Races – Report and results of the GP of Thailand 2018 (Marquez winner) –

2018 Thailand GP report and results (Marquez winner)

Races - Report and results of the GP of Thailand 2018 (Marquez winner) -

Marc Marquez snatched his seventh victory of the 2018 MotoGP season on the last corner of the GP of Thailand after an intense fight with Andrea Dovizioso. The Yamaha find their colors at Buriram: Viñales climbs on the podium with Rossi and Zarco on his heels !

 "It was very difficult to overtake Dovi, even delaying my braking more and more," said Marc Marquez as he got off his bike after the GP of Thailand. "I’m glad I did because the Ducatis had beaten me every time in previous duels in the last laps!" 

  • GP of Thailand:
  • GP of Thailand – 
  • MNC special file :

 The Honda official does not hide his satisfaction at having been able to offer Dovizioso a variation of their previous duels: this time, Marquez had anticipated the final turn to negotiate it better than his rival. "Dovi", author of too late braking, was forced to move aside and see the n ° 93 dive inside to move towards victory. Clearly, Marquez has reversed the roles !

The HRC driver – physically challenged by the stifling heat – clinched his 42nd victory in the premier class, his 68th in the Grand Prix, and increased his lead in the provisional from 72 to 77 points. "Frankly, I was no longer thinking about the championship but just trying everything to overtake Dovi", Marquez laughs honestly. !

"We did an incredible job, because we played the victory on a circuit where we had struggled in February: I am therefore very satisfied", consoles himself Dovizioso, who led most of the race before. to be attacked by Marquez five laps from the finish. "We were all at the limit on these last laps", also admits "DesmoDovi". 

The two strong men of the championship have once again given themselves some fantastic passes, under the eyes of the Yamaha riders… 

The return of the Yamaha M1 ?

Because it is the most interesting information of the weekend: the M1s managed to play the win on a circuit yet perceived as unfavorable. Valentino Rossi, who tested a new fairing before going back to the old configuration, is first, beaten on the wire by Marquez for just 0.011 sec !

Races - Report and results of the GP of Thailand 2018 (Marquez winner) -

The transalpine rider admits to being the first surprised by this competitiveness on a circuit where Yamaha had suffered during the discovery tests in February: the Italian sees a good match between the bike and the to adapt to the scorching conditions of Thailand..

In the race, the n ° 46 fully exploited this return to form shared by his teammate Viñales and the private M1 of Johann Zarco. The Doctor, who left in Marquez’s wake when the lights went out, took the helm of this new Asian event in front of a large crowd (more than 100,000 spectators announced).

  • [Video] GP of Thailand : Rossi and Dovizioso pass Marquez

Valentino Rossi managed to set a solid and constant pace for several laps, before committing a small fault which Dovizioso and Marquez took advantage of to pass him in front. The performance must be appreciated for its true value: Rossi had so far spent only thirteen laps in a leading position since the start of the season !

Rossi’s pace dropped slightly as a result of his mistake, while that of his teammate Viñales increased. The young Spaniard, who explains having found a better distribution of the masses this weekend, gradually gained in strength during the race to finally follow Marquez and Dovizioso.

Viñales very close to the leaders

"Mack", less comfortable with a full tank and new tires, was however unable to mingle in the "traditional" final battle between the Honda rider and his rival Ducati in the final laps. The n ° 25 lacked a little speed, perhaps also due to a management of gasoline consumption ?

A few laps from the finish, Viñales did indeed receive a message on his dashboard telling him to change the injection map. Generally, this suggestion coming from the box comes after the observation that the limits of the fuel or tires are starting to be touched….

The issue of consumption was very present in Buriram, as was the. These constraints are also at the origin of a fairly wise first part of the race and with very small gaps from the first to the tenth driver: each one managed his fuel and tire capital..

Viñales, forced or not to manage, in any case delivered a superb second part of the race to climb on the podium 0.270 sec from the winner. This is the first podium signed by Yamaha since… the German GP this summer. It was time !

  • GP of Thailand : Marquez wins with 0.115 sec ahead of Dovizioso

"I’m happy because we were very strong at the end of the race," said Rossi’s teammate. "We worked well and the bike behaved as it should behave every weekend. I can also improve in some areas," he said, happy to sweep the debacle of the GP of Aragon in this way..

