MotoGP: Marquez finally beats Dovi in epic Battle of Buriram

Championship elect Marc Marquez took victory during Sunday’s inaugural Thai Grand Prix at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, fending off rival Andrea Dovizioso in a thrilling last turn, last lap battle. In front of an enthusiastic capacity Thai crowd, Marquez was challenged by Dovi at the final hairpin but got the undercut on the Italian to finally beat him, the first time in a straight head-to-head fight in the last two seasons that he has managed to get a hold of him.

Marquez started from pole position and immediately launched into the lead at turn one, ahead of arch-rival and nemesis Valentino Rossi and LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow. However, on lap 5, nine time champion Rossi blasted passed the reigning champion and took the lead to a roar of the crowd. Marquez slipped back to 3rd, as Dovi also got ahead.

However, on lap 11, Dovi got ahead of Rossi for the lead and soon, Marc Marquez also made his way through, the 25-year-old sticking to title rival Dovizioso for the entire race.

With 7 laps to go, Rossi dropped back to 4th as a charging Maverick Vinales got ahead of him down into turn eight. Rossi slipped in behind Maverick but would stay fourth for the remainder of the race, despite a huge look up the inside at the final turn.

With four laps to go, Marquez passed Dovi in the braking area for turn three but missed the apex and ran wide; ‘DesmoDovi’ straight back under him. One lap later at turn eight, Marquez made another move but Dovi retaliated straight away at turn nine and pushed Marquez out to the edge of the circuit. The gloves were off once again! The final corner on the same lap, Marc tried yet again but ran wide and Dovi came back through. The final two laps were now set up perfectly!

At turn eight on the penultimate lap, Marquez yet again made his move and this time made it stick, only for Dovizioso to successfully pass him back at turn 12. On the final lap, Marc made a dive for the lead at turn five, and whilst Dovizioso tried to push back through at turn six, he wasn’t able to tackle the title leader. It all came down to the final corner and Dovizioso made a desperate lunge to try and get through, ran wide and this time, it would be Marc Marquez pulling a wheelie across the line to take victory. Maverick Vinales held off Valentino Rossi to take 3rd.

“Of course I’m very, very happy today because it’s the first time I’ve beaten Dovi in this way. We were very equal, and my strategy was to try and attack in order to open a gap and avoid having it come down to the last lap. But Dovi had a very good pace and I was struggling with the front tyre, so I wasn’t able. Instead, I just tried to manage the tyres and stick to him,” said Marquez, now with a 77 point lead in the championship.

“Honestly, I wasn’t so confident going into the final lap because I’ve lost many head-to-head finishes with him in the past. But this time, we swapped roles—I used Dovi’s style and Dovi used Marquez’s style!—and that worked to overtake him on the corner exit. It was a great feeling to race in front of all the Thai fans, who cheered and supported all of us riders equally, really enjoying the sport and making me feel good over the whole weekend. I’m really thankful to them. Now the first match ball will be in Japan, which is the most important race for Honda as it’s their only home Grand Prix. Of course we’ll try our best there, but if it’s not possible, the main target is still to achieve the title at some point,” he concluded.

Marquez just needs to beat Dovizioso in Japan to secure the championship, whilst Valentino Rossi is 3rd and 99 points back of the title – still a mathematical chance of winning it with 100 points up for grabs but it is seriously unlikely.