Marquez ‘hates’ that people say 2019 MotoGP title battle is over

IF MANY believe the 2019 MotoGP World Championship title battle to be ‘over’ just half-way into the season, then runaway series leader Marc Marquez isn’t one of them.

With five wins from the opening nine races, the five-time MotoGP champion is enjoying the best start to a season since 2014, when he reeled off ten consecutive victories en route to second straight championship success.

Indeed, Marquez has been defeated by just three riders on the road in 2019 (Andrea Dovizioso in Qatar, Danilo Petrucci in Mugello and Maverick Vinales in Assen) and you need to go back an entire year for the last time Marquez finished a race lower the second place - at Brno where his 2019 campaign picks up this weekend.

With the margin to second place man Dovizioso swelling to 58 points and seemingly no dents in the Marquez-Honda package, many are already calling the 2019 title battle as over.

However, even considering his extraordinary 49 wins in 117 MotoGP starts (42 per cent) Marquez refutes this suggestion and believes he can be overhauled… in theory.

"The comment of 'this is done "I have heard it many times this summer, and it is the one I hate the most,” he told a press conference at the Allianz Night Run charity race. “I hate it because we have nine races, there are ten left. It can happen, we are not even past the half-way stage in the championship."

MotoGP returns at Brno this weekend 

The 2019 MotoGP World Championship resumes in Brno this weekend with the Czech Republic Grand Prix, where Marquez has won twice before. He will be joined again by Stefan Bradl on the Repsol Honda, the German deputising for the injured Jorge Lorenzo, who hasn’t competed since Assen due to a back injury.

"I hope Jorge’s recovery is going well and we will soon have him back in the team," Marquez added.