Valencia MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

Marc Marquez capped off his sixth title-winning MotoGP season with a dominant victory in the Valencia Grand Prix to secure the 2019 team title for the Repsol Honda squad. Petronas SRT Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo led for the first seven laps before being passed by a recovering Marquez and was unable to mount a challenge to retake the position over the remaining tours.

Poleman Quartararo had run side by side with Pramac's Jack Miller on the run to the first corner at the start but had to concede the lead to the Rocketship Ducati. He quickly disposed of Miller after a couple of corners and began to build up a small lead, while Marquez had to fight through from sixth after getting hung out at the first turn from second on the grid. Quartararo held a margin of seven-tenths of a second by the third lap, with Marquez soon up to second after snatching second from Miller at the final corner at the end of the previous tour.

The Honda rider slashed Quartararo's lead by a couple of tenths over the next three laps and made his decisive move on the eighth tour of the 27-lap race at the Turn 11 left-hander - squeezing Quartararo out to the edge of the circuit on the exit. Marquez immediately got his lead up to six tenths, though Quartararo was able to ensure this remained stagnant for a handful of laps. Then with nine laps to go, Marquez moved a second out of reach for the first time and would ease across the line for his 12th win of the year by over 1.5s.

Quartararo came under some threat from Miller after he was passed by Marquez on lap eight but was able to quash the Pramac rider's challenge and ended a sensational rookie season with his seventh podium. Miller's attention was soon turned to fending off Ducati stablemate Andrea Dovizioso for the final podium spot. He did so successfully and cruised to a fifth podium of the year ahead of Dovizioso and the Suzuki of Alex Rins.

Maverick Vinales' expected challenge for the victory never materialized, and he was consigned to sixth on the works Yamaha ahead of Joan Mir (Suzuki), his team-mate Valentino Rossi, and the Espargaro brothers - Aleix Aprilia ahead of KTM-mounted Pol. Jorge Lorenzo ended his career in MotoGP with his best result since June's Italian GP on 13th.

Australian MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

Marc Marquez seems to be making a habit of having race outcomes decided only on the last lap. There have been several instances through the season where the 2019 World Champion rider won and lost races on the last lap. The 2019 Australian MotoGP at Philip Island was yet another thriller which boiled down to the last lap as leader Maverick Vinales crashed out.

This win allowed Marquez to surpass the tally of five-time world champion Mick Doohan, making him the third most successful premier class winner of all time - and Honda’s most successful rider. LCR rider Cal Crutchlow finished second to make it a Honda one-two, while homeboy Jack Miller of Pramac Ducati claimed the final podium spot, much to the delight of local fans.

As expected, tyre choice became an important factor in the race - the Phillip Island circuit is known to really put tyres to the test. This is thanks to the layout of the circuit which overheats the tyres. Accordingly, the tyres used this weekend were specifically designed for this track by tyre supplier Michelin. Vinales and Marquez both opted for soft/soft, while others such as Quartararo and Dovizioso chose the hard option. Interestingly, the riders also took part in a brief test with Michelin over the weekend, to evaluate the new tyres for 2020.

Andrea Iannone of Aprilia put up a stellar show, even leading the race and pulling off two overtakes on Marquez. Aprilia is the lowest-ranked constructor and yet they were battling closely with the reigning world champion - surely this is a sparkling testament to the competitive quotient of MotoGP. Iannone finally finished in P6, with teammate Aleix Espargaro in P10. This is the best result ever for Aprilia in the history of MotoGP. In addition, it is Iannone’s best-ever result all season.

Aragon MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

Marc Marquez started from the front of the pack at Aragon GP which was also his 200th grand prix start. And to top it, the Spaniard finished first as well but with a fierce did rage behind him with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) completing the rostrum.

A lightning start for Marquez saw him beat Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) into Turn 1. Vinales slipped to P4 with Quartararo chasing number 93 on the opening lap but by the end of the lap, Marquez was a second down the road.

The opening lap for the fast-starting Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was rather dramatic as the Spaniard got a bit too excited at Turn 12 as he collided with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT). The latter crashed out with Rins dropping to P17. Dovizioso was up behind Quartararo, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) holding off Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) in sixth and seventh.

Lap 9 saw Dovi power past Quartararo’s Yamaha as the Italian now locked his radar onto the back of fellow GP19 rider Miller, with Vinales holding the gap to Miller at just below a second. Marquez was over four seconds clear and with nine to go, Dovi made his move on Miller at Turn 1. Vinales was still holding onto P2 but with just three laps to go, the red Desmosedici used the Ducati grunt to make Vinales look like he was standing still as 04 grabbed P2.