- Chronicle: Marc Márquez does not leave the crumbs: victory in Motegi after being champion
15 days ago in Thailand, during the celebration of his sixth MotoGP title, between dances with his team and billiard balls, Marc Márquez was so many times interrogated in the same direction, that he began to wait for “the star question” in each interview and a good handful of topics were prepared to answer it. «Was it your best year?», They repeatedly questioned him and he replied that if «it is difficult to compare seasons», that if «all the World Cups I won were special» and even, in a show of irony, that if «I never I have stopped to think about it ».
The exercise that was claimed was complicated, certainly. Of its six World Cups in the Queen category, perhaps 2017 is only disposable, when the season began with two serious mistakes. The rest of the titles were excellent. In 2013 he was a rookie champion, in 2014 he chained 10 consecutive victories, in 2016 he won with a problematic Honda and in 2018 he already showed maturity. Despite the fact that most of the statistics indicated it this way, to highlight this 2019 above the rest, Márquez needed an extra, to fulfill one last objective, and he did it this Sunday in Motegi. It was winning after winning.
In previous years, after champion, the Honda leader had relaxed and suffered serious falls. In the three seasons that the World Cup closed in advance he went to the ground just in the following race and, in some, he later added accidents that showed that he had already lost his concentration. This time, for the first time, it was not. As if nothing had happened 15 days ago in Thailand, Márquez came out for the victory in Japan from the first round and, in the second, he already had a surplus advantage over his rivals. As he did this season on so many occasions, he escaped and then only dedicated himself to maintaining the distances before his only persecutor, the young Fabio Quartararo , who on Sunday secured the title of rookie of the year.
«Now you can answer the star question, yes I can say that it has been my best year. In 2014 I had a lot of speed, but I had that point of unconsciousness, I lacked experience. Today I have demonstrated consistency. I am in a sweet moment and I want to take advantage of it. I know that I am human, that I am not invincible and that one day it will be my turn to suffer, ”Márquez confessed that in the remainder of the World Cup he will seek to“ always finish on the podium ”and continue breaking records. Yesterday, for example, matched the number of MotoGP victories of Mick Doohan (54) and stayed behind only Valentino Rossi (89) and Giacomo Agostini (68), but the challenge now goes further.
Márquez wants to square the best season in MotoGP history at a mathematical level. Given that the records of Agostini or Doohan himself are fancy today, when the World Cup is much more even and up to four brands are eligible for victories, Márquez wants to destroy Jorge Lorenzo's current point record (383 points in 2010) and leave an almost insurmountable record for the future. Even if they continue to add races to the calendar, it will be difficult to improve the 425 points they project if they win in the three remaining races, Philip Island, Sepang and Cheste.
Against it is the weather, which is always surprising in the latest tests of the Asian tour, and in its favor, the low level of its rivals, who have already surrendered to their domain. Beyond Quartararo and his youthful fervor, those who should be discussing Márquez's triumphs are still far away. Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Viñales conformed this Sunday with third place.
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