Alex Marquez crowned Moto3 champion in Valencia

After 18 races and 450 points contested, Alex Marquez became Moto3 World Champion for 2014 thanks to just 2 points. To round off a great year, his teammate Alex Rins secured third position in the overall standings.

The race was uncomfortable and, as had happened in recent races, featured continuous overtaking at every turn. At the front, Miller tried to keep the lead whilst Marquez controlled his rival. A large group featuring Kent, Vazquez, McPhee, Rins and Viñales were very active trying to mix things up at the head of the pack. Rins played a great supporting role, covering the back of his teammate when necessary.

With two laps to go, Miller and Viñales fought for the race victory. It went to the Australian, but Marquez was half a second behind in third place and had done enough to seal the title. Like his brother Marc in 2010, on his 46th Grand Prix appearance Marquez was proclaimed World Champion. This is also the first season in which two brothers have won a World Championship.

Rins crossed the finish line in fifth position, shielding his teammate to the end. Maria Herrera was less fortunate, and contact with another rider when avoiding another incident meant that she would have to ride with a broken gear shift lever from the opening lap onwards. Although Herrera was able to complete the race, she placed twenty-seventh.

Alex Marquez
“I am very happy. It has been a very eventful race, with some complicated situations, but yesterday I felt very strong and I knew I could handle those moments calmly. I was very competitive at all times during the race. Getting this title is the result of all the hard work we’ve done this season and is a reward for never losing patience and always wanting to get better and better. I wanted to win this title cleanly, and that’s what we did. I knew that if a difficult situation was created then I could play the same game, but finally we were able to take the title cleanly. Now the important thing is that we won.”

Alex Rins
“It was a race that I would do all over again right now. I had a lot of fun and time flew by, even though I did not have a good feeling with the bike. I saw that I didn’t have a chance of winning the race, because the rear tyre would not have lasted, so I decided to try to help my teammate. I shouldn’t forget that thanks to him I’ve got where I am. We’ve been riding together since 2010 and over the past two years he has taken a big step forward –that has made me grow as well. I have to congratulate him for the championship win and also thank the team for all these years together.”

Maria Herrera
“Normally I make good starts and today I took advantage of this. I moved up three rows around the outside, looking for a gap in the group on the first lap. However, at the end of the straight another rider fell and I had to dodge him, and in the process I hit someone else. The gear lever broke in the contact and I dropped back. The race was difficult for me, but under these conditions I’m happy with the lap times I managed to do. This weekend I have not had very good luck, but I learned a lot for the FIM CEV Repsol race next week.”

Source: Repsol Media