Marc Marquez seems to be on a path to glory as he secured his 12th victory of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship at the Malaysian Grand Prix, earlier this week. With this victory, Marquez has equalled Mick Doohan’s record for the maximum number of wins in the premier-class championship in a single season. With just one more race left in the season, Marquez has a real shot at registering his name in the record books by beating Doohan’s record, at the Valencia circuit, next month.
The 21-year old Spaniard scooped his 12th victory of the season after a race long battle with the Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, who ended up completing the podium for the race. After a lousy start, Marquez was pushed back to ninth position at the beginning of the race, though he steadily climbed up the order, snatching the lead from Rossi on the 11th lap.
Doohan, a former 500cc MotoGP World Champion, had set the record set the record back in 1997 by emerging as a champion in 12 out of 15. The Australian is one of the most successful MotoGP riders in the championship's history and has won five championships from 1994 to 1998.
After the race, Marquez said, “I’ve equaled Mick Doohan’s record (and) with one race left, maybe I can beat it. If I had a bad result here the pressure in Valencia would be more, but now I am free in Valencia and I can do well for my fans and just enjoy it.”
Marquez has already proved his mettle by gaining a massive 62-point lead over Rossi in the points table. The crown for the 2014 MotoGP championship already has Marquez’s name on it already, irrespective of the result of the next race. However, Marquez will be under pressure to score a victory in this next race, as an opportunity like this might not be easy to come by. So the question is, will he be able to ride the Repsol Honda right into the record books?
