Repsol rider takes eighth triumph of the season —one more than in 2011— and moves 53 points clear in Moto2 standings.
Marc Márquez once again made an historic comeback at the Japanese Grand Prix, taking his eighth win of the current season and extending his advantage in the overall standings to 53 points. The Repsol rider had stalled on the starting grid and needed to overtake the entire Moto2 field. It was reminiscent of the 2011 Australian GP but, whilst on that occasion he placed third, this time he went all the way.
When the lights went out and it was time to start, Márquez’ Moto2 machine remained in neutral and the other riders moved ahead of him. That set things up for an epic race from the Spaniard, who reached the first corner ahead of just four riders. He began to pass quickly and was up to ninth by the end of lap one.
The Repsol rider continued moving up the order and finally, ten laps in, he achieved the impossible and passed Esteve Rabat for the lead. On the final six laps he was joined in a tussle for the win with persistent rival Pol Espargaró, who had imposed a speedy pace to catch up. Márquez won by 4-tenths of a second at a track where he won in 2010, the year of his 125cc title win.
With just three races remaining this year and 75 points in play, the Repsol rider has a 53 point advantage in the standings. He could be crowned 2012 Moto2 World Champion in seven days time, in Malaysia.
Marc Márquez >> Audio
1st – 42.56.171
“I made a huge mistake on the start —it was a rookie mistake. When I engaged first gear I noticed something strange, but at that moment I was only focusing on the lights and on making a good start. I didn’t think to check that the gear had slotted in correctly. When the lights went out I found I was still in neutral and the first thing to cross my mind was to hope that nobody hit me from behind. I wasn’t just because I didn’t want to miss the race, but rather that the other rider and myself could have been very badly hurt. I had a lot of luck in that respect, but on the opening corner I was very far back and had to give 100% on the early laps. When I saw that I wasn’t with the lead group, my aim was to take as many points as possible. However, I surprised myself with how I moved up places and reached the frontrunners. From then on, I took things much more calmly when it came to overtaking. From the midway point through to the end we had a better pace than in qualifying, which is very positive as Motegi is a track where the Kalexs go very well. To take 25 points here is important.”
