MotoGP Thailand – Marquez wins as Hafizh Syahrin is top rookie

Bruno Gomes

October 7, 2018

At the first ever MotoGP race in Chang International Circuit, in Buriram, Thailand, it was Spanish Champion Marc Marquez who got the best out of a two-way fight right until the last corner, beating rival Andrea Dovizioso by just 0.155s!

With this win, Marquez has now opened a gap to Dovizioso of 77 points when there’s now only 100 points left in dispute until the end of the season at Valencia.

In a race where the factory Yamaha riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi showed good pace and the Japanese prototype seemed much closer in performance to the Honda and Ducati, and finished 3rd and 4th respectively, Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso fought for the win until the checkered flag.

Dovizioso was in front in the beginning of the final lap and managed to fend off Marquez at Turn 3. But the Italian rider then left the door open a couple of corners later, and the Honda rider slipped through and was in the lead until the final corner, when Dovizioso tried to get back in front with one last maneuver. That move didn’t work, and Marquez crossed the finish line first, Andrea Dovizioso second and as we told already, Maverick Viñales stepped back into the podium for the first time since July at the German GP.

As for Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech3), he finished the Thailand GP in 12th, which means he got the honors of being the best MotoGP rookie today.

Hafizh Syahrin showed an amazing performance at the hot Chang International Circuit. Launching his 15th MotoGP race from P18, he found an impressive rhythm after the first laps and passed one opponent after another, picking up four important points in the championship

“I’m really happy to be back in the points. In the beginning of the weekend, FP1 until Qualifying, I was always in P18, so I felt a bit disappointed to myself, but I never gave up. I was really working hard with the team and they believed in me, which is what I needed. In the beginning of the race, my bike was overheating. The oil temperature was too hot and I didn’t feel the power of the bike. I tried to understand and try to think what I can do, so I decided not to use any slipstream because the bike was so hot. So, I first passed Nakagami and thought I can catch up with Morbidelli, I passed him and then I tried to keep the rhythm. I was really consistent. But still, I need to work hard in the next rounds and try to get closer to Morbidelli again. Now we made two points on him, but it’s still five to go, so we have to try to be in front of him for the rest of the season. Now we start to believe in our capacity, the bike worked well, I chose the right tyre and overall, we were working very well. I’m truly happy”, said Syahrin who now sits in 18th in the championship.

Next race is just in a week from now, in Motegi, Japan.