This Saturday, November 12, marks the fifth anniversary of one of the great moments in recent MotoGP history and which culminated in a fourth MotoGP world crown for Marc Márquez, became at the age of 24 the youngest six-time champion in history. Removing the title in 2017 in his second ‘match-ball’ was more than a formality before the ducatista Andrea Dovizioso in the race that put the final point in Cheste, but that Sunday is most remembered for the acrobatic save to also avoid going to the ground like his rival.
Marc needs to be at least 11th to avoid waiting for Dovizioso to not win the race to celebrate his new title, his sixth and his fourth MotoGP. The man from Cervera went to Cheste focused on his task, he was very fast in free practice and in qualifying he took pole position which declared that his victory is on the right track.
He led the first three laps and in the fourth he let Zarco set the pace of the race, remaining two-three tenths, with Dani Pedrosa as bodyguard and ahead of the Ducati duo Lorenzo-Dovizioso. With seven laps remaining, Marc Márquez made one of the most incredible saves of his career, reaching the end of the main straight and braking later than usual, losing the front end and dragging almost 20 meters using his left knee and elbow. Turn 1. He pushed a little with his elbow and knee and was able to get the bike up and sprint through the gravel runoff without losing the bike.
Then the telemetry of his Honda revealed that he braked 30 meters later than in previous turns, took the curve at 153 km / h, in third gear, and when the front end disappeared, the front wheel slipped more at 50 meters and the inclination reaches 64º.
And this is how Marc explained it on Sunday: “When I came to the bend I could see it coming in too fast, but I thought ‘I’ll brake it, I’ll enter’. I put my knee down, released the brake and then the fork closed. I thought ‘Bye! But then, ‘boom!’ I lowered my elbow! I got leverage with my elbow and knee, and I think with the help of the fans (laughs), he got up.”
His fourth MotoGP world title did not depend on that possible zero because Andrea Dovizioso, his great rival, was never in a position to lead the race and his only option was to win and wait for the mistake by Marc. Márquez rejoined in fifth position just behind the Italian and just one turn after a big threat from Cerverino, first Lorenzo marked the pace of his teammate and then Dovizioso himself went to ground, finally finishing who is third behind Pedrosa and Zarco. The celebration of the giant dice, tricked and The six always facing, was another of the great moments of the day.
It was the most irreverent way to prove his fourth crown in the star category that put him behind the legendary Giacomo Agostini (8), Valentino Rossi (7) and Mick Doohan (5). Five years later, he has two more MotoGP crowns to his credit and is third in the all-time rankings. The following is to reach Rossi’s seven.
“We can say that this elbow gave us the championship. Because of the intensity and what it gave us, it is the Top-1 in the ranking of saves,” insists Marc, who continues to stand out, because in the context of what happened, that this was the best ‘save’ of his career. Two years later during the Pirelli test at Phillip Island he reached 70.8º, according to photos from Dorna and where he holds the record.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
