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Two titles on two wheels at 21

Mark HallamOctober 12, 2014

Two seasons, two titles: Spanish rider Marc Marquez has retained his MotoGP crown aged just 21, virtually monopolizing race wins in the 2014 season. Unusually, he had to settle for second on the decisive day in Japan.

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MotoGP WM in Motegi Spanier Marc Marquez mit Honda
Image: REUTERS/T. Hanai

Marc Marquez sealed his second MotoGP title with three races to spare on Sunday, finishing second behind winner Jorge Lorenzo at the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. Marquez only needed to finish in front of Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi to guarantee the title.

"Two years in MotoGP, two titles. It's incredible," Marquez told reporters afterwards. "I couldn't have imagined it. Maybe to people it looked easy because I am always smiling and always happy, but also I feel pressure."

MotoGP WM in Motegi Spanier Marc Marquez mit Honda
First in almost every race in 2014, but second place sufficed for Marquez on SundayImage: REUTERS/T. Hanai

The 21-year-old, already MotoGP's youngest-ever race winner and world champion, also broke Mike "The Bike" Hailwood's 1962/63 record as the youngest rider ever to successfully defend a top-tier championship on two wheels.

Marquez's 82-point lead over Rossi is mathematically unassailable with 25 points awarded for a win and three races remaining. The Repsol Honda rider has dominated much of the season, winning the first 10 rounds in succession and 11 of the 15 races this season. However, Yamaha riders Lorenzo and Rossi have shared the last three victories.

Marquez celebrated immediately after clinching the title with his younger brother Alex, a rider in the junior Moto3 class with a bright future of his own, as he displayed by winning the Moto3 contest at Motegi earlier on Sunday.

Recovery ride after slow start

He had a tough start to the race, slipping back to seventh through the first corner, while Valentino Rossi burst into the lead off the line. But Marquez was back up to fifth, and past teammate Pedrosa, by the end of the first lap - before picking off Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso in the early laps.

On lap five, Lorenzo passed Rossi for the lead of the race and disappeared into the distance, leaving Marquez to hunt down Rossi, second place, and his second title. The nine-time champion Rossi put up a brave fight for the Japanese fans, even re-passing Marquez when the Catalan first slid by. But by lap 16 of 24, Marquez moved into the decisive second spot.

MotoGP WM in Motegi Spanier Marc Marquez mit Honda
The podium of Rossi, Lorenzo and Marquez hold 13 top-tier titles between themImage: REUTERS/T. Hanai

With the title already practically in the bag - the open question was whether Marquez would clinch it in Japan or at the next round at Phillip Island in Australia - celebratory hardware was already waiting back in the paddock.

Lone German MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl finished seventh for the customer LCR Honda team - just behind Iannone on the Pramac Ducati, the best finisher not riding a big-budget works bike on Sunday. Home favorites Kasuyuki Nakasuga and Hiroshi Aoyama could only manage 12th and 13th places in front of the fanatical home crowd.