It is very lucky that Álex Márquez comes out of the last Japanese Grand Prix. A Motegi route which smiled on him again but not this time from the point of view of results. It was rather the course of events that worked in his favor even though the outcome could have been dramatic in his quest for a Moto2 title. He will be able to win this weekend in Australia, but only if success continues to smile on him...
Alex Marquez arrived at Motegi with 40 points ahead of Augusto Fernández, and he leaves with a capital of 36 units on… Tom Luthi. An accounting operation which could have been even more unfavorable if Marini had not snatched victory from the Swiss in the final laps. But as there is now one less Grand Prix to go, driver Marc VDS is doing well despite a modest sixth place.
Because he comes from afar, the younger brother of whom you know. During FP3, on a track soaked with rain, he almost literally went head over heels before the Good Lord grabbed him by the straps. Overall, a historic figure who will be remembered and, above all, a fall avoided which could have caused an injury.
Qualified fourth, driver Marc VDS then realized that the race would not be for him, and he almost fell again. But he remained on his wheels once again. A demonstration finished in sixth place which gives him good points in the title race. A competition which he could put an end to this weekend in Australia.
A closing of the exercise which will nevertheless have to involve a victory. But not only. Lüthi must not do better than fifth and Augusto Fernandez settle for third place. As for Brad Binder, big loser at Motegi, he will have to avoid winning.
A situation which thus inspires Alex Marquez : " It still seems a long way off to me, even if I don't know the combinations. But I would have to win first and it's already difficult in Australia. The positive point is that none of my direct opponents are ever in front of us and change. Now it's Lüthi and he knew that a second place was good for him and he knew that Marini could risk more. He is good in the remaining races and he knows he still has possibilities. We lost four points here, but after a complicated race. »
He explains this difficulty thus: “ we made a change for the race to the setting which hurt us. It was very small, but we were wrong to want to look for more traction. I also almost fell and it would have been much more serious than during FP3 because it was the race. The bike moved a lot and I thought I would fall. I was lucky »
He finishes realistically: “ the most positive thing is that we didn't lose many points. The first day was very positive, but something was missing. Saturday we passed the qualification and avoided a fall in the morning. And in the race another fall was saved. So with this sixth place, we can be happy. »
Moto2 Championship ranking after the Japanese Grand Prix:
| 1 | Alex MÁRQUEZ | Kalex | 234 | |
| 2 | Thomas LÜTHI | Kalex | 198 | -36 |
| 3 | Augusto FERNÁNDEZ | Kalex | 192 | -42 |
| 4 | Jorge NAVARRO | Speed Up | 186 | -48 |
| 5 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 184 | -50 |
| 6 | Luca MARINI | Kalex | 176 | -58 |
| 7 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Kalex | 151 | -83 |
| 8 | Marcel SCHRÖTTER | Kalex | 125 | -109 |
| 9 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Speed Up | 99 | -135 |
| 10 | Enea BASTIANINI | Kalex | 95 | -139 |
| 11 | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 71 | -163 |
| 12 | Remy GARDNER | Kalex | 64 | -170 |
| 13 | Tetsuit NAGASHIMA | Kalex | 64 | -170 |
| 14 | Jorge MARTIN | KTM | 63 | -171 |
| 15 | Sam LOWES | Kalex | 60 | -174 |
| 16 | Xavi VIRGIN | Kalex | 59 | -175 |
| 17 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Kalex | 46 | -188 |
| 18 | Nicolò BULEGA | Kalex | 40 | -194 |
| 19 | Mattia Pasini | KTM | 27 | -207 |
| 20 | Somkiat CHANTRA | Kalex | 23 | -211 |
| 21 | Stefano MANZI | MV | 19 | -215 |
| 22 | Marco BEZZECCHI | KTM | 17 | -217 |
| 23 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV | 14 | -220 |
| 24 | Simone COURSES | Kalex | 10 | -224 |
| 25 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS | 6 | -228 |
| 26 | Jake DIXON | KTM | 4 | -230 |
| 27 | Joe ROBERTS | KTM | 4 | -230 |
| 28 | Lukas TULOVIC | KTM | 3 | -231 |
| 29 | Khairul Idham PAWI | Kalex | 3 | -231 |
| 30 | Jesko RAFFIN | NTS | 3 | -231 |
