Márquez dominated the 2018 season, in spite of the narrow time margins in the MotoGP field, increasing his number of race wins compared to the previous two championship seasons.
He started the year off by narrowly falling short of Andrea Dovizioso off the final corner in Qatar, before a controversial performance resulting in three penalties and causing Valentino Rossi to crash led to Márquez being stripped of a fifth-place finish in Argentina.
Following a grid penalty of three positions for impeding Maverick Viñales costing Márquez pole position in the United States.

Márquez followed that win up by winning at Jerez, surviving a high-speed slide following gravel on the track following a crash for Thomas Lüthi.
He also scored another win at Le Mans.
Both wins were his first on the respective circuits for four years and gave him a commanding championship lead.
Due to a crash at Mugello that lead dropped, before a 2nd-place finish in Catalonia, and wins at Assen and Sachsenring led to the commanding advantage being restored.
The Sachsenring was among his most hard-fought in terms of his nine wins on the track, while he led a massive pack at Assen.

After the summer break, Ducati won successive races at Brno and in Austria.
Márquez finished third in the Czech event, whereas he narrowly lost to Jorge Lorenzo on the final lap in Austria.
With the Brno race winner Dovizioso finishing third in Austria, the championship lead remained strong.
Following the British event being cancelled due to dangerous track conditions, Ducati took the third consecutive win at Misano with Dovizioso leading Márquez across the line.

Márquez sealed the championship after three successive hard-fought wins in duels with Dovizioso.
The races at Aragon, Thailand and Japan all had in common that Dovizioso led from early in the race, until Márquez made successful late passes and held the Italian rider off.
In Japan, Dovizioso fell on the penultimate lap trying to catch Márquez to attempt a re-pass, which left him without points and sealed Márquez' title once he dropped back out of the points, with Márquez cruising home for his third consecutive win and eighth overall.
With three rounds to spare, Márquez reached his fifth overall MotoGP title, and sealed a third title in a row, the first rider to do so since Valentino Rossi won five in a row in the early 2000s.

He qualified on pole position in Australia, but in lap 7 he was overtaken by Andrea Dovizioso and Jack Miller, and three laps later the rear end of Márquez' bike was struck by Johann Zarco, which caused Zarco to crash and Márquez seat to malfunction, ending his race.
In Malaysia, he started on seventh place, but took a ninth victory after race leader Valentino Rossi crashed out in a close battle with Márquez, who had chased him down to just a few tenths of a second, finishing only in 18th place.
However, at the final race of the season at Valencia, he crashed out of the race having chosen harder wet tyres than the opposition on the soaked track.

At the end of the season, Márquez' MotoGP victory total, 44, placed him in the top five in wins all time and second for Honda in the premier class.
Márquez dominated the 2018 season, in spite of the narrow time margins in the MotoGP field, increasing his number of race wins compared to the previous two championship seasons. He started the year off by narrowly falling short of Andrea Dovizioso off the final corner in Qatar, before a controversial performance resulting in three penalties and causing Valentino Rossi to crash led to Márquez being stripped of a fifth-place finish in Argentina. Following a grid penalty of three positions for impeding Maverick Viñales costing Márquez pole position in the United States.
Márquez followed that win up by winning at Jerez, surviving a high-speed slide following gravel on the track following a crash for Thomas Lüthi. He also scored another win at Le Mans. Both wins were his first on the respective circuits for four years and gave him a commanding championship lead. Due to a crash at Mugello that lead dropped, before a 2nd-place finish in Catalonia, and wins at Assen and Sachsenring led to the commanding advantage being restored. The Sachsenring was among his most hard-fought in terms of his nine wins on the track, while he led a massive pack at Assen.
After the summer break, Ducati won successive races at Brno and in Austria. Márquez finished third in the Czech event, whereas he narrowly lost to Jorge Lorenzo on the final lap in Austria. With the Brno race winner Dovizioso finishing third in Austria, the championship lead remained strong. Following the British event being cancelled due to dangerous track conditions, Ducati took the third consecutive win at Misano with Dovizioso leading Márquez across the line.
Márquez sealed the championship after three successive hard-fought wins in duels with Dovizioso. The races at Aragon, Thailand and Japan all had in common that Dovizioso led from early in the race, until Márquez made successful late passes and held the Italian rider off. In Japan, Dovizioso fell on the penultimate lap trying to catch Márquez to attempt a re-pass, which left him without points and sealed Márquez' title once he dropped back out of the points, with Márquez cruising home for his third consecutive win and eighth overall. With three rounds to spare, Márquez reached his fifth overall MotoGP title, and sealed a third title in a row, the first rider to do so since Valentino Rossi won five in a row in the early 2000s.
He qualified on pole position in Australia, but in lap 7 he was overtaken by Andrea Dovizioso and Jack Miller, and three laps later the rear end of Márquez' bike was struck by Johann Zarco, which caused Zarco to crash and Márquez seat to malfunction, ending his race. In Malaysia, he started on seventh place, but took a ninth victory after race leader Valentino Rossi crashed out in a close battle with Márquez, who had chased him down to just a few tenths of a second, finishing only in 18th place. However, at the final race of the season at Valencia, he crashed out of the race having chosen harder wet tyres than the opposition on the soaked track.
At the end of the season, Márquez' MotoGP victory total, 44, placed him in the top five in wins all time and second for Honda in the premier class.
Marc Márquez