Marc Marquez the youngest four-time MotoGP champion after winning title in dramatic Valencia Grand Prix finish

Marc Marquez became the youngest ever four-time MotoGP champion on Sunday after finishing third in a dramatic Valencia Grand Prix that nearly saw the Spaniard crash out of the race, only for his nearest rival Andrea Dovizioso to see his championship hopes go up in smoke a lap later.

Reigning champion Marquez only needed to finish 11th to guarantee a sixth world championship, following his victories in 125 and Moto2, while Dovizioso knew he needed to claim a seventh win of the season and hope for a stroke of luck in terms of Marquez’s result.

Those hopes were immediately dented from qualifying, with Marquez on pole and Dovizioso down in ninth, but by the end of the first lap the Italian had worked his way up to sixth and was soon enough past the Suzuki of Andrea Iannone for fifth. However, he was being held up by his own Ducati teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, and even though Marquez allowed the Tech3 Yamaha of Johan Zarco to pass for the lead, he was still well in control of his own fate.

For once, Marquez looked as though he was taking the smart approach, but that all changed seven laps from home. Marquez re-passed Zarco for the lead at the final turn, only to run deep into the first corner and lose the front-end. With his championship hopes rapidly disappearing, Marquez managed to perform his now-trademark recovery, using his knee to lift his Honda back up mid-slide and save himself from a race-ending crash.

Nevertheless, Marquez had dropped to fifth, and suddenly Lorenzo’s decision to hold up Dovizioso looked a costly one. However, the following lap saw chaos break out for the Italian manufacturer, as both Ducatis crashed out of the race in the space of four corners with Lorenzo tucking the front at Turn Five before Dovizioso ran deep at Turn Nine and crashed in the gravel trap.

The carnage allowed Zarco to resume the lead, only for Marquez’s Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa to pass the Frenchman at the start of the final lap and hold on for his second victory of the season on home soil, while Dovizioso recovered to the pit lane where he was given a rousing reception from the Ducati team that had not been expected to compete for the title this year.

The day, and the year, belonged to Marquez though, and after claiming his fourth MotoGP title in the space of five years by a 37-point margin, the 24-year-old becomes the eighth rider to win the premier class four times and already has half the total number of championships to his name as record eight-time winner Giacomo Agostini.

Despite the pre-planned celebrations that Marquez had for his slowing-down lap – which involved rolling a dice that conveniently landed on the number six to recognise his number of world championships – he was quick to pay tribute to both Dovizioso and Ducati, as well as his own team.

“We had a really good opponent, we fought over many races especially with Andrea and this made the championship more exciting,” Marquez said. “I want to congratulate Andrea because I learned many things from him, especially mental. He was very, very focused all the time, and congratulations to Ducati but especially congratulations to my team because they did a very good job.”

However, he did also confirm that the celebrations would not stop there. “Of course now it’s time for interviews and talking a lot, and tonight we have the MotoGP ceremony but after that a big party. Tomorrow morning you will not find me, I will be sleeping all day!”

Results

1. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 46:08.125

2. Johann Zarco (France) Yamaha 46:08.462

3. Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 46:18.986

4. Alex Rins (Spain) Suzuki 46:21.692

5. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 46:21.942

6. Andrea Iannone (Italy) Suzuki 46:22.641

7. Jack Miller (Australia) Honda 46:25.212

8. Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Honda 46:25.355

9. Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati 46:34.067

10. Tito Rabat (Spain) Honda 46:35.145

11. Bradley Smith (Britain) KTM 46:38.960

12. Maverick Vinales (Spain) Yamaha 46:43.137

13. Danilo Petrucci (Italy) Ducati 46:46.201

14. Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Ducati 46:50.113

15. Hector Barbera (Spain) Ducati 46:55.828