Marc Marquez Bursts Into Tears After Winning 7th MotoGP World Title | Watch

Marc Marquez celebrates after winning his 7th world title. (Screengrab/AP)

Completing a remarkable comeback, Marc Marquez secured his first world title since 2019 after finishing second in the Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. The Spaniard has now won seven world titles.

He finished behind fellow Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia, with five events remaining in the ongoing season.

This victory marked the end of a challenging journey with injuries that began when he broke his right arm in 2020, nearly forcing him to retire. The 32-year-old described his title as “written in the stars” but admitted having doubts about his return to the top.

“Of course I feel happy but the first feeling is that I feel at peace with myself,” he said. “It was Marc against Marc for five years, Marc against injury, but the mental struggle was especially tough. I made some very difficult decisions but closed the circle perfectly,” he added.

Marquez has been in outstanding form all year, knowing that finishing first or second would secure the title regardless of where his brother and closest championship rival Alex finished. He clinched the world championship in Japan for the fourth time in his career, following 2014, 2016, and 2018, equalling Italian motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi’s seven titles.

After crossing the finish line, Marquez raised both arms in celebration before breaking into tears and shouting as the magnitude of his achievement set in.

“One of the good things about humans is that you can’t forget the bad moments,” he said. “It’s difficult to forget because even today, I feel it sometimes. But the dream has come true.”

Marquez has 11 grand prix wins this year, and his championship points total was already a single-season record for a MotoGP rider before the Japan weekend.

Bagnaia claimed only his second grand prix win of what has been a frustrating season for the two-time world champion. The Italian also won the Saturday sprint and seemed back to his best all weekend.

He praised Marquez’s accomplishment, saying he “did amazing things this season”.

“He started in a fantastic way, then he had two or three races where he needed to calm down a bit,” said Bagnaia. “Then he was a machine for the rest of the season, so congratulations to him.”

Bagnaia started the race from pole position and maintained his lead into the first turn, with Marquez holding his third-place grid position.

Marquez overtook Pedro Acosta to move into second just before the halfway mark, securing his path to the title. Bagnaia had a scare when smoke started coming from his Ducati with around nine laps remaining, but he held on to win in Japan for the second consecutive year.

Honda’s Joan Mir finished third, followed by Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi. Alex Marquez finished sixth.

Marquez, in his first season with Ducati, described it as “a very long journey” to the championship. “We made some difficult, important decisions but always followed my instincts,” he said. “The people around me helped a lot to make those decisions, but only to give me the chance to follow my instincts.”

Outgoing world champion Jorge Martin was ruled out of the grand prix after fracturing his collarbone in a crash with teammate Bezzecchi during Saturday’s sprint. Trackhouse’s Japanese rider Ai Ogura was denied a first MotoGP appearance at his home grand prix after withdrawing from the race due to a hand injury.

With AFP Inputs