Marc Marquez (Honda) earned his eighth World championship (including four consecutive MotoGP titles) earlier today in Thailand after passing Fabio Quartararo on the last lap to take the win. Quartararo (Yamaha) had led Marquez the entire race, but ultimately settled for second place. Maverick Viñales (Yamaha) finished third.
With his sixth MotoGP championship overall, Marquez cemented his status as one of the all-time greats. His dominance this year means he clinches the title with four races still remaining on the calendar.
Follow this link to full race results. For additional details and points, visit the official MotoGP site.
All the Marquez haters sound so ridiculous right now. You guys are totally ignoring the fact that Marc isn’t just winning championships, he’s totally DOMINATING. He just wrapped up this world championship with 4 races left.
If the rider aids make everything so easy/unimpressive, why is he still in a different league compared to his competition?
I expected a great year of racing. Marc deserves the championship, and I look forward to the remaining races. As a Lorenzo/Rabat fan, there has been a lot of disappointment, but as a motorcycle enthusiast, it’s been great.
Quartararo is fulfilling the promise he showed years ago. I’m not impressed with his tats, but his riding skill is impressive.
Nobody is unaffected by fame and fortune at the level that Marquez is experiencing, but he seems to be a sincere, decent chap, as well as being a terrific racer.
Even though MotoGP seems to be more business and show than sport, it still is great fun watching talented riders competing at this level. It’s a great time to be a fan.
I think he has one more championship in him — 2020 — before the likes of Quartararo and others have a legitimate shot at taking it from him. That one will give him 7 total in the premiere class (same as Rossi), 9 total (same as Rossi), and 5 in a row in the premiere class (same as Rossi). That will cement his legacy as a legitimate contender for Greatest Of All Time (there are probably dozens or hundreds of different metrics for comparison that could be used).
After that? It will depend on what he’s able to accomplish at age 28 / year 2021 and beyond whether he’s ultimately seen as exceeding Rossi. Just remember he’s 14 years younger than Rossi. Will he continue riding for another 14+ years? Will he try a new challenge like switching manufacturers? Or will he hang it up much earlier, like Casey?
My opinions hold no weight, and we cannot see the future, but I would expect Marc to continue to be at the top of his game for another 4 years, at least. Past 30, the battle between aging losses and experience gains eventually levels out and finally, performance drops.
I’m no fan of Rossi, but he has remained competitive for a long time past his absolute peak, and has held off the performance decline admirably. I would expect that Marc could do the same, but I have no idea whether he will want to keep racing, or would rather settle down with a family like Casey, who was married at 22, and a dad at 27. With his familiy-oriented lifestyle, I suspect that Marc would likely retire well before 40, but that is an opinion, not a prediction. 🙂
IMHO, Marc could retire tomorrow, and have a reasonable claim on the “Greatest of All Time” moniker, but I believe he really wants to get at least 10 World Championships before hanging up his leathers.
The most respectful thing is the praise Marc gets from his rivals and even Honda . They all pretty much say it’s the man not the bike. Lorenzo has to be kicking himself for not taking the Yamaha.
As much as I can appreciate MM talent, I not a fan of his. Yes, I’m a huge VR fan and will be until he retires from racing – which I hope is soon as an old dude he is losing his touch – so who do I cheer on once VR is done, numbers 20 and 42. Even VR thinks MM will break his and other records but MM just does not have the charisma and charm like VR – I’ve been to several MotoGP races in Europe/US and the number of VR fans out number all others combined. Will MM garner that kind of support from fan around the world even though he might break all kinds of records? JMO
It’s a generational thing. Yes there will be hordes of young Marquez fans. My grandson at 3 knew Marquez was World Champion and would taunt the guys at the Yamaha shop up the road. Now 7, since he has been alive, there has been no other World Champion in his eyes. To him, Marquez is unbeatable.
