Japanese Grand Prix, Motegi, MotoGP, Race 2018: Márquez wins and takes the title after Dovizioso's fall

Motegi is the only route on the current calendar where Marc Márquez has not yet signed a pole position in the premier category, and it will therefore not yet be for this edition of the Japanese Grand Prix. On the other hand, it is from the peak position thatAndrea Dovizioso will make his 291st start. He now has 20 poles to his credit, including two recorded this year. Three of them were won at Motegi in 2010 – when he was racing for Honda – in 2014 and therefore in 2018. Until then, he is doing exactly what is necessary to prevent the official Honda from being crowned on the land and public of his employer…

Will he continue in this business until the checkered flag of this sixteenth round of the year? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the situation.

Motegi MotoGP™	2017	2018
FP1	1'55.418 Marc Márquez (see here)	1'45.358 Andrea Dovizioso
FP2	1'54.877 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'48.136 Dani Pedrosa
FP3	1'55.254 Marc Márquez (see here)	1'45.107 Andrea Dovizioso
FP4	1'54.581 Marc Márquez (see here)	1'45.531 Marc Márquez
Qualification 1	1'55.258 Pol Espargaró (see here)	1'45.429 Álvaro Bautista
Qualification 2	1'53.469 Johann Zarco (see here)	1'44.590 Andrea Dovizioso
warm up	1'56.719 Marc Márquez (see here)	1'45.409 Andrea Dovizioso
Course	Marquez, Dovizioso, Petrucci (see here)
All time lap record	1'43.790 Jorge Lorenzo (2015)

Johann zarco, who took pole during the previous edition, starts from second place on the grid. This is his best result since his Le Mans pole. Jack Miller completes the first line, which he had already tasted twice this year. Cal Crutchlow leads the second row. The Briton has never done so well in Motegi since 2012 (3rd). Andrea Iannone starts from fifth on the grid, the best result by a Suzuki rider since Chris Vermeulen's fourth place in 2009.

Marc Márquez occupies sixth place on the grid, as had already been the case in Argentina and Italy. The Spaniard has only won three times having appeared outside the Top 3 in qualifying (Valencia 2014, Aragón 2017 and Jerez 2018). He will win his fifth MotoGP title if he finishes ahead Andrea Dovizioso or if he does not concede more than two points, and not more than 24 to Valentino Rossi the latter points at the end of the third line. This is the tenth time this year that he has failed to qualify on one of the first two lines.

23° in the air, 35° on the track will be the conditions for the 24 laps of the race. On the tire side, we have soft medium for Dovi et zarco and full medium for Márquez. Miller is in full software. Red is in full medium.

Dovizioso takes the lead in front Miller and already Marquez. zarco misses his flight he is seventh. Before the end of the first round, Márquez settle the account Miller. Here is the dueling duo in the lead.

Behind, Miller contains Crutchlow et Kidneys while Red precede zarco.

It will be noted that it is Crutchlow which appears to be the steepest. So he passes Miller and sets off in pursuit of Dovi et Márquez. Red goes fifth and in turn signs the best lap… Casa Particular in Viñales is tenth and runs half a second slower.

In front the duo became a trio while behind Kidneys achieves the first time in 1'45. Crutchlow pass Márquez in the fourth round. But Red goes fourth and gets back to Márquez. The pace allows seven drivers to come together in a leading group. Iannone is in the game!

Dovizioso then raise the tone in 1'45.790 to stretch the pack. But Crutchlow et Márquez remain in his aspiration. The latter passes English and Iannone his teammate for fifth position and rushes Red. zarco is eighth. Aleix Espargaro returns to the pits with his Aprilia.

After eight rounds, Iannone pass Red which will also have difficulty containing the other Suzuki of Kidneys. in front of its audience, the pill is hard to swallow for Yamaha who is scolded by Suzuki… At turn 9, Miller grave.

