Contenders Cal Crutchlow, Marc Marquez and Andrea Iannone all crashed, for no obvious reason, within a minute of one another mid-race, to the delight of those following them. For factory Ducati veteran Andrea Dovizioso, his skills, his bike, the track and the weather came together in the best possible way, allowing him the relief of a second premier class win, his first since Donington Park in 2009. The 2016 running of the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on the newly refurbished track went especially well for several combatants, and not so well for a few others. Those of you unable to forget are in danger of joining the small cadre of bitter Hayden fans who remember Estoril 2006 and still, every year, wear their pink “PEDROSA SUCKS” t-shirts to the race in Austin. Some of you, the lucky ones, have forgotten most of what occurred then and thereafter. The 2015 race will be remembered as the day Valentino Rossi allowed his machismo to get the best of him, such that kicking Marc Marquez into the weeds became, for a brief moment, a higher priority than winning his tenth world championship.
Nor for the fact that Jorge Lorenzo took second place to pull within seven points of the championship lead. Not for the fact that Repsol Honda #2 Dani Pedrosa won the race. The 2015 Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix will be remembered and talked about for years. LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl somehow finished fourth, coming close yet again to a final premier class podium to go along with his unlikely second-place trophy from Laguna Seca in 2013. Dani Pedrosa, in the chase for runner-up for 2014, crashed twice, putting his hopes aside for yet another year. Though the title had already been settled, the grid was taking the competition seriously, seriously enough that eight riders failed to finish.
I was there in 2014 when Marc Marquez added to his record collection by taking the pole and the win, with Rossi and Lorenzo giving maximum, ultimately futile chase in The Year of Marquez. Probably the best thing for #93 would be to euthanize this title chase Sunday under the cover of darkness, many time zones removed from home, setting up a triumphal fait accompli return to Spain. Otherwise, he will have to return to Valencia in two weeks for some kind of decider. If both #1 and #2 fail, lose to Dovizioso by seven points or less. His win in Australia last week left him with a short to-do list this week in Malaysia: 1. Exclusive to .įor the fourth time in five premier class seasons, Honda’s remarkable Marc Marquez stands on the cusp of a championship.
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