MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 15 / SEPTEMBER 13-15, 2019
MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT MARCO SIMONCELLI / RIMINI, SAN MARINO
P62
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
T
he hero of Misano was not the rider that won the race. Even
Marc Marquez (who did win it—his seventh this year) ac-
knowledged that. The kudos went to 20-year-old class rookie
Fabio Quartararo who led from the third of 27 laps to the 26th.
It took all of Marquez's guile and determination to prevent the
Petronas Yamaha rider from leading the 27th as well.
That's how it looked, anyway, and that's how Marquez described
it, saying that, "I was not the best rider today." He'd followed the
Frenchman closely, and though he probably could have gone
ahead, "the lap time would not have been faster."
But was there another dimension to the win that took his overall
total to 77, one more than Mike Hailwood, with only Giacomo Agos-
tini (122), Valentino Rossi (115) and Angel Nieto (90) ahead. Another
comment gave a hint: "I didn't need to win today [for the champion-
ship], but what happened yesterday gave me extra motivation."
The
FIRST
DANCE
Misano marked the first time Marc Marquez and Fabio
Quartararo went head-to-head for the win. It won't be the last.
