Jerez, Barcelona key to 2019 MotoGP title triumph – Marquez

Marc Marquez has pinpointed the key moments to his 2019 MotoGP world title triumph with victory at Jerez plus the dramatic Barcelona round as turning points.

The Repsol Honda rider has secured his sixth MotoGP world championship with four rounds to spare thanks to victory in Thailand, taking his eighth world crown overall, with the 26-year-old dominating this season.

Reflecting on his 2019 title success, Marquez feels his victory at the Spanish round was vital immediately after crashing out of the lead at the previous round at Circuit of the Americas. The win gave Marquez the world championship advantage by one point ahead of Suzuki’s Alex Rins which would turn into a lead he would never relinquish.

But Marquez took a firm grip on the championship fight at the Catalan round as he profited from an early clash which saw Jorge Lorenzo take out all of the Spaniard’s major title rivals including Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales.

“Jerez, after Austin’s mistake, when we won in the same way as we intended to win in Austin,” Marquez said. “There are 25 points, but you show your rivals that your confidence is the same, that the desire and mentality is the same.

“In Barcelona, we won the race and several rivals were unable to score. It was a shame, because it was not a mistake of their own, but they were the turning points in this championship.”

Marquez also conceded “an excess of confidence” triggered his off while leading at the Americas MotoGP, his only non-score of the season so far, despite rumours around an engine-related problem which plagued Honda riders that weekend.

“An excess of confidence it is when the mistakes can arrive. It happened in the race we least expected, which was Austin, where I fell when I was leading with a four second advantage,” he said. “It was a seemingly done victory and, because of how relaxed I was, I fell.

“That’s why you always have to be completely focused, you can’t get confused, and you have to learn from mistakes. It has been a very good year, but it does not mean that we can stop working.”