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Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez pipped Factory Ducati Rider Andrea Dovizioso in a thrilling final lap finish in the inaugural Thai Grand Prix.
After being kept at bay by Dovizioso for long at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Marquez played his last move at the last corner to beat his arch-rival and a distant contender for this year's title- Dovizioso by 0.115s. Factory Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales put up a wonderful show and managed to end at the podium behind Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso.
This was Marquez's seventh win of the season. With this win, Marc Marquez equalled the Jorge Lorenzo's cumulative record of wins across all classes.
Marc Marquez led the race from the start but Valentino Rossi managed to overtake the Repsol Honda rider in the 5th lap in the turn-1. Rossi rode aggressively and managed to stay in the first place for next five laps and extended his lead over Marquez and Dovizioso. Soon, Dovizioso sneaked past Marquez in the same lap, pushing him down to the third place.
Rossi made a poor exit in the turn-1 of the 11th lap and was instantly pushed down by the relentless Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez.
Marquez's teammate Dani Pedrosa was running in the 7th place before edging past the Factory Suzuki rider Alex Rins. He later joined the pack of Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Vinales, running in the 4th and 5th place respectively. However, Pedrosa crashed coming out of turn-5 in the 19th lap.
On the other side, Maverick Vinales advanced gradually up to the 4th place and was gaining pace with each passing lap. Sighting the dropping pace of Rossi, Maverick Vinales overtook Rossi in the second last turn of lap-20.
Final few laps was a 'cat and mouse' between Marquez and Dovizioso. The quartet of Dovizioso, Marquez, Vinales, and Rossi came very close to each other in the last corner of the last lap. However, Marquez eventually edged past Dovi and Vinales managed to stay ahead of Rossi before the finish.
New aero fairings brought some respite for the Yamaha riders. Factory Yamaha had a good weekend with decent results in both Qualifying and the race.
Race Result
