Honda's Marc Marquez took a nail-biting win in the inaugural Thailand Grand Prix at the Buriram circuit. The 2018 MotoGP championship contender managed to pass rival Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati on the final lap to take the win. The two riders were separated by just 0.115s as Marquez heads closer to the championship title for the seventh time. Finishing third was Yamaha's Maverick Vinales with the new aero fairing after a spell of poor performances in previous races. This was also Marquez's seventh win of the 2018 MotoGP season, and the Spaniard leads with 77 points, with only 100 points left to play for in the final four races.
Marquez led the Thai GP from the start, but Yamaha's Valentino Rossi managed to slipstream his way past the Honda on Lap 5. Rossi settled into the lead creating a decent margin over Marquez as the blistering heat made no respite for the riders. The Italian held on to the lead for the next five laps but a poor exit on the first corner of Lap 11 pushed him down to third.
(The last five laps saw Marquez and Dovizioso battle it out in the Thai GP)
Dovizioso was promoted to the lead as a result with Marquez following up into a close second. Dovizioso led the race for the next 10 laps and it was only on the final five laps that Marquez moved into a more aggressive mode. The reigning champion starting attacking the Ducati rider. Marquez attempted to pass Dovi on Lap 23 but ran wide, but the duo did manage to swap positions over the next three laps before the chequered flag. On the final lap, Marquez passed Dovi at Turn 5 and held on to the spot even as the latter tried to push his way past Marquez on the final corner. The rivalry made for a brilliant display of racing with the outcome uncertain.
Rossi, who was running third, was passed by teammate Vinales on Lap 20 to take the final position on the podium, his first since the German GP in July this year. Johann Zarco of Tech3 Yamaha showed improved performance over the previous races finishing fifth, ahead of Suzuki's Alex Rins and Cal Crutchlow of LCR Honda. The French rider was also helped by the fact that Honda's Dani Pedrosa crashed out on Lap 19 while running fifth.
(Vinales took his first podium finish since the German GP in July this year)
Satellite riders Alvaro Bautista (Nieto Ducati), Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) finished at P8, P9 and P10 respectively. Suzuki's Andrea Iannone finished 11th, ahead of top rookie Hafizh Syahrin of Tech3 Yamaha. The final points were taken by Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia, followed by Marc VDS Honda rider Franco Morbidelli and KTM's Bradley Smith. Apart from Pedrosa, LCR's Takaaki Nakagami was the other crash of the day with the rider remounting to finish 22nd. Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo is recovering from a shoulder injury after a highslide in FP2.
(Dani Pedrosa crashed out of fifth place but escaped unhurt)
Title contenders Marquez and Dovizioso head to Motegi in Japan for the next round later this month, which just might turn out to be a championship decider.
