OMNISPORT

Marc Marquez said he had enjoyed "a perfect weekend" as he moved to within touching distance of a sixth MotoGP title with victory at Aragon.

The Spaniard opened up a 98-point lead in the championship by triumphing in his 200th race, finishing comfortably clear of Andrea Dovizioso after the Ducati rider powered from 10th on the grid to second place.

It was Marquez's day, as it has been his season, and the Repsol Honda rider should wrap up the championship either in Thailand on October 6 or in Japan a fortnight later.

The defending champion had qualified fastest at MotorLand and few doubted he would motor to victory, with Marquez never looking vulnerable.

"I'm happy of course, happy about the way we finished as we can," Marquez said. "It was a perfect weekend. I was clever, I was convinced about my strategy during the race."

He pulled away steadily to win the race by 4.836 seconds from Dovizioso, who sits second in the season standings but has long been fighting to finish the year as runner-up."

"I pushed a lot in the beginning and then controlled the distance and took 25 points in a very good way," Marquez told the MotoGP official website. "It was the best way to finish the home Grand Prix.

"I was very comfortable. I was riding in a very good way. I felt everything of the bike. It was very nice to ride. I'm happy. In Thailand we will have the first 'match ball' so I will try, but I know that 'Dovi' will be very strong too."

With five races left, Marquez need not panic about when the title is clinched, given it is now a formality.

"The target in Thailand is to try to fight for the victory, like every weekend," he said. "I know that 'Dovi' will be strong but we will try to give 100 percent, try to push from the beginning until the end of the weekend."

The 26-year-old added: "The championship is closer and closer but we'll keep going with the same mentality."

Dovizioso was satisfied with second, given he was unusually off the pace in qualifying.

"When I was on the grid and I was 10th, I saw too many riders in front of me and at the start everybody blocked me so I couldn't really gain a lot of position," said the 33-year-old Italian.

However, as others fell away, he began to motor through the field, achieving the satisfaction of having only Marquez ahead of him come the finish.

"[I'm] really happy because we needed that result, especially after the mistake in qualifying, for the championship, so I'm pretty happy," Dovizioso said. "We knew we could be the second fastest in the championship, but in the last few races it was difficult so it's really important especially with the way we did it."