Big day for Spanish Motorcycling, on which Marc Márquez has claimed a hard-fought World Championship title in the Comunitat Valenciana Grand Prix. The Repsol rider, master and commander of the season, was able to keep his nerves in check in the most important race of his life, riding with a wide safety margin, which gave him the points he needed to take the title. He crossed the finish line fourth, in a race won by Bradley Smith, after keeping Espararó and Terol, second and third respectively, in his sights at all times.
Staring from pole position, the Repsol rider got off to a good start without taking any risks and got into third, on the tail of Bradley Smith and Nico Terol. Márquez took the first few laps with care in order to warm up his tyres and not take any unnecessary risks and after four laps, he started to close in on the Valencian rider, who had opened a gap of a few metres. As the laps passed, Espargaró came up from behind and fleeing from any risky situation, Márquez let him pass with ten laps to go, securing a comfortable race in fourth.
With the title mathematically under his belt, Márquez kept focused during the last few laps and went under the chequered flag as the youngest Spanish rider in history to be crowned World Champion. With this result, the Repsol rider rounds off a historic season in which he has claimed 10 victories and 12 pole positions, which put his name, along with those of Jorge Lorenzo and Toni Elías, as the 2010 kings of Motorcycling.
Marc Márquez, 4th 8.326 sec. behind. >> Audio
“I’m really happy. We had planned the race just as it was. I had the pace to fight for victory, as in other races this season, but I had no doubt that the championship was much more important. Firstly, I warmed up the tyres well in the first few laps and when I was sure that everything was OK, I started to push a little harder to close in on Nico [Terol] and when I caught him, I decided to have a more relaxed race behind him. Then, Pol [Espargaró] arrived and I let him pass to avoid any problems. From then on, I focused on keeping my position and distance behind them to the finish line. The worst moment, when I was most nervous, was during the first few laps; I remembered what had happened in Aragón and other things that make you realise that, at this moment, errors that are not yours could cost you the title. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me since I started in motorcycling; my family, my friends, the fans and the sponsors, without whom I would not be celebrating this World Championship title today”.
