Jorge Lorenzo recorded his second consecutive victory in Motegi this year, but that did not stop Marco Marquez, who was second, from winning this year's title.
Valentino Rossi took the lead in the first corner, while Lorenzo also overtook Andrea Doviziosa, who started the race from the best starting position. Marquez started poorly and fell from fourth to seventh. The Honda racer soon found his way past Paul Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa, and a lap later Andrea Ianone.
Rossi held the lead, with the first four racers fleeing the Pedros, and then Lorenzo managed to overtake his team-mate Rossi in the fifth lap, gaining some advantage with a record lap time.
Lorenzo slowly increased the advantage, and Marquez overtook Dovizioso after a mistake by Ducati's racer and went on the hunt for Rossi. Nine laps before the end he tried to pass, but Rossi didn’t give up. A lap later, Marquez repeated the maneuver, which this time succeeded, but a 2.7-second gap yawned to lead Lorenzo.
Lorenzo won, and Marquez collected enough points to seal this year’s title, making him the youngest racer in history to win two consecutive world championship titles.
Rossi finished the race in third place and Pedrosa was fourth at the end after overtaking Dovizioso. Ianone was sixth, Stefan Bradl seventh, Pol Espargaro eighth, Bradley Smith and Alvaro Bautista were on the tail of the top ten.
Photos: MotoGP
If you wish, you can donate to us quickly and securely via PayPal. Every contribution helps us, your team World of Speed!
You can donate at this link ->Donate