Marc Marquez hailed his “perfect” 2019 season following victory in the Thai grand prix at the Chang International Circuit that netted him his sixth premier class title.
Marquez needed to outscore nearest championship threat Andrea Dovizioso by just two points in Thailand to secure his eighth title across all classes, which he duly did by winning the race while the Ducati man could only muster up a fourth place result.
Marquez has failed to finish outside the top two positions just once this season, when a technical issue caused him to crash from the lead at the US round of the series at the Circuit of the Americas in April.
He has notched up nine victories so far-seven more than any other rider-and now sits on an unassailable 110 point lead with just four events remaining, having now become champion in six out of the seven premier class seasons he has competed in.
The Honda man reckoned that improved consistency was the key to his latest triumph, with so called historical ‘weak’ tracks such as Losail and Mugello no longer being so in ’19.
“It was a perfect season,” said Marquez.
“There are still four races to go and even though the championship is done, the year is not finished.
“I have to say thanks to the whole team because without them this is impossible; the performance across the whole year has been brilliant.
“When I crossed the line to win and secure the championship, particularly when I got to parc ferme with all my team, it was amazing.
“I feel we have improved the most our most critical point, our consistency across all tracks and conditions, so I’m happy as this was the key to winning the championship.
“I will try to win every race like I did here, and I will try to win in Motegi next time out, but now is the time to celebrate and then I will try to finish the season in a strong way.”
“Champion mode” helped me to defeat Quartararo
Marquez revealed that approaching the Thai GP in “champion mode” allowed him to shake off any nervousness while trying to chase down Quartararo for the lead.
The Spaniard made a good start to jump into second from fourth immediately, before pushing to try and catch Quartararo.
The SIC racing man proved to be a tough nut to crack though, and at one point even looked to be making somewhat of a break.
Marquez reeled him back in as the race entered its final stages, with a last lap pass around the outside into Turn 2 ultimately proving to be the race winning move.
Quartararo attempted a final corner dive on the champion elect, but ran slightly wide and allowed Marquez to undercut and strive for the line in first place.
“When you have a big advantage in the championship you try to find extra motivation and extra motivation for me this weekend was to try and win the race,” explained Marquez.
“I tried to win the championship by going into ‘champion mode’, which means just attack.
“It’s great that we managed it, Fabio was fast throughout the whole race, the pace was amazing and the race itself was very tough due to the heat, but neither of us would give up.
“I was panicking (when Quartararo began to pull away mid-distance), I said to myself ‘OK I’ll try’ but I was already riding at 100%, I didn’t feel quick enough but of course I tried to use the torque from the Honda engine on the straights to try and recover the gap, but in Turns 3 and 4 Fabio was flying.
“The grip he had there was amazing, so I tried to manage in the best way but it was impossible to match him there, but I didn’t give up and in the end I caught him.”
