MARC MARQUEZ FINISHES ELEVENTH AFTER CRASH AT SEPANG

Marc Márquez falls when riding in the leading group, missing out on a chance for victory, but remounts for eleventh place.

The Malaysian Grand Prix saw a second crash in as many races for Marc Marquez, who this season had limited his mistakes en route to the MotoGP World Championship. On a completely wet Sepang International Circuit, after intense rainfall just a few minutes before the start, Marquez got off the line well and settled into a leading group consisting of six riders. However, he crashed after a mistake at Turn 11 midway through the race and, after rejoining, had to battle back to finish eleventh.

Marc Marquez: “Today was a difficult day. In the morning the weather was already unstable and finally the race was in the wet. Before the start I decided to use the carbon front brakes, which gave me the chance to be stronger in braking. It was the right choice and it has nothing to do with my crash. At the beginning of the race I was riding quite comfortably in the leading group, trying to save the tires for the end of the race, but suddenly I crashed by losing the front at Turn 11. I thought I had a chance to finish on the podium here, but it was not to be, and it is better that this happens now that we already have the title. This experience will help us for next year and helps us appreciate the World Championship even more.“

MARC MARQUEZ CLOSES FLYAWAY TRIPLE HEADER WITH VISIT TO MALAYSIA

Marquez won the race in 2014 and has always started from the front row of the MotoGP grid at Sepang.

After victory and clinching the title in Japan, and suffering a crash in Australia, Marc Marquez completes the run of three consecutive races in as many weekends with a trip to Malaysia. The Spaniard has twice triumphed at Sepang, in 125cc in 2010 and 2014 in MotoGP. He comes into the Malaysian GP after receiving a hero’s welcome at an event in Indonesia this past week.

Marc Marquez: “In Australia we tried to do a great race, but although we ultimately weren’t successful, we always look at the positives. In this case, I once again learned something and I’ll be more careful in similar situations in the future. When you feel good and are really enjoying the riding, the extra confidence you feel isn’t easy to control, but we’ll try. Now we are in Sepang, a track where we always test in February and therefore we know very well. Anyway, when we came here for the winter test, we were still struggling to find our direction with the bike setup. Moreover soon after that test, they completely resurfaced the track; therefore, we must wait and see how we will be able to manage this weekend. I’m very curious about the track, to see how much smoother the surface is now and how much faster it will allow us to lap.“

MARQUEZ SUFFERS A CRASH AT AUSTRALIAN GP

Marc Marquez’ record of being the only rider in the World Championship to score points at every race came to an end at the Australian Grand Prix, as the Repsol Honda Team rider crashed out at Phillip Island.

The Spaniard had been first on the opening corners and established a solid lead, but a mistake at Turn 4 on Lap 10 brought his race to an early conclusion. Running wide under braking, Marquez tried to maintain his line, losing grip and hitting the ground.

Marc Marquez: “First of all I want to say sorry to my team because I made a mistake today. We were doing everything perfectly, and we were just missing capping it with a result on Sunday. If I had been fighting for the title it would’ve been an entirely different race, as I wouldn’t have risked so much. Today I started strong because I knew I had to make a difference at the beginning. I was maintaining the distance, but at one of the hard braking points I braked too late and instead of taking a wider line, which is what I had been doing throughout the year, I tried to keep going. In such cases the limit is a fine one. We remain happy of course because we had already won the title but of course we wanted to win more races. It was completely my mistake; during the whole season I’ve been very careful on the braking points and this time I risked more so this crash has nothing to do with the Michelin tyres. Now we have another race next week, and we’ll just think about that. Congratulations to Cal for his great victory”.

MARC MARQUEZ TO MAKE FIRST POST-TITLE APPEARANCE IN AUSTRALIA

Newly crowned five-time World Champion back in action at Phillip Island. Marc Marquez holds two wins at Philip Island (2010 in 125cc and 2015 in MotoGP) and two podiums in Moto2 (2012 and 2011).

