In typical Malaysian fashion, the sun that had shone until half an hour before the start of the MotoGP race was replaced by a sudden heavy thunderstorm that did not last long but left the track completely soaked.
Marc Marquez, on a rain front Michelin tyre and a medium rear, got away brilliantly from the third row and completed the first lap in third place.
He was passed by Andrea Dovizioso on the fifth lap, and when he realized that he could not match the pace of the three frontrunners, he settled for fourth place which, combined with the achievements of Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow this season, earned Honda the 2017 MotoGP Constructor title.
It was the manufacturer's 23rd such crown in history, and the sixth out of the last seven seasons.
With Dovizioso winning the race in front of Jorge Lorenzo and Johan Zarco, Marc will arrive at the season finale in Valencia leading the standings by 21 points over the Italian.
โThe race was the most difficult one we could have had for the Championship because we had rain conditions and the track was extremely slippery,โ MM said. โAnyway, I got a good start, and I tried to push at the beginning because I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of the group. Then I tried to find the feeling and the pace but I saw that both the Ducatis were very fast, so I decided to not take too many risks, to be calm, and to getย goodย points for the Championship.โ
โI thought about trying to get Zarco but the risk was too big just to have an advantage of 24 points instead of 21. This wasn't the race to win the Title but rather one to get closer to it. I'm happy because after a difficult weekend, at a track where we always struggle,ย we still managed to finish fourth. Of course now we need to keep focused, to train well thisย week,ย and to work to be at 100% on Sunday in Valencia without relaxing too much with the advantage we have. Today we won the Constructor Title, and that's a first step!โ
