Marquez had been hungry for victory at round 15 but he rode calmly to take second place after a fight with Valentino Rossi, to get the points required to become the first ever Honda rider to win the title on their home territory.

“It’s an important day for the whole team, for Honda, for Repsol and for everyone who supports Marc. I think it’s been an incredible championship, I'll take these two, with the title last year and now this. Marc will have a big celebration now with his brother and his friends.”

Always measured in his actions and his comments, Alzamora revealed that he had given Marquez some specific advice before the race.

“Well of course he is already very experienced but I always try to give him some tips and in this instance he could already see it himself. We had to focus well in the Warm Up, he had to find a good rhythm and to be calm in the race. He needed to forget about Lorenzo and focus on Valentino and Dani and that’s what he did,” reflected Alzamora.

“It was natural to feel pressure. This is Honda’s home race and there had been the two mistakes in Misano and Aragon. In the first part of the race he was unable to attack as he wanted and that made it more complicated, but then Marc showed how clever he is.”