MotoGP 2016: Marquez seals title with Japanese GP win as Yamaha crumble

Marc Marquez's chances of winning this year's MotoGP world championship were looking good after his win at the previous round in Spain where Yamaha's Valentino Rossi could only manage third behind his teammate and last year's champion Jorge Lorenzo. A 52-point advantage over the Italian seemed enough for the Honda rider to nurse till the final race of the season. But 23-year-old Marquez was in for a surprise as was everyone else following the Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit today.

Rossi crashed out on lap eight of the 26-lap race around the 4.801km, 14-turn circuit after his pole position was negated by fast starts from Marquez and Lorenzo. Thirteen laps later, Lorenzo lost the front end of his bike and crashed out too with just five laps left while in second place and riding hard to keep Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso - his future teammate - behind him. And just like that, Marquez claimed his third MotoGP crown in just his first four years in the premier class and his fifth title across all categories in seven years of participation.

Wrapping up the title with three rounds still left to run seemed unlikely as both Marquez had some drama to deal with on Friday on Saturday. Free practice on Friday saw Marquez fall twice, although not as badly as Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa who was out after a big crash left him with a fractured collarbone.

Marquez also made crucial errors in qualifying that saw him take second to Rossi while a horrific crash for Lorenzo made his participation questionable. Lorenzo qualified third, however, and was able to take an early lead but was unable to keep either Marquez or Rossi behind. The former world champion did his best to stay within the top three but was unable to withstand the pressure being put on him by Dovizioso who had closed to within half a second when the Spaniard crashed out.

Marquez's Sunday ride was the exact opposite of the factory Yamaha squad that came away from Honda's home race with no points to their credit. After an early dice with Rossi and passing Lorenzo, Marquez came good on the potential he had shown with his long run pace in practice and warm-up by steadily pulling away from the Yamahas.

It was this steady pace that caused Rossi to push and try to keep his title shot alive in a year when he started the pre-season with talk of standard electronics and the new Michelin control tyres suiting his riding style.

It definitely looked like that at times as the famed handling prowess of the Yamaha allowed both Lorenzo and Rossi to take an early lead in the title battle with Marquez particularly struggling at tracks with a higher ambient temperature. But mature riding and knowing when to push hard and when not to allowed Marquez to overcome his bike disadvantage this year to reclaim the title he won in 2013 and 2014.

After the demise of the Honda challenge the way to the podium was cleared for Dovizioso and Suzuki's Maverick Vinales who will be moving to Yamaha next year to partner Rossi as Lorenzo trades Japanese blue for Italian red.