The Marquez brothers Marc and Alex made motorcycling history Sunday with a double triumph in the final round of the season in Valencia.
Marc, who had already wrapped up a second straight MotoGP
crown, set a new record for wins in a season with his 13th, while his
18-year-old younger brother clinched the Moto3 crown.
It means they are the only brothers to hold titles in the
same season and it can only be a matter of time before they are direct rivals
in the top echelon of the sport.
Alex, who will be promoted to the Moto2 class next season,
finished third in the final race, enough to hold off Australian Jack Miller,
who won in Valencia, by just two points.
He then watched as Marc overcame tricky conditions to round
off another triumphant season on his Repsol Honda with an emphatic victory.
He started from fifth on the grid after a crash in
qualifying Saturday, but quickly worked his way through the field.
Marquez eventually took the lead on the 11th lap and had
opened up a near four-second advantage by the time he took the checkered flag
from Italian legend Valentino Rossi, who clinched second in the title race.
Read: Rossi wins after Marquez crashes out
Marquez's teammate Daniel Pedrosa took the final spot on the
podium, while Andrea Dovizioso held off his Ducati teammate Cal Crutchlow for
fourth.
Marquez, who tied Mick Doohan's 1997 record of 12 runs in
the previous round in Malaysia, said he had been inspired by his brother's
earlier triumph.
"The truth is I am very, very happy. During the race at
times I was thinking of my brother and thought I had to do well," he
admitted.
The 18-round season has proved an all-Spanish affair at the
top of all the categories, with Esteve Rabat having already clinched the Moto2
crown.
