Although the title race wasn’t close in 2019 with Marc Marquez claiming his sixth MotoGP World Championship title in seven attempts, the on-track action was as good as ever with a few absolutely brilliant last lap battles, and plenty of other dramatic moments, I take a look at my top eight moments from 2019.
1) First night fireworks in the desert
You wait what feels like an eternity from mid-November to the end of March counting down the days until we go racing, and when you get a phenomenal race as we did at Qatar it makes the wait completely worth it. As was the case in 2018 it was Repsol Honda’s, Marc Marquez vs Ducati’s, Andrea Dovizioso in a fantastic last lap battle as they had in many races in the past two seasons.
As the pair approached the last corner, Marc Marquez dived underneath Andrea Dovizioso but ran it wide, the Ducati man squirted underneath Marquez, though the Honda was notably gaining down the straight However, it was Andrea Dovizioso who for the second year in succession, took the opening race of the season.
2) Rins wins the Texan horsepower rodeo
When we travel to Austin, two things are pretty much certain; Marc Marquez will take pole and Marc Marquez will take the win. Going into the race Marquez had a 100% win victory on American soil, that was until this year. On lap eight Marc Marquez, who was well and truly in control of the race crashed out if the Grand Prix, leaving Ecstar Suzuki’s, Alex Rins and Monster Energy’s, Valentino Rossi to fight it out. Ultimately it was Rins who took his maiden MotoGP victory and becoming only the second rider in the class to win at Circuit Of The America’s (COTA).
3) Petrucci lives the Italian dream in Magical Mugello.
Mugello is simply once of the most spectacular places to hold motorsport events in the world when the sun is shining the sheer beauty and serenity of the Tuscan hills are like a picture-perfect postcard. Add in a straight where top speeds reach an astronomical 225mph (362kph) and wonderful corners (and corner names) like San Donato, Casanova, Arbiatta 1-2, Biondetti chicane. For Italian fans this can only be bettered by two things; a Valentino Rossi win or a Ducati win, and in 2019 they got the later after an intense last-lap battle between, Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, and Danilo Petrucci. The run into San Donato for the last time saw the riders three-abreast going into the first corner with Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso running in hot, Danilo Petrucci went underneath them both, and never looked back taking an emotional maiden victory.
4) Catalunya Chaos
Lap 2 of the Catalan Grand Prix will surely go down in history as one of the most dramatic moments in MotoGP history, although Marc Marquez was in the lead of the championship we were still at the point where it could still swing either way. The pace of the top five in free practice demonstrated we were in for a treat in the race, Andrea Dovizioso, Marc, Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo all looked as they could challenge for victory.
Jorge Lorenzo looked at though he was starting to find his feet on the Repsol Honda and got a blistering start, however going into turn 10 on the second lap the Spaniard made an uncharacteristic error, as he was on the inside braking to overtake Valentino Rossi, the gap got tighter towards the apex. Jorge squeezed his Brembo Brakes just a tad to hard wiping out all the main title contenders, Rossi, Dovizioso and Vinales, and as we all know Marquez took full advantage by bagging 25 points, and Fabio Quartararo taking his maiden podium.
6) Styrian Spectacular as Austria produces again.
Austria + Marquez + a Ducati ride = Last Lap battles. As was the case in 2017 Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso locked horns again in Austria, this time around it wasn’t Marquez the hunter it was Marquez the hunted and after a race-long battle it was Andrea Dovizioso who found himself behind the Honda going into the last corner. Coming out of turn eight, just as it looked as though Marquez was about to beat Ducati dominance at the Red Bull Ring, Andrea Dovizioso broke extraordinarily late into turn nine, pouncing as Marquez did in 2017. However, unlike Marquez, Dovizioso held it together and took a stunning victory.
7) The Battle of Britain
If I had told you the week before the British Grand Prix that it would be between 27-32 degrees all weekend you probably would have laughed and said “good joke” before paccking your bag for an overcast chilly Silverstone to watched some racing. To many peoples surprise though, it was record temperatures for the Grand Prix and the racing was just as hot. The GP started in fiery fashion as Alex Rins nearly high-sided, causing Fabio Quartararo to fall in sympathy and leaving Andrea Dovizioso nowhere to go and being launched into the air. Rins however carried on, and not only carried on but was locked into an intense battle with Marc Marquez, that saw the Spaniard leaving it till the final millimeters to pip victory by just 0.013 the fifth closest finish in MotoGP history and leaving the British crowd roaring in admiration.
8) Marc Marquez makes it title 8 in Brilliant Buriram Battle with Quartararo
I know Buriram wasn’t the first time Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez had a race-long and last lap battle but for me, it was where Quartararo showed he was a serious threat going into 2020. The Frenchman could have just sat behind Marc Marquez into the last corner, but he dived for glory and left it all on the track. It was not to be on the day, as Marquez racked up another title, but it’s perhaps a sign to come next decade.
Marc Marquez was absolutely deserving of the 2019 World Championship, as he finished every race except one (COTA). Not only this but every race he did finish was either first or second. Buriram was made even more spectacular after a massive crash in free practice left Marc Marquez in hospital for checks and struggling to get his breath in the moments after the impact, he then goes on to win on Sunday after a physical and intense battle with Quartararo.
Marquez leaves 2019 as the highest ever scorer in MotoGP history with 420 points out of a possible 475 over 19 races, and this statistic is even more spectacular when you realize second place man Andrea Dovizioso didn’t even manage to get 300 points, scoring 269 points. That means Marquez won the championship by a gap of just over 6 race victories. A part of me wants the 2020 World Championship to be a lot more closely contested, the other part of me is completely addicted to seeing just how far the Spaniard can go. If he wins the title next year he equals Valentino Rossi, let that just sink in for a moment, either way, this year has seen some of the best last lap battles and I’m sure we all look forward to seeing more of the same in 2020.
https://motorsport.radio/top-8-motogp-moments-of-2019/
2019-12-22 08:02:11Z
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