Marc Marquez completed a perfect weekend at Motegi, adding Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix to his Sprint victory and slashing Jorge Martin’s championship lead to two points. The title fight is increasingly shaping up as a duel between Martin and Marquez, although Bezzecchi remains mathematically in contention.
The Ducati Lenovo rider passed Martin before half distance and then controlled the race. The Aprilia Racing rider finished second, a little over a second back. Marco Bezzecchi made it a double for Aprilia on the podium in third.
Marc Marquez turns up the heat on the title race
A sweep is worth a maximum of 37 points, and Marquez took full advantage. Martin still leads on 333 points, but Marquez is right behind him on 331. Bezzecchi sits third on 284, well adrift of the two leaders.
Martin’s task is clear. With only two points separating the pair, any further swing in Marquez’s favour at Mandalika could put the Ducati rider into the championship lead.
The momentum has clearly swung.
Marc Marquez arrived at Motegi chasing, and he left as the rider every rival will now be watching. Winning both races in one weekend is the clearest statement a champion can make. Martin kept his lead alive with a second place finish on Sunday, but the margin is thin.
Behind the podium
Enea Bastianini took fourth for Red Bull KTM Tech3, finishing just behind Bezzecchi, as the full Motegi race results shows. Pedro Acosta is fourth in the standings on 243 points, a long way behind the leading pair.
It was a tougher day for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, with Franco Morbidelli 15th and Fabio Di Giannantonio 18th after a painful weekend.
The next stop is Mandalika in Indonesia, where Martin will try to rebuild his cushion and Marquez will try to finish the job he started in Japan. Stay with 12B SPORTS for coverage of every session.
One thought on “Marc Marquez Sweeps Motegi and Cuts Jorge Martin’s Title Lead to Two Points”
Comments are closed.