MotoGP News
Date:
10/November/2013
Marc Marquez won the MotoGP title at his first attempt after
holding his nerve in the face of clever tactics by defending champion Jorge
Lorenzo at the Valencia season finale.
Lorenzo had propelled himself back into title contention with
victory in the previous two races, but needed another win at Valencia and
Marquez to finish outside of the top four.
After blasting past pole sitter Marquez at turn one, Lorenzo
began slowing the pace to try and bring other riders into the fight.
Marquez’s best hope was for team-mate Dani Pedrosa to overtake
Lorenzo and win the race, but Lorenzo brutally stamped down every pass Pedrosa
made.
“I tried to slow down as much as possible, but Dani was very
strong and passed me every time,” said Lorenzo. “I tried to pass him again at
the next corners. Sometimes it was very risky.
“In normal circumstances I try to be clean and not touch any
riders, because it is my mentality and I want to be respectful of all the
riders and if I can pass them without touching, I prefer,” said Lorenzo.
“But in this special occasion I had to slow down the race as
much as possible, in every corner, so when Dani passed me against my normal
mentality I had to pass him again and slow down the race. Sorry to him because
I never want to touch any riders.”
A Lorenzo lunge eventually sent Pedrosa off the track and
back to fifth place, with Marquez inheriting the lead. Lorenzo was soon back in
front of his title foe, but finally gave up on getting any help from the other
Yamaha riders.
“Marc did not want to fight, so I looked behind and saw no
riders with us. So I thought I just have to try and win the race and then wait
for the result from Marc.”
20-year-old Marquez let the recovering Pedrosa back ahead in
the closing stages on his way to a safe third and a place in history as the
youngest ever premier-class world champion.
A delighted Marquez said: “We are so proud about our first
season in MotoGP. Thanks to Honda, my team and all the people that help me. I
just want to enjoy this moment.
“In the first ten laps I was a little nervous on the bike. I
was not able to ride in my usual style and it was difficult to wait in third.
But I understood that the championship was much more important than one race.
“After Jorge and Dani went wide I was into first place, and
when I heard Jorge I thought ‘OK, you go first’. Because I saw that he was
fighting so hard today and it was not my fight.
“It felt like the longest race in my career. Especially the
last lap I was so careful. I didn’t push a lot in the race and even like that I
could finish third. It is a dream come true to win the title. I really didn’t
expect this and I am really so very happy.”
Marquez, who set a new rookie record of six race wins, took
the title by just four points from Lorenzo, who won eight races but broke his
collarbone mid-season.
Testing for the 2014 season takes place at Valencia next
week.
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