Buriram, Thailand - MotoGP champion Marc Marquez snatched the lead from Andrea Dovizioso at the death to win the inaugural Thailand Grand Prix on Sunday and take a huge stride toward a third successive title.
After fierce wheel-to-wheel racing in the closing laps at Buriram, the Honda-riding Spaniard nosed in front at the last corner and edged the Italian by 0.115 seconds to prevail in a thrilling duel.
The win extended the four-times champion’s lead to 77 points over Ducati’s Dovizioso with four races left, and Marquez can wrap up the series in Japan in two weeks with a win at Motegi.
“Amazing to win here after a difficult weekend,” Marquez said, flashing his toothy grin after his seventh win of the season.
“But the boys did very, very good work through the whole weekend. They give everything. So one more step to the final dream.”
Yamaha-rider Maverick Vinales finished third ahead of team-mate Valentino Rossi.
Marquez started on pole after winning his 50th qualifying on Saturday but relinquished the lead after a poor early lap, allowing Rossi and Dovizioso to pass.
Veteran Rossi’s challenge soon fell away, leaving Dovizioso to battle Marquez alone.
Picture: Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP.
Ducati had tested poorly at the track in February and it looked gloomy for the Italian as Marquez bided his time to strike.
With four laps left, Marquez pounced and snatched the lead but Dovizioso bravely wrested it back quickly to kick off a breathless series of overtakes.
Marquez appeared to have struck a decisive blow in the penultimate lap but Dovizioso again stormed back to take the race into the final corner.
In the end, it was a bitter pill to swallow for the Italian who has battled gamely but fruitlessly throughout the series to reel in a champion who often seems racing in a class of his own.
“It’s not nice to lose at the last corner but ... at the end we battled for the victory so we did incredible work and we are continuing to improve,” he said.
Binder fourth in Moto2
South Africa’s Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) finished a solid fourth in the Moto2 race after partaking in a serious dogfight at the front, sadly he dropped back after losing control under braking into Turn 5.
In the end it was Francesco Bagnaia (Sky VR46) who emerged victorious, taking his seventh Moto2 victory of the season and finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of team-mate Luca Marini, while Binder’s team-mate Miguel Oliveira, came home third.
Binder currently lies third in the Moto2 championship with 157 points, trailing Oliveira (231) and Bagnaia (259).
The Moto3 session was won by Fabio Di Giannantonio, who led home fellow Italians Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Denis Foggia.