When Rossi quits there will be no reason for anyone to cheer him any longer. How many Roberts or Agostini fans show up on Sunday wearing their numbers/clothes? Fame fades quickly once you are no longer competing and someone else is winning.
i no longer run an xs 650, but i’m still a yuge king Kenny fan…
Plus one on the XS650 and Roberts. I’m a VR46 guy but still think Mike the Bike is the greatest of all and that Jarno Saarinen was on track to be that too. So it’s not just the numbers that make a GOAT it’s the totallity of the rider themself. MM’s ability is off the charts but will he make my list of all time favorites? Time will tell.
Yea but how often do you buy/wear yellow Yamaha #1 Speed block clothing to a MotoGP event?
Lots of blue /yellow #46 and red #93 clothing sold and worn
I want a wild-card, let’s bring the 2-strokes back.
Quartararo getting a contract with Honda, Lorenzo looking for a job in the near future. Honda will have the two best MotoGP riders…
Lorenzo was WC material on the Yamaha and he’s WAY in the back on the Honda. Since Dani fell off the pace, nobody but Marquez has been able to consistently ride up front on the Honda. If I were Quatararo, I’d be very leery of getting on it.
Quartararo will end up on a factory Yamaha if I had to roll the dice and guess. I suspect Yamaha is of the opinion that the best money they can spend to get back to winning ways is on Fabio. I think he gets Rossi’s seat in 2021. And I wouldn’t be totallysurprised if Vinales lost his to Lorenzo. Both factory riders have been shown up by satellite riders lately.
Im not sure that Lorenzo isnt done when his Honda contract expires, unkess he is just going to ride for a paycheck. I believe his recent injuries are now part and parcel of his I can’t ride fast anymore psyche.
JLo hears voices that tells him how badly it hurts to spank the pavement. That Honda can sure open a can of whoop arse real fast. Fabio is the real deal, let’s see if Yamaha wants to sell Yellow t-shirts or win races.
Lorenzo could potentially be finished in GP when the Honda contract ends, though I don’t think that is likely. He is still a proven winner on a Yamaha and Ducati, two manufacturers that need desperately to get back to winning ways, and I think ears will perk up at both parties if Lorenzo starts inquiring.
Fabio is touted, by the press and Marquez, as the most legitimate threat to Marquez next year. He’s certainly earned the hype, but my personal opinion is that Jorge would pose just as much of threat to Marquez had he remained at Ducati or if he found his way back onto a factory Yamaha.
Put Rea on the Honda, Quartararo on the yammy, Miller on the factory Ducati, and Lorenzo in SBK.
Does Marc’s brother end up replacing Rossi after next year?
What would the presence of Stoner have had on Marc’s success? Those two were/are the only ones capable of extracting the most from their machines vs riders on same/similar bikes.
If I had taken the tumble he took in FP-1 on Friday, I dont think I could have even gotten out of bed on Sunday, much less put on a riding display like he did Sunday, besting all his rivals. Incredible. Those other guys have to be demoralized every week knowing that kid is on the starting line.
Lorenzo and Crutchlow certainly are.
We’re witnessing history, folks. 8 total GP championships in 9 years against a plethora of talent. Back in the day, there was such a disparity in machinery that the best rider didn’t always win. Now, there are 6 manufacturers with factory and satellite teams and top-flight talent (many of the MotoGP stars are champions in one class or another). Even still, one guy is dominating. No one else is even close to him. It’s fun to root for others to beat him, but the way I see it, I’m watching the greatest road racer of all time.
It’s hard to say “greatest of all time” in the era of computer aided riding controls.
Compared to what the old timers rode it was pure 100 percent rider controlled.
I have no doubt had Marquez been riding a 500CC 2-stroke he would have done fantastic, but in my opinion, “one of” the greatest of all time for now.
It really is a shame Stoner didn’t put in another five years.
He was winning championships on a bike that was practically un-rideable.
Would have been a blast to see those two compete against each other.
No doubt Lorenzo would have one or two less titles had Stoner not retired so early on.
Well to be fair he would generally be considered against only 2 other riders for the title … Agostini and Rossi. Agostini may not have had any electronic rider controls, but sometimes had the only factory bike on the grid and his MV was clearly, far and away the best most powerful bike on the grid. He did have some competition, but not of the caliber that Rossi and Marquez have had to deal with. Rossi on the other hand has ridden at least the last decade with rider aides and, and equal aids to Marquez for the last 6 seasons and it has failed to make much of a difference for him.
