Marc Marquez took an incredible victory at Twin Ring Motegi today, becoming the 2018 MotoGP World Champion with three races to go, in front of Honda President and CEO Mr Takahiro Hachigo, who joined him on the podium.

After starting from the sixth spot on the grid, Marc was immediately able to recover four positions, taking over second place and engaging in race-long battle with title contender Andrea Dovizioso and fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow. With two laps remaining, the Italian rider crashed out of the race, just after Marc had passed him in preparation for a last-lap duel.

With his eighth win of 2018 and the 69th in his career (across all classes), Marquez becomes the youngest rider of all time to reach the milestone of seven World Championships (125cc in 2010, Moto2 in 2012 and MotoGP in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018); he does this at the age of 25 years and 246 days, taking the record from Mike Hailwood, who was 26 years and 140 days old when he won his seventh title, the 1966 350cc crown.

Dani Pedrosa started from 11th on the grid and recovered up to eighth place at the end of the first lap, but he struggled to maintain a good pace and was not able to improve further than that.

Marc’s victory today also extended Honda’s lead in the Constructors World Championship to 47 points, and the Repsol Honda Team’s lead in the Team Classification to 51.

Marc Marquez

Winner 2018 MotoGP World Champion

“I feel really, really good. I would say it’s a dream came true, or better, that I’m living a dream. It’s something so special, here together with my team, all the Honda and HRC people, my family and my staff. It has been a great season, and ever since Aragon I’ve been tasting, imagining this title, because it was very close. Then I realized that this wasn’t my style, and I needed extra motivation, so I set the goal of trying to achieve it with my first match ball—in Motegi, by winning the race. This circuit was a challenging one to manage that, but it seems like when I’m under pressure, I feel better on the bike! Today the race was as I expected. I was prepared to make a good start and immediately make some passes. I got to second place at the end of the first lap, and then was able to follow Andrea and stay with him. I thought I could try and attack before the last lap because I felt I had something extra to give. He was pushing very hard and made a mistake, and that’s a shame because he deserved to be here on the podium. That’s also something that I think Dani would deserve at least once this season. Anyway, when I crossed the finish line it was an explosion of joy. My people prepared this Level7 celebration, but I didn't know anything ahead of time. I never want to know, but I think it’s because I used to play that kind of game a lot. Now it’s time to celebrate this seventh title and enjoy these final three races.”

Dani Pedrosa

8th

“Today the race was very disappointed I could not reach my expected performance. I had not the perfect feeling on the bike and I struggled a lot. That’s a shame, because this is a track and a place that I like very much. Anyway, that the situation and we need to try and manage as best as possible. I wish to congratulate Marc, what he has done is amazing. He has been strong everywhere this season and he was able to make only few mistakes, gaining points all the time. He is a rider that evolve continuously. I think the team as well did a great job.”

Yoshishige Nomura

HRC President

“Despite the expectations and pressure to win his third consecutive title, Marc has mesmerized his fans with an outstanding performance throughout the season. I congratulate Marc for another job well done. I would also like to thank the team who supported him, our many sponsors who have supported our racing activities, and MotoGP fans all over the world for supporting the sport.”

MotoGP 2018
Race Round 16   Japan

Race Classification

Sunny
Humidity
34%
Track Temp
35°C
Air Temp
23°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
MotoGP 2018

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
Location Information

Located amongst the vast natural beauty of the northern Kanto district, the twin ring circuit at Motegi in Japan consists of a 1.5 mile oval and a 2.9 mile road course constructed to international standards. Built by Honda as the ultimate test facility in August 1997, the road circuit became… read more.

Length 4.801 kilometres / 2.983 miles
Width 15 metres
Left corners 6
Right corners 8
Longest straight 0.762 kilometres / 0.473 miles
Constructed 1997

Twin Ring Motegi, Haga District, Tochigi, Japan - View in Google Maps

www.twinring.jp/english

Records

Pole Position 1m 43.198s (167.4km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023)
Race Lap 1m 45.198s (164.2km/h) Jack Miller (Ducati, 2022)
Race Time 42m 21.259s (163.2km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2014)
2023 Sprint Winner Jorge Martin (Ducati)
2023 Race Winner Jorge Martin (Ducati)