Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez has won the 2018 MotoGP championship, clinching the title at Motegi yesterday.
Going into the race. Marquez could theoretically have been caught by Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, although it seemed unlikely. It went from unlikely to impossible when Dovizioso crashed in Turn 10 with two laps left after losing his front, ending a race-long scrap between the two factory aces. Dovizioso had a positive attitude after the crash, as well he should – the Ducati has basically run on part with the Honda for the second half of the season – but he’s going to have to wait until next year to challenge for the title.
When the dust settled, Marquez was sitting on 296 points with the win, while Dovi was off to hospital stuck at 196 points. Bummer, dude. But not for Marquez, who now has his seventh world championship, his fifth in the premier class. Some of the motopundits are already throwing his name into contention for Greatest Of All Time, much to the annoyance of fans of Mike Hailwood or even Valentino Rossi. Can Honda’s hero keep it up? We’ll see next year, but this year, nobody else can catch him.
