Marquez is the 2016 MotoGP world champion!

Who would have thought? Spaniard Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) came into round 15 of the MotoGP title at Motegi in Japan not really thinking about wrapping up the 2016 championship, but that he did.

Marquez kept up his end of the bargain with a brilliant win in the 24-lap race on October 16 – his first ever at Motegi – but the totally unexpected part of the plot was Movistar Yamaha men Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo both crashing out. The double trouble from Yamaha was enough for Marquez to increase his lead in the championship to an unassailable 77pts with three rounds remaining.

Marquez, 23, has now won the MotoGP title three of the last four years, and he's the younest rider to secure five world GP titles, usursping Rossi and the late Mike Hailwood.

 “It’s incredible! Before the race I didn’t expect to be champion, and I said that here it would be impossible," said Marquez." However, when I saw that Rossi was out of the race, I decided to push hard for the victory. I was riding my hardest, and when there were three laps to go, I read on my pit board that Lorenzo was also out; on that same lap, I made mistakes in four or five corners, as it was difficult to stay focused!

"I’m very happy because this title is very special considering some of the crashes I had last year, and also because it came at Motegi, Honda’s home. Honda has worked so hard this year, and you could see the fruits of that effort also at this track, where we’ve struggled in the past.

"I myself also improved during the season; for instance, I learned how to better use the front Michelin tyre. It has been a demanding year, but a fantastic one. It’s great for my team, and of course I don’t want to forget my grandmother, who passed away this year and would be very happy with this world championship. Now we can just enjoy it and go into the last three races with maybe a more ‘Marc Marquez’ style.”

Lorenzo, the outgoing world champion, was magnamimous as he passed the baton to his countryman.

"I want to congratulate Marquez because he didn‘t have an advantage from his bike this year and he was the most consistent rider, so he deserves this championship," said Lorenzo.

Rossi, the polesitter, and Lorenzo, racing after a massive highside on Saturday, both had front-end losses: Rossi the first to go on lap six, followed by Lorenzo on lap 20. After Lorenzo's mistake, Marquez knew he only had to hold it together to claim the ultimate spoils, and he did that by cruising across the finish line ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Maverick Vinales (Ecstar Suzuki) for his fifth win of the season – and then the celebrations began, which included donning a special gold helmet.

Aleix Espargaro (Ecstar Suzuki) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) competed the top five, while Australia's top dog was local superbike punter Mike Jones, who received an 11th hour call up to replace Hector Barbera at Avintia Ducati – who had earlier accepted an offer to deputise for the injured Andrea Iannone in the works Ducati squad.

Jones finished 18th in his MotoGP debut, which was a baptism of fire with the late notice and then facing the multiple challenges of riding a MotoGP bike for the first time, on a circuit he had never seen before, and using carbon brakes.

Jones will also rde for Avintia in this weekend's Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

“I’m very happy and I can’t believe the experience of finishing my first ever MotoGP race," Jones said. "It was fantastic to be part of the Avintia Racing Ducati team this weekend. They worked so hard to help me learn so much, but definitely I gained more experience through the race.

"My start wasn’t very good. We tried a practice start in the warm-up this morning and I felt really, really good, but we changed the clutch for the race and when I went to do the race start it felt different, so I really struggled with the start.

"Once I got going, I tried to follow the guys in front of me, but I had a few small problems and I couldn’t get the bike stopped like in qualifying. But I just wanted to finish the race, no matter how, and I did it. I really want to thank Avintia Racing and Ducati for this opportunity and I hope to do it better at Phillip Island.”

Barbera was one of five riders to crash, the list also including Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) who fell for the fourth time in a sorry weekend.

Miller said: "I just made a small mistake and braked a little too late and lost the front-end in turn one. I tried to stay on the racing line but I was a little too fast and just tucked the front. I was pushing hard to stay in the group with Redding, Petrucci, Bautista and Bradl and it was shaping up as a nice little battle until I made the mistake and it was all over."

