Since before the summer break, it has been increasingly clear that it is when, not if, Marc Márquez wraps up the 2025 MotoGP title. (And a word to the wise: do not be fooled when Dorna try to convince you it his his seventh title. It is his ninth, but Moto2 and Moto3 are increasingly being pushed to the back of the closet like an embarrassing photo of someone wearing what was the height of fashion twenty years ago. That is a disgrace, as MotoGP champions do not appear out of thin air, but put in a hard apprenticeship in some of the toughest support classes before they get a shot in the Class of Kings.)
But when is a flexible question. For a while, it looked like Márquez could wrap it up at Misano, especially after a couple of poor races for his brother Alex. But then Alex kept on picking up enough points to keep the title open, including a win in Barcelona. (Admittedly after crashing out of the lead of the sprint race.)
So the title has moved on to Motegi. A win for Marc Márquez in the sprint race on Saturday would make it pretty much a foregone conclusion in Japan. And at the start of the race, when Marc got past his brother Alex and slotted in behind Marco Bezzecchi, it all looked set for Márquez to wrap things up quickly.
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