third row start.
“It was a very, very hard race, starting from seventh gave me extra motivation. I had never won from the third row (grid) before,” said the 25-year-old.
“The first lap was good but it was not the best of my career. I overtook some riders and saw Valentino pushing very hard from the beginning.
“I pushed hard too, I rode as if it were practice or qualifying but then I overheated my tires just after I overtook Johann. I started to struggle and lost the front but managed to save (from crash) with my elbow.
“Then I saw, step by step, I was starting to catch up with Valentino and that motivated me.
“He was on the limit too and then he made a mistake by going wide, maybe he didn’t want to lose time (and overcorrected) and then he crashed.
“I then told myself to calm down, finish the race and enjoy the last few laps.”
While Dovizioso has been his main rival this season, Marquez admitted that the Yamaha’s were surprisingly strong at Sepang.
“This weekend the Yamahas were extremely fast, when behind Johann and especially Valentino. I saw they had amazing acceleration and grip during corner exits.”
Marquez, who secured his fifth premier class world title at the Motegi round last month, however, warned his team against complacency.
“Of course we won the championship but it is not enough because the other manufacturers are improving, or are even better than us, it is important for us to keep improving.”
The final round of the world championships will be held at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain on Nov 16-18.