MotoGP results
1. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda, 42m34.610s
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team, +2.992s
3. Maverick Vinales, Ecstar Suzuki, +4.101s

Australians:
18. Mike Jones, Avintia Ducati, +1 lap
DNF Jack Miller, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda, +18 laps

Pole position: Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha, 1m43.954s = 166.2km/h
Fastest lap: Marquez,  1m45.576s = 163.7km/h

Championship top 3
Marquez 273 • Rossi 196 • Lorenzo 182

MOTO 2
The tight battle for the Moto2 title was turned on its head in the first few minutes when Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) and Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini) crashed on laps one and two respectively.

That opened the door for flying Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport), who went into finish a close second behind Tom Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) and now heads to Phillip Island with a 21pt (222 to 201) lead in the championship over Rins.

Meanwhile, Luthi (179pts) has now moved into third at the expense of Lowes (162) after his third win of the season.

Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0) finished third after just getting the better of hometown star Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), while it was a lonely fifth spot – and season best – for German Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP).

Other leading lights to crash out included Cortese's teammate Jonas Folger, Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Axel Pons (AGR Team) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team), while Danny Kent's gear lever broke on his Leopard Racing machine.

Aussie Remy Gardner (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) finished in the same spot as the last round in Aragon – 19th.

Moto2 results
1. Tom Luthi, Garage Plus Interwetten, 42m45.854s
2. Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport, +0.386s
3. Franco Morbidelli, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, +5.863s

Australian
19. Remy Gardner, Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2, +47.910s

Pole position: Zarco, 1m49.961s = 157.1km/h
Fastest lap and new record: Morbidelli, 1m50.788s = 156km/h                    

Championship top 3
Zarco 222 • Alex Rins 201 • Sam Lowes 162

MOTO3
Eighteen-year-old Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Honda) won his first race in over a year after pipping new world champion Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in a thriller. Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46 KTM) was third, although Japan's Hiroki Ono (Honda Team Asia) crosssed the finish line in that samed position before being disqualified for fauiling to meet the minimum weight requirement.

Binder – who wrapped up this year's title in the last race at Aragon – led from the start, with Bastianini only managing to pass the South African three corners from home. It was then a drag to the finish line, with Bastianini pipping his opponent by just 0.017 seconds. It was Bastianini's second victory in the Moto3 class, denying Binder a sixth chequered flag in 2016.

“In the second part of the race Binder started to push even harder, opening a little gap, so at that point I tried to chase him," said Bastianini. "I succeeded, although closing the gap was not easy: our lap times were very similar, but in the last six laps I really gave everything I could, and on the last lap I managed to catch him.

"It was a great feeling to pass him at turn 11. I knew that Brad would have been very fast in the straight, but in the previous laps I also saw him going a little bit wide on the exit of the corner that leads on the straight, so I tried to make the most of it. I took his slipstream and then I attacked him under braking. We did it, although it was not easy! I’m very happy: podiums are always beautiful, but the victory is another thing!”

Bulega led home Philipp Oettl (Schedl GP Racing KTM), with Fabio Giannantonio (Gresini Honda) finishing fifth. Bulega's teammate Andrea Migno was also in the mix for third place, but crashed on the final lap a millisecond after touching the back of Ono's machine.

Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda) was another to fall, his oopsie coming on lap one in an incident that also involved John McPhee (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) and Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA Racing Team KTM) as collateral damage. Navarro dropped back to third in the standings behind Bastianini.

Moto3 results
1. Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing Honda, 39m24.273s
2. Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Ajo, +0.017s
3. Hiroki Ono, Honda Team Asia, +2.654s

Pole position: Ono,  1m56.443s = 148.4km/h
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega, SKY Racing Team VR46  KTM, 1m57.218s = 147.4km/h

Championship top 3
Binder 269 • Bastianini 164 • Jorge Navarra 143

Next round: Phillip Island, Australia, October 21-23