#motorcycles

Sick of all the attention the racing gods were getting in the run-up to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, the weather gods put on a show of their own. They sent Typhoon Lekima barreling toward the island on Thursday, summoned a 7.1 earthquake on Friday night, and topped it all off with Typhoon Francisco on Saturday, making a shambles of the weekend practice schedule. Undeterred by the weather, defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo ran a perfect race on Sunday, winning against all odds, and setting up a meaningful season finale in Valenciana. Take THAT, weather gods!

In all likelihood, Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez thought he would cement the 2013 premier class title in Australia. The well-publicized fiasco surrounding the tires and the mandatory mid-race pit stop put that vision on hold for a week. How fitting would it be for the boy wonder to recover from the embarrassing Australian flap by winning his first 1000cc championship in front of the factory brass on their home turf?

Round 16 of the MotoGP 2013 world championship was all about the track. The new racing surface, installed at the cost of millions, provided outstanding grip for the riders, but was chewing up tires at an alarming rate during the practice sessions leading up to the race. Race Direction was putting out one-time rule changes at a dizzying rate. The last of these ensnared Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez, resulted in his disqualification, and left the title up for grabs for at least another week.

This MotoGP season has developed an air of inevitability. Not that Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez is going to win the 2013 title; that’s pretty much in the bag. It’s entirely possible he could win the next six or eight world championships. The young Spaniard may do for MotoGP what Michael Schumacher did years ago for Formula 1 – turn it into his personal playground, at the cost of much of its popularity.

For factory Yamaha double world champion Jorge Lorenzo and the Repsol Honda duo of Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix was going to be a statement race. Lorenzo’s intent, clear from the outset, was to beat rookie Marquez at any cost. Pedrosa, the victim of plain bad luck at Aragon, looked determined to prove that he was still a force at the top of the MotoGP food chain. And Marquez, on his way to the 2013 title, wanted the world to know that his brain is bigger than his balls.

MotoGP‘s annual Pacific do-si-do begins this week in oppressively hot Sepang, Malaysia, home to the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Combining high-speed racing and mind-numbing heat, it is the Pacific Rim’s answer to biathlon, the ridiculous Nordic merger of downhill skiing and sniping. Irrepressible soon-to-be World Champion rookie Marc Marquez needs only to hang around close to the front and stay on the podium from here to Valenciana to rule the big bike class of MotoGP in 2013.

Years from now, when racing historians ask, “Was there an identifiable moment when Marc Marquez made it clear he would become one of the all-time greats in MotoGP?” many people will answer, “Lap six of the 2013 Aragon GP.” Determined to go through on Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa at Turn 12, he grazed the back of Pedrosa’s rear tire, stood his bike up, and watched as Pedrosa lost control in a violent highside. With Pedrosa done for the day, Marquez went on to track down Yamaha #1 Jorge Lorenzo for the sixth win of his rookie year.

The 2013 MotoGP championship chase has now come down to the annual Pacific Swing, sandwiched between Aragon and Valenciana. A mere five rounds left for all the marbles in the premier motorcycle series on Earth. Seven weeks for Honda little big man Dani Pedrosa or defending Yamaha champion Jorge Lorenzo to erase the 34 point gap Repsol rookie Marc Marquez has built over the past six months. Good luck with that.

Factory  Yamaha kingpin Jorge Lorenzo kept his faint 2013 title hopes alive in Britain last time out with a stirring, come-from-behind win over rookie Repsol  Honda wunderkind Marc Marquez. That Marquez was competing with a dislocated shoulder on a track perfectly attuned to the YZR-M1’s characteristics makes his 20 point day almost beyond belief. Marquez’s teammate, pre-season favorite Dani Pedrosa, was reduced to spectator status on a day that put the 2013 season in sharp focus.

Factory Yamaha titan Jorge Lorenzo gave a clinic in grand prix racing today in front of a huge crowd of soccer hooligans, out-racing Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez to the flag in an instant classic. That Marquez was in the chase at all today constitutes a minor miracle after he dislocated his left shoulder in the morning warm-up practice. Repsol Honda #2 Dani Pedrosa completed the all-Alien podium in a result that was more style than substance.

As Round 12 of the 2013 MotoGP season looms, it becomes easier and easier to imagine the unimaginable – a rookie winning the premier class title. Repsol Honda phenom Marc Marquez continues to defy expectations with the composure and confidence of a seasoned veteran. Back in 1971, French humanist Rene Dubos observed, “Trend is not destiny,” but this Spanish rider may be the exception to the rule.

Repsol Honda wonder Marc Marquez won today’s Czech Grand Prix by 3/10ths over teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Yamaha double-champion Jorge Lorenzo another two seconds behind. Once again making it look easy, Marquez now leads Pedrosa by 26 points and a disheartened Lorenzo by 44 with seven rounds left in the 2013 season. Had the rookie not crashed out of the lead at Mugello back in June, this thing would be over already.

Fresh off his fantasy weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, rookie Marc Marquez leads Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa and the rest of the grid to eastern Europe for the bwin Grand Prix České republiky. Between 2007 and 2011 the winner here went on to win the premier class championship. Pedrosa put an end to all that last year, edging eventual factory Yamaha champion Jorge Lorenzo by 2/10ths of a second. Will the race revert to its historical pattern in 2013?

Let’s be clear. Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez is the new king of MotoGP. His decisive win at Indianapolis in Sunday over teammate Dani Pedrosa marked his third consecutive win for the 2013 season. It marked his third consecutive win in Indianapolis, having topped the last two Moto2 tilts here. And, lest we forget, it marked three wins in a row in the U.S., following Austin and Laguna Seca. Sunday’s win made it a veritable hat trick of hat tricks for the precocious Spanish youngster.

Repsol Honda mighty mite Dani Pedrosa was quoted last week as saying he thought the 2013 MotoGP championship would be decided in the next three rounds. His teammate, rookie Marc Marquez, sits squarely in the driver’s seat, leading Pedrosa by 16 points and factory Yamaha stud Jorge Lorenzo by an imposing 26. Should young Marquez avoid DNFs over the next three weeks and record a win or two, the 2013 title appears to be his for the taking.