No doubt the argument could go in any of three directions right now, but Ago for sure and Vale for all intents and purposes is done, while Marquez clearly isnt finished winning World Championships quite yet.
As a fan of GP since when Ago WAS winning, and watching Rossi’s whole caree, and now the beginning of Marquez domination, it certainly is interesting to watch it unfold.
Proclaiming a “greatest of all time” is indeed a difficult proposition. I agree that Ago and Rossi are the only other contenders in the mix. Ago was before my time, but it is typically accepted that he had a machine and funding advantage over the field. He could also participate in multiple classes simultaneously, so it really helped to snag two championships per year if numbers are the only thing that matters. Again, I’m talking about races I’ve never seen, but my understanding is that Ago really didn’t have much in the way of competition.
Rossi was just as dominant as Marquez during his prime. It looks like Rossi’s chapter may be over while Marquez is just starting to get into the groove. Like you said, interesting to watch unfold.
Thats not to say Augustini wasnt one heck of a motorcycle racer. He routinely beat Hailwood, Read, Sarrinen and other champions,switched to Yamaha around 73 or 74, after riding 4 stroke MV’s for a decade, won a World title for Yamaha, won the 74 Daytona 200 ( besting a bunch of America’s best on their home track) both of those on a two stroke after riding 4 strokes for so many years, won a bunch of Isle of Mann’s. For being a priveledged, rich, handsome Italian National hero, he obviously took piloting a racing motorcycle very seriously.
Definitly a contender for GOAT.
Thank you for only counting MM’s MotoGP wins, 6, instead of going along going along with all the Dorna fan-faire reporting a total number of 8 “GP” wins. Seems Dorna is making a big spectacle of the whole event as it attempts to transition from Rossi-Power to Marquez-Power. I am becoming much less interested in MM’s accomplishments but did enjoy seeing Quartararo… who appeared at one point to be apexing the rumble strips on only the rear wheel!
You don’t appreciate the amazing accomplishment of winning a Moto 2 or 3 championship? Are you kidding? Have you seen the number of riders out there scrapping it out for the win? Every one of those guys is a phenom and to best them over a season is unimaginable.
+1
It’s not a case of appreciation , but for comparison purposes of MotoGP Championship wins with the likes of Roberts, Spencer, Hayden, Lawson, Schwantz. It matters as much as the National Championships these guys had to win for a chance at the big show, MotoGP.
It’s just that when comparing MotoGP wins with all the past Americans who have won, I only want to see MotoGP wins.
The American’s are getting left behind:
1 Kevin Schwantz
1 Kenny Roberts Jr
1 Nicky Hayden
2 Freddie Spencer
3 Kenny Roberts
3 Wayne Rainey
4 Eddie Lawson
5 Mick Doohan
6 Marc Marquez
7 Valentino Rossi
8 Giacomo Agostini
you left out Duke/Surtees/Hailwood @ 4 each…
Marquez proved once again he deserves the recognition as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, possibly even more talented than my hero Rossi. Unfortunately though, that translates into another MotoGP season with limited excitement or drama. Sure, we’ve seen three races in the past couple months that had super exiting last lap fireworks. But compared to championship seasons in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, this year and the past couple have been, shall I say, somewhat boring. Now, with 4 MotoGP races left in the season and Marquez already crowned as champion, the drama of who’s going to snag second and third place is not very compelling.
With all the spoiler action & knowing the end results in advance, I almost didn’t care to pay for the Dorna weekend package to watch the race. And, In addition to all the Dorna supported celebration and fanfare of another MM championship, Dorna is making all the right moves including reducing the remaining Season Pass Price to the price of this past weekend’s amount alone. Guessing they understand the race for second isn’t as compelling as well.
The big news, was before the race, commentators mentioned that Fabio will get class A Yamaha machines, similar to Rossi and Vinales, for next year. That, is big news. Fabio is fast. we will see.
He will not be denied
15 races 14 top 2 finishes. What can you say, the kid has skills and drive
Quatararo has made him earn it the last 2 races.