1. Marc Marquez (MotoGP)
It’s almost ridiculous that this was a weekend where we actually thought Marc Marquez might be beaten. The world champion was making his 100th Grand Prix start and none of the previous 99 had resulted in victory at Jerez. That, coupled with the winning records of Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo around here and surely his domination would end here wouldn’t it?
The signs were there in free practice that Yamaha were much more competitive and with seconds of qualifying remaining, Lorenzo seemingly had pole position in the palm of his hand. Marquez’s two previous runs in Q2 had come up fractionally short and his third run would come on his second motorcycle but the 21 year old produced another lap to flatten his rivals, breaking Lorenzo’s six year old circuit record and blowing his pole position time out of the water.
In the race, the challenge would come from the other Movistar Yamaha as Valentino Rossi sought to renew their rivalry which thrilled everybody in Qatar. Mindful that his best bet was to rattle Marquez and throw him off his stride, Valentino put a couple of forceful moves on the Repsol Honda but on each occasion, Marc responded quickly and decisively. Once Marquez had a second in his pocket, Rossi and the rest were beaten and you would have to ask the question whether they may be already admitting defeat in this year’s championship battle.
(Photo Credit: Repsol Honda)