Marc Marquez has had little time to celebrate the fifth World Championship, won last Sunday in Japan, as this weekend he takes on Round 16 of the MotoGP season. The series heads to Phillip Island for the Australian GP, where the Spaniard took a thrilling victory last year. He comes into the 2016 race with the pressure off, having lifted the title with three races remaining.

Marc Marquez: “It’s fantastic to arrive at Phillip Island with no pressure for the Championship, as the track is one of my favourite in the calendar, along with Austin and Aragon. It’s so fast and flowing and you really have a lot of fun riding there. One of the main issues to take into account there is the weather. It’s usually very cold during this period of the year and always windy, something that you feel a lot, especially at the end of the final straight. You have to find a setup to make the bike as stable as possible. We’ll try to win some more races before the end of the year as there are also the Constructors and the Team titles to think of.“

MARC MARQUEZ CROWNED 2016 WORLD CHAMPION AT MOTEGI

Repsol Honda Team rider takes fifth win of the season in Japan, where he had never won before in MotoGP. In doing so, he sealed his fifth title in seven years and becomes the youngest rider to do so.

Marc Marquez was crowned MotoGP World Champion once more at the Japanese Grand Prix, having previously done so at Motegi two seasons ago. The Repsol Honda Team rider achieved his fifth Grand Prix title with his first mathematical opportunity, which depended on the results of his two rivals in the race for the World Championship. First Valentino Rossi, then Jorge Lorenzo, crashed out in Japan to pave the way to the title for Marquez. The Spaniard took his fifth win of the season –his first at Motegi in the premier class– to become the youngest five-time champion in history at 23 years, 7 months and 27 days old.

Marc Márquez: “It’s incredible! Before the race I didn’t expect to be Champion, and I said that here it would be impossible. However, when I saw that Rossi was out of the race, I decided to push hard for the victory. I was riding my hardest, and when there were three laps to go, I read on my pit board that Lorenzo was also out; on that same lap, I made mistakes in four or five corners, as it was difficult to stay focused! I’m very happy because this title is very special considering some of the crashes I had last year, and also because it came at Motegi, Honda’s home. Honda has worked so hard this year, and you could see the fruits of that effort also at this track, where we’ve struggled in the past. I myself also improved during the season; for instance, I learned how to better use the front Michelin tyre. It has been a demanding year, but a fantastic one. It’s great for my team, and of course I don’t want to forget my grandmother, who passed away this year and would be very happy with this World Championship. Now we can just enjoy it and go into the last three races with maybe a more ‘Marc Marquez’ style”.

MARQUEZ BEGINS FLYAWAY TREBLE WITH FIRST CHANCE TO BE CROWNED 2016 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPION

Marc Marquez will be crowned champion if he wins the race, Valentino Rossi finishes 15th or lower and Jorge Lorenzo finishes off the podium. The Cervera rider has two Japanese GP wins in 125cc and Moto2, but his best results in MotoGP are respective second places in 2013 and 2014.

Repsol Honda team travel to Japan for the first of three consecutive Grands Prix, to be followed by races in Australia and Malaysia. Marquez comes into the weekend with a mathematical chance of winning the title.

Japan will host the fifteenth round of the 2016 MotoGP season this weekend, with the first of a three-race run on consecutive weekends that also takes in GPs in Australia and Malaysia. Marc Marquez arrives at Motegi off the back of an important victory at the Aragon Grand Prix, which gives him his first opportunity to become a five-time World Champion across the classes. He currently leads the premier class standings with 248 points and can clinch the title if he wins at Motegi, Valentino Rossi finishes 15th or lower and Jorge Lorenzo places off the podium.

Marc Marquez: “The triple-header always marks a demanding period in the season because there are three races in a row in different time zones and different conditions, so we must handle them calmly and with the same mind-set we have kept throughout this season. The Japanese Grand Prix is an important appointment for us as it is Honda’s home race and one where we have great memories, as we clinched the title in 2014. On the other hand, it’s a circuit that has always been a bit challenging for us. So for example, if Aragon was a track that I marked for attacking, Motegi is one that I marked for giving up as few points as possible. That said, we’ll approach it with an open mentality, aiming for the best result possible but ready to adapt to the circumstances.“