Unbelievably, Marc was now leading the Championship as the next round got underway in Jerez. A gutsy last corner manoeuvre on 2012 Champion Jorge Lorenzo secured second place for Marc as teammate Dani Pedrosa took his maiden win of 2013. At the next round in France, Marc took his second pole of the season but wet weather on race day saw Marc drop back to 8th on the first lap. It was Marc’s first experience of racing MotoGP bikes in the wet but he used the opportunity to learn and he gradually made his way through the pack. After passing Lorenzo, Bradl crashed out and Rossi made a mistake which promoted him to 5th on lap 18. He then chased down Hayden and Dovizioso to claim a remarkable podium in very difficult conditions.

The Italian GP weekend was one to forget for Marc as he luckily escaped serious injury from a heavy crash in FP2. He was able to ride again for qualifying but was clearly shaken. However, starting from 6th in the race, Marc pushed in the race and was up to second but with just three laps remaining he lost the front and crashed out, unhurt. The next round in Catalunya was a tough weekend for Marc, who once again started from 6th on the grid. However, in the race Marc was able to push and again finished on the podium in third position.

On arrival in Assen, the temperatures were cooler and many riders suffered big crashes. Title rival Jorge Lorenzo fractured his collarbone on Thursday’s practice session and Marc suffered a big crash, breaking a finger and toe, in FP3 on Friday. Incredibly Lorenzo was operated on and returned to race, and Marc didn’t let his injuries hold him back either. Marc took 2nd place and an important 20 points after his DNF in Mugello.

The GP of Germany was a huge turning point in the season. Another crash from Lorenzo sidelined him for the race, as he took time to properly recover, and Marc’s teammate Dani Pedrosa also had a big crash – hitting his head hard and cracking his collarbone. Marc needed no other invitation as he dominated the race and regained the Championship lead as his two main rivals were forced to sit out. Marc continued this run of success winning in Laguna Seca – becoming the first rookie to win in there in the premier-class and became the youngest rider to win back-to-back races in the premier class at the age of 20 years 154 days (the previous record-holder was Freddie Spencer, who won the opening two races of the 1983 season in South Africa and then France at the age of 21 years 104 days). Again in Indianapolis, becoming the third rider of all-time to win three premier-class GP races in the same country in a single season (Jorge Lorenzo in 2010 – Jerez, Catalunya & Valencia, and Casey Stoner in 2011 – Catalunya, Aragon, Valencia, in both cases the three wins were from four races held in Spain). Marc also became the first rookie in the premier-class to win three back-to-back races since Kenny Roberts in 1978, who won in Austria, France and Mugello.

As the MotoGP circus headed back to Europe, Marc was on a roll and took his fourth win in a row at Brno, becoming the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 2008 to win four or more successive races in the premier-class and also the youngest rider to have won four successive premier class Grand Prix races. The run came to an end in Silverstone, when in warm up on Sunday morning, Marc crashed and dislocated his left shoulder. Fortunately he was able to ride and starting from pole, he managed to take second place – marking his 50th podium finish, which at the age of 20 years 196 days made him the youngest rider to reach a half century of grand prix podium finishes, taking the record from Dani Pedrosa who was 21 years 162 days old when he stood on a GP podium for the 50th time.

Marc was back to full fitness two weeks later in Misano and smashed the pole record on his way to securing his sixth pole position of the season. He didn’t have a perfect race but again, was able to take second place and another 20 points, maintaining his lead in the Championship, 34 points ahead of Lorenzo and Pedrosa. In Aragón, the inevitable finally happened. After so many battles and such close racing, the two Repsol Honda Teammates came together – only slightly – on track and the minor contact resulted in the rear wheel speed sensor cable on Dani’s bike breaking, launching the Spaniard into the air and his Championship hopes with him. Marc ran wide but remained unaffected and chased down Lorenzo to take his sixth win of the season and extending his lead by another 5 points.

As the Paddock flew East for the final fly away races, Race Direction pulled in the two Repsol Honda Riders for a hearing concerning the Aragón incident in Malaysia before the race weekend. The outcome was a loss of 25 Constructor Championship points for Honda and another point on Marc’s record (after the two received in Silverstone) – one more would result in him starting his next race from the back of the grid. The team moved on from this and had another fantastic weekend with a 1-2 finish, Marc in second but importantly finishing in front of Lorenzo, putting another four points between them and stretching his lead to 43 points with three races and 75 points.

With no time to rest, the teams flew to Australia for the next race. Cold and wet conditions greeted them in Phillip Island but gradually the weather improved and became quite warm by the weekend. Tyre issues for all the riders (also in Moto2) dictated a dry flag-to-flag race for the MotoGP class, with no rider permitted to make more than 14 laps on any one slick rear tyre. Marc needed to take 7 points or more than Lorenzo – and not lose more then 5 points to Dani – to seal the Championship. Additional issues in warm up on Sunday morning further complicated things and the rules changed once again. The new format dictated a new race distance of nineteen laps with a mandatory change of bikes at least once during the race. Riders were also not permitted to complete more than ten laps on any one rear tyre, meaning they had to change machine at the end of lap nine or lap ten. The race began well and Championship leader Marc held second position from the start, behind pole man Lorenzo. At the end of lap ten, race leader Lorenzo entered the pits – along with the majority of riders – but Marc did not follow, instead completing lap ten and then entering the pits before passing the line of lap eleven. Marc rejoined the circuit as Lorenzo came through turn one and slotted into second. Shortly after Marc rejoinined the race, he was shown the black flag – meaning instant disqualification – as he had exceeded the lap limit as set out in Race Direction’s earlier instructions. The team made a mistake, understanding he was able to complete ten laps and come back in before completing lap eleven, and the ‘BOX’ instruction on his pit board was therefore one lap late.

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