VOLUME 56 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 22, 2019 P77
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
T
he Japanese GP was pre-
ceded by a Saturday of bad
weather in the aftermath of Ty-
phoon Hagibis, leaving riders short
of dry setup time and by a minute of
silence on Sunday morning to pay
respect to the victims.
In the afternoon, the mood erupt-
ed in a welcome home-track cele-
bration for Motegi owners Honda, as
new World Champion Marc Marquez
produced yet another textbook win—
his 10th of the season—to secure a
landmark 25th Constructors title.
For Marquez, starting from an as-
sured pole, it was the culmination of
an effectively perfect weekend.
His only opponent, after a three-
corner first-lap flurry from Yamaha's
Fabio Quartararo, was the 3.0-mile
Twin Ring circuit itself, a notorious
stop-and-go arena that gobbles fuel.
After powering to a comfortable two-
second lead just after half-distance
of the 24-lapper, Marquez spent the
rest of the race playing with ECU
maps to try to conserve fuel.
"With one-and-a-half laps to go,
the warning light came on. That usu-
ally means three laps to go, so it was
all right. But seven corners after the
flag, the bike stopped," he said later.
His 54th premier-class win puts
him equal with Mick Doohan. Now
he will be hunting down Agostini on
68, then Rossi's 89, though this
latter target may take at least three
more seasons.
The man most likely to slow
progress is Quartararo, who quali-
fied third, with Marquez on pole and
his own Petronas Yamaha teammate
Franco Morbidelli second.
There was much tire confusion on
the grid, with several riders changing
to the soft option in slightly cooler
conditions, and Marquez doing the
sighting lap on wet tires just to keep
his secrets. Important riders choos-
ing the soft front included Andrea
Doviziosio and Jack Miller (Pramac
Ducati), while 10 used the rear, in-
cluding Miller, Quartararo, Maverick
Marc
Marquez
stormed to
pole and
another
win in
Japan. As
if it could
be anyone
else…
TICKING
THEM OFF
