MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan 2014 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Marc Marquez has won the 2014 MotoGP World Championship after finishing in second place in the Japanese Grand Prix. Jorge Lorenzo triumphed in Motegi—his second victory in a row—but the story of the day was the coronation of the 21-year-old Spaniard for the second successive season.

The result was confirmed by the MotoGP Twitter account:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	42'21.259
2	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+1.638
3	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	+2.602
4	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+3.157
5	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	+14.353
6	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	+16.653
7	Stefan BRADL	GER	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	+19.531
8	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+19.815
9	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+23.575
10	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	GO&FUN Honda Gresini	Honda	+35.687
11	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	NGM Forward Racing	Forward Yamaha	+40.668
12	Katsuyuki NAKASUGA	JPN	YAMALUBE Racing Team with YSP	Yamaha	+51.027
13	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Drive M7 Aspar	Honda	+51.093
14	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Drive M7 Aspar	Honda	+55.792
15	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Avintia Racing	Ducati	+59.089
16	Scott REDDING	GBR	GO&FUN Honda Gresini	Honda	+59.508
17	Alex DE ANGELIS	RSM	NGM Forward Racing	Forward Yamaha	+1'16.547
18	Michael LAVERTY	GBR	Paul Bird Motorsport	PBM	+1'28.021
19	Mike DI MEGLIO	FRA	Avintia Racing	Avintia	+1'29.470
20	Broc PARKES	AUS	Paul Bird Motorsport	PBM	+1'33.253
Not Classified					Not Classified
	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Energy T.I. Pramac Racing	Ducati	Yonny HERNANDEZ
	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	Honda	Karel ABRAHAM
	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Octo IodaRacing Team	ART	Danilo PETRUCCI
	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Ducati Team	Ducati	Cal CRUTCHLOW

After showcasing magnificent consistency throughout the current campaign, it was always a case of when rather than if Marquez accrued an insurmountable lead in the overall standings. But to do so in Japan—the home Grand Prix for his Honda team—will have made things even sweeter.

Indeed, such has been his dominance throughout this season, Marquez could have tied up the title last time out at his home Grand Prix in Aragon, Spain. But he gambled on tyre strategy in changeable conditions and let a race victory slip. The youngster insouciantly put it down to experience ahead of the race in Japan, per Dave Fern of the Daily Star:

"

When you look back at the Aragon race on TV it looks like I was stupid to stay out on slicks, but when I was on track I was thinking there are only three laps to go.

But the tyres cooled down and I crashed. It's all about experience.

"

shizuo kambayashi/Associated Press

The Spaniard knew he could have secured victory in the overall competition with a win in Japan, but even a place on the podium could have been good enough depending on the finishing positions of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa.

In short, Marquez needed to finish ahead of team-mate Pedrosa, lose no more than three points to Rossi and no more than 15 to Lorenzo to be crowned champion. But things didn’t get off to the best of starts for Marquez, as he lost time off the line.

It was going a lot better for the nine-time champion, though, as Rossi surged into first place going into Turn 1. The Italian started the race in second position after a strong qualifying performance, one that was even more admirable when you consider the knock he was carrying:

Marquez found himself down in fifth place after the shake-up and with Rossi streaking ahead, the Honda man had a lot of work to do to manufacture a World Championship-winning position. The Spaniard began to re-establish himself as a major contender in the race, though, as Pedrosa, Pol Espargaro and Andrea Iannone were all passed in the opening laps.

At the front, Lorenzo had overhauled Rossi and after Marquez had moved in front of pole-sitter Andrea Dovizioso into third place, the Honda man found himself within touching distance of second and subsequently, the championship. But getting past the Italian is no easy feat, as Rossi was keen to showcase.

Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

The pair embarked on a thrilling battle, alternating positions at high speeds through a host of different corners. It was aggressive racing and for Marquez composure was critical, especially after big errors in the last two races. But the youngster held his nerve, kept a cool head and eventually managed to ease his way past Rossi on Lap 9.

It made for encapsulating viewing, though, as noted by the MotoGP account:

The Italian didn’t have an answer from that point on, and with Lorenzo now holding a comfortable buffer at the front following that prolonged exchange, the drivers seemed happy to preserve their respective positions; ones that were good enough to see Marquez lift the world championship.

He celebrated in style, too, as we can see courtesy of Crash.net:

And despite pushing him close this season, Rossi was one of the first to congratulate Marquez on his amazing achievement:

For the young Spaniard, this was his fourth world title in all formats at just 21 years of age and, such is his undeniable talent, you suspect he’ll feel as though he has an excellent chance of matching the career haul currently boasted by the vanquished Rossi. This World Championship makes him the youngest man ever to clinch back-to-back titles, too, as noted by the Official MotoGP Twitter account.

And the scary thing for the rest of the field is that Marquez is beginning to display an increased maturity to complement his stellar, raw ability. 

The Spaniard will have learned from the lapses at Misano and Aragon, and while he will have achieved his primary objective this season, Marquez can still break a host of records should he notch more victories in the remaining three weeks of the season. Given the impeccably high standards he’s maintained so far this campaign, you suspect further triumphs are a mere inevitability.

Here are the World Championship standings following the Japanese Grand Prix:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	312
2	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	230
3	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	230
4	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	227
5	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	153
6	Aleix ESPARGARO	Forward Yamaha	SPA	117
7	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	116
8	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	102
9	Stefan BRADL	Honda	GER	96
10	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	92
11	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Honda	SPA	79
12	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Ducati	GBR	63
13	Scott REDDING	Honda	GBR	60
14	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Honda	JPN	54
15	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	39
16	Nicky HAYDEN	Honda	USA	38
17	Karel ABRAHAM	Honda	CZE	33
18	Colin EDWARDS	Forward Yamaha	USA	11
19	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	11
20	Danilo PETRUCCI	ART	ITA	9
21	Broc PARKES	PBM	AUS	7
22	Alex DE ANGELIS	Forward Yamaha	RSM	7
23	Mike DI MEGLIO	Avintia	FRA	4
24	Katsuyuki NAKASUGA	Yamaha	JPN	4
25	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	3
26	Michael LAVERTY	PBM	GBR	2
27	Leon CAMIER	Honda	GBR	1