Halfway through the race, Kidneys forget it Red apparently already in agony. Given the lap times and the pace of the leading trio, the two Suzukis look like outsiders for the podium, or even more! Thirteenth, Syahrin leads the way for beginners Morbidely and behind Smith following Petrucci looking for the top 10 held by Casa Particular in Viñales.

11 laps from the goal, Márquez passes but makes a mistake and Dovi returns the favor, all under the constant threat of Crutchlow who doesn't miss a beat. Kidneys pass Iannone which falls at turn 10.

There are eight rounds left and Dovizioso as Márquez seem to be the only ones able to maintain a pace below 1'46 per lap. For the point of fifteenth place, it is a civil war which opposes It lit up et Nakagami.

The last five laps once again announce a final fight between the Ducati and the Honda but this time with the title at the end if Márquez manages to become master of Dovizioso. Crutchlow plays third place against Kidneys a little faster who nibbles with his Suzuki. zarco trying to join Red while respecting Baptist.

Three laps from the checkered flag, Márquez goes to the front.

Alas, there will be no duel. In view of the last round, Dovizioso fall. Márquez heads towards victory and his seventh absolute title. Crutchlow et Kidneys complete the podium. zarco is sixth, ahead Casa Particular in Viñales but behind Baptist et Red.

Japanese Grand Prix, Motegi, MotoGP, Race: classification.

1	Marc MÁRQUEZ	42'36.438		93	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	25
2	Cal Crutchlow	42'38.11	+1.573 / 1.573	35	GBR	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	20
3	Alex RINS	42'38.158	+1.720 / 0.147	42	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	16
4	Valentino ROSSI	42'42.851	+6.413 / 4.693	46	ITA	Yamaha Motor Racing	Yamaha	13
5	Álvaro BAUTISTA	42'43.357	+6.919 / 0.506	19	SPA	Angel Nieto Team	Ducati	11
6	johann zarco	42'44.462	+8.024 / 1.105	5	FRA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	10
7	Maverick VIÑALES	42'49.768	+13.330 / 5.306	25	SPA	Yamaha Motor Racing	Yamaha	9
8	Dani PEDROSA	42'52.2	+15.582 / 2.252	26	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	8
9	Danilo PETRUCCI	42'57.22	+20.584 / 5.002	9	ITA	Alma Pramac Racing	Ducati	7
10	Hafiz Syahrin	43'01.423	+24.985 / 4.401	55	MAL	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	6
11	Frank MORBIDELLI	43'02.369	+25.931 / 0.946	21	ITA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	5
12	Bradley SMITH	43'03.313	+26.875 / 0.944	38	GBR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	4
13	Pol ESPARGARÓ	43'03.507	+27.069 / 0.194	44	SPA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	3
14	Katsuyuki NAKASUGA	43'08.988	+32.550 / 5.481	89	JPN	Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	2
15	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	43'14.156	+37.718 / 5.168	30	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	1
16	Xavier SIMÉON	43'16.21	+39.583 / 1.865	10	BEL	Royal Avintia Racing	Ducati	0
17	Jordi TORRES	43'16.277	+39.839 / 0.256	81	SPA	Royal Avintia Racing	Ducati	0
18	Andrea Dovizioso	43'19.136	+42.698 / 2.859	4	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	0
19	Scott REDDING	43'26.381	+49.943 / 7.245	45	GBR	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	0
20	Thomas LÜTHI	43'29.145	+52.707 / 2.764	12	SWI	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	0
21	Sylvain GUINTOLI	43'38.286	+61.848 / 9.141	50	FRA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	0
-1	Andrea Iannone	24'55.602		29	ITA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	0
-1	Karel ABRAHAM	22'38.296		17	CZE	Angel Nieto Team	Ducati	0
-1	Jack Miller	17'53.274		43	AUS	Alma Pramac Racing	Ducati	0
-1	Aleix ESPARGARÓ	10'59.724		41	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	0