This resurrection of Yamaha is validated by Valentino Rossi and Johann Zarco, who finish in fourth and fifth position, respectively 1.564 sec and 2.747 sec behind the leader. The Tech3 driver returns to a Top 5 he hadn’t tasted since his fall at the French GP at Le Mans last spring !

  • [Video] GP of Thailand : Zarco loses two places

The French rider – the first private rider to finish – fought like a lion to overtake Alex Rins’ Suzuki on the very last lap! A very good race for the n ° 5, who had nevertheless made a mistake at the halfway point which has him. What to find motivation after weeks of doubt.

Championship point

Marc Marquez increases his lead in the provisional with his 7th victory of the season: the Honda official now has a 77 pts lead over Andrea Dovizioso, while there are only four races to go. In other words, the title holder will be able to win the world crown from the next event, scheduled in 15 days in Japan..

Thanks to his solid Thai performance, Valentino Rossi, for his part, confirmed his third place in the championship, 99 points behind the leader and 22 units behind Dovizioso. The No. 46 also benefits from, shaken by a new high side during practice, which downgrades from one place in the standings to the profits of Viñales.

The two Yamaha teammates find themselves separated by 26 points, which augurs well for an interesting "fratricidal" fight at the end of the season. Especially if the M1 confirms its comeback in the next races !

Cal Crutchlow, sixth in the provisional, retains the place of first independent driver ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Johann Zarco, who returns to contact thanks to his fifth place: the British, the Italian and the French are held in just five points with 128 units for Crutchlow, 126 for "Petrux" and 123 for Johann !

Dani Pedrosa, while coming back strongly to the leading group, only appeared in 11th place in the provisional with 87 points. The Honda official is already several lengths behind the Suzuki Iannone and Rins which precede him in the standings. Difficult last season for the future retiree of the Grands Prix… 

2018 MotoGP Thailand GP results

  1. 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team (Honda) 39’55.722
  2. 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team (Ducati) +0.115
  3. 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (Yamaha) +0.270
  4. 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (Yamaha) +1.564
  5. 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (Yamaha) +2.747
  6. 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR (Suzuki) +3.023
  7. 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda CASTROL (Honda) +6.520
  8. 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Angel Nieto Team (Ducati) +6.691
  9. 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Alma Pramac Racing (Ducati) +9.944
  10. 43 Jack MILLER AUS Alma Pramac Racing (Ducati) +11.077
  11. 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR (Suzuki) +15.488
  12. 55 Hafizh SYAHRIN MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (Yamaha) +17.691
  13. 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini (Aprilia) +21.413
  14. 21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Honda) +22.802
  15. 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (KTM) +23.628
  16. 45 Scott REDDING GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini (Aprilia) +23.804
  17. 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Angel Nieto Team (Ducati) +32.507
  18. 10 Xavier SIMEON BEL Reale Avintia Racing (Ducati) +37.216
  19. 81 Jordi TORRES SPA Reale Avintia Racing (Ducati) +39.204
  20. 12 Thomas LUTHI SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Honda) +39.421
  21. 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (KTM) +53.388
  22. 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU (Honda) 2 laps

Provisional classification of the MotoGP World Championship

  1. Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA (271 points)
  2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA (194 points)
  3. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA (172 points)
  4. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA (146 points)
  5. Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA (130 points)
  6. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR (128 points)
  7. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA (126 points)
  8. Johann ZARCO Yamaha FRA (123 points)
  9. Andrea IANNONE Suzuki ITA (113 points)
  10. Alex RINS Suzuki SPA (102 points)
  11. Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA (87 points)
  12. Jack MILLER Ducati AUS (74 points)
  13. Alvaro BAUTISTA Ducati SPA (72 points)
  14. Tito RABAT Ducati SPA (35 points)
  15. Franco MORBIDELLI Honda ITA (33 points)
  16. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA (32 points)
  17. Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA (32 points)
  18. Hafizh SYAHRIN Yamaha MAL (28 points)
  19. Bradley SMITH KTM GBR (19 points)
  20. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN (18 points)
  21. Scott REDDING Aprilia GBR (12 points)
  22. Mika KALLIO KTM FIN (6 points)
  23. Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE (5 points)
  24. Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA (1 point)
  25. Thomas LUTHI Honda SWI
  26. Stefan BRADL Honda GER
  27. Xavier SIMEON Ducati BEL
  28. Jordi TORRES Ducati SPA
  29. Sylvain GUINTOLI Suzuki FRA
  30. Christophe PONSSON Ducati FRA

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