Marc Marquez Cruises to Japanese Grand Prix Win

By
Dhruv George
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0
1522
Marc Marquez put on a dominant display in Motegi, claiming his 54th premier class win. Image courtesy of ultimatemotorcycling.com

Marquez Secures Dominant Japanese Grand Prix Victory.

A day after securing his maiden Motegi pole, Marc Marquez went unchallenged to his tenth win of 2019.

Rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo kept tabs on the Spaniard, but was too far behind to make a move.

Marc Marquez got a great launch to maintain his pole advantage into Turn 1 ahead of Quartararo and a fast starting Jack Miller.

Quartararo, keen to finally take his first premier class victory,-dived past Marc Marquez into Turn 7.

Unfortunately the Honda of Marquez was back through with a late move into the Turn 9 hairpin.

The Spaniard was then able to build an advantage of around 1.2 seconds over the course of the lap.

A few laps later the chasing Frenchman of Quartararo began to slowly reel him back in.

However, the reigning six-time MotoGP champion controlled his lead across the remaining laps.

Quartararo, on the other hand-held off a charging Andrea Dovizioso for his fourth runner-up result of the season.

It was also worth noting that MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi suffered a nightmarish race.

He crashed out from a distant 11 with just five laps remaining, when the front end washed away and he was helpless.

 

Luca Marini Does It Again

Luca Marini secured his second consecutive Moto2 win after beating Tom Luthi at Motegi,

Meanwhile Alex Marquez’s championship lead took a hit after a scrappy race to sixth.

Marini led from pole, but was passed by Luthi early on in the race.

Fortunately, he managed to reclaim the position and fend him off to take his second win of the season.

Valentino Rossi’s half-brother held the advantage off the line, chased by Augusto Fernandez and Lorenzo Baldassarri.

Fernandez was able to keep his teammate at bay, though he dropped to fourth ahead of title rival Marquez after a mistake.

Marquez had an adventurous race, courtesy a few wobbles, including a near-highside.

Aswell as Brad Binder who had a close call with teammate Jorge Martin, sending him into a wobble.

Then, he had another massive wiggle, clipping Sam Lowes in the process and breaking a handlebar.

There was also some drama ahead of the race as SAG rider Tetsuta Nagashima encountered issues in his sighting lap.

The team’s day got worse, as Remy Gardner crashed out, and in spite of a quick turnaround to get him back in time for the race, Nagashima also crashed.

An odd incident also occurred as Tech 3 rider Marco Bezzecchi was forced to stop.

Apparently he was experiencing some nausea in his helmet.

Dalla Porta Boosts Title Hopes

Lorenzo Dalla Porta seized victory in Motegi to extend his Moto3 championship lead to 47 points.

Meanwhile chief rival Aron Canet crashed out, along with Tony Arbolino a few laps earlier.

With a handful of races remaining, it almost seems as if the way is clear for the Italian.

Dalla Porta qualified sixth following a lacklustre weekend with his Leopard Honda.

In fact, his bike constantly cut out during the weekend.

Fortunately, the team got to the bottom of the issue before the race.

The 22-year old took a cautious approach until Canet began to charge his way towards the front.

Dalla Porta shadowed him as the pair made their way towards race leaded Tatsuki Suzuki.

Dalla Porta and Suzuki continued swapping position throughout the rest of the contest, while Canet struggled to hang on.

Canet then dropped the ball and dumped his KTM in the gravel at Turn 9, though he was able to re-join.

Sadly, the damage dealt, was too great to continue and he pulled into the pits a couple of laps later.

This all came to a head on the final lap, as Suzuki failed to make a move and dropped behind Albert Arenas through the Turn 7/8 esses.

Arenas had to settle for second, while Celestino Vietti snatched the final position from Suzuki at the final corner.

The young Italian sent a brave move down the inside, leaving the home hero fourth just ahead of Estrella Galicia rookie Sergio Garcia.

 

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