Marquez is the 5th time world champion

Marc Marquez has won the 2016 MotoGP World Championship at the Twin Ring Motegi track in Japan. This is the Spaniard’s 3rd MotoGP championship with two other in championships in both Moto3 and Moto2 under his belt.

Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda

The 23-year-old qualified second on the grid before the race, leading with a total of 248 points in the championship, 52 points ahead of Valentino Rossi and 66 points ahead of the 2015 MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo. Marquez’s win was one of the most unlikely considering the battle for the championship in this season.

 Marquez had a good start which allowed him to steal the lead from Rossi before the first corner of the 2.983 mile circuit. However, by the second corner Marquez was pushed back to third position with Lorenzo in first, before overtaking Rossi in the fourth corner.

The battle for second was getting feisty between Marquez and Rossi with Marquez aggressively overtaking Rossi every opportunity he got.

Eugene Laverty crashed out on lap 22 of the 24 lap race, but caused no inconvenience to other racers.

Marquez then boldly overtook Lorenzo, showing the crowd that he was on the charge and achieving the fast lap of the race thus far with a time of 1:45.577.

On the following lap Rossi overtook Lorenzo on the same corner Marquez made his move, pushing Lorenza into third position after his extensive lead from the start.

Jack Miller was the next racer to then go down on the first corner of lap 18, his 4^th crash of the season.

Valentino Rossi was the next rider to crash on turn 10 of the track, his right leg stuck under his Factory Yamaha bike. Rossi, however with the help of marshals, was able to get up and restart the bike, re-entering the race in 19^th position. But after all the effort, Rossi pulled into the pits with some bike problems evident. The cause of the crash was just a front end of the bike wash-out, causing him to go off track and into the gravel.

Hector Barbara was the next rider to crash out of the race on lap 16.

Looking back at the championship leader board, with Rossi out of the race and with the possibility of Lorenzo finishing 5^th, Marquez fast gaining the championship. Andrea Dovizioso currently in 3^rd and Aleix Espargaro in 4^th chasing down Lorenzo.

However, with Lorenzo being battered and bruised after a horrific crash during the qualifying stage before race day in Japan, a question mark was hanging over his head wondering if he could keep up the pace as Dovizioso started closing in on the current champion.

The battle for 4^th place was then the focus during lap 17 between Espargaro and Maverick Vinales. Vinales won the battle overtaking Espargaro and grabbing the last podium position.

It was only when Lorenzo then crashed out of the race, five laps before the end of the race, that Marc Marquez’s championship win was made final.

Marquez took the win for the first time ever in Japan with a time of 42:34.610, followed by Dovizioso in second, behind by 2.992 seconds. Vinales finished in third.

This is what Marquez had to say about his win in Japan: "It's incredible! Before the race I didn't expect to be Champion, and I said that here it would be impossible. However, when I saw that Rossi was out of the race, I decided to push hard for the victory. I was riding my hardest, and when there were three laps to go, I read on my pit board that Lorenzo was also was also out; on that same lap, I made mistakes in four or five corners, as it was difficult to stay focused! I'm very happy because this title is very special considering some of the crashes I had last year, and also because it came at Motegi, Honda's home. Honda has worked so hard this year, and you could see the fruits of that effort also at this track, where we've struggled in the past. I myself also improved during the season; for instance, I learned how to better use the front Michelin tyre. It has been a demanding year, but a fantastic one. It's great for my team, and of course I don't want to forget my grandmother, who passed away this year and would be very happy with this World Championship. Now we can just enjoy it and go into the last three races with maybe a more 'Marc Marquez' style.''

When interviewed by SuperSport correspondents, Rossi said, "First of all, I would like to say that I'm OK, fortunately no problems. On the other hand, it's a shame, because I was quite strong and I had a good pace. Unfortunately, my start was not fantastic and I lost positions to Marquez and Lorenzo. After that, Marquez was a bit faster than me to overtake Lorenzo, I lost a bit more time behind Lorenzo, but the pace was good. I was able to push a lot to try and catch Marquez but unfortunately I lost the front. Sincerely, I felt nothing - not too fast, too wide or too deep - but I lost the front and logically I made a mistake."

When asked about the Australian race at Phillip Island, Marquez told crash.net that "It's fantastic to arrive at Phillip Island with no pressure for the championship as the track is one of my favourites in the calendar along with Austin and Aragon. It's so fast and flowing and you really have a lot of fun riding there. One of the main issues to take into account there is the weather. It's usually very cold during this period of the year ad always windy, something that you feel a lot, especially at the end of the final straight. You have to find a setup to make the bike as stable as possible. We'll try to win some more races before the end of the year as there are also the Constructors and the Team titles to think of."

The next MotoGP race will be held at the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island on Sunday, 23rd of October.

Diversity in sports should be based on merit, not quotas

The issue of quotas in South African sport has been a topic of discussion on campus this past week amongst sports clubs and sporting fans. Racial diversity in Monash South Africa sports has been compared to the enforced quota laws that attempt to increase the number of ‘non-white’ players in South African teams. 

During the Apartheid era, ‘non-white’ athletes were banned from participating in sport and teams were selected based on race. As a result, South Africa was excluded from international sports due to sanctions. However, after 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections, the playing fields were levelled and South Africa could compete globally once again. Quota systems were then introduced to ensure that black players were included and given opportunities to participate, especially in most traditionally race-skewed sports such as rugby and cricket. 

In April, the Sports Minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, announced to press that he will no longer beg for racial transformation but will start forcing the country’s sporting federations to fulfil racial quotas. He publicized this during the release of the third Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport Report for 2014/2015. Even though the system imposes equality within sports teams, the methods have been met with mixed reactions. Due to some sporting bodies failing to include more black players in their teams within the past year, Mbalula told press, which included Stephen Grootes from the Daily Maverick, that he has “resolved to revoke the privilege of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Netball South Africa (NSA) and South African Rugby (SARU) to host and bid for major and mega international tournaments in the Republic of South Africa as a consequence of the aforementioned federation not meeting their own set transformation targets, with immediate effect.” Mbalula concluded by saying that he will review his decision when considering the results of the 2016/2017 Transformation Barometer next year.

The controversial South African Springbok rugby team in 2015 – Photo by Rajesh Janilal/AFP/Getty Images

Johan Smith, the Head of Sports and Wellness at MSA referred to the quota system saying that “if you look at the representation in sport codes like rugby, cricket and netball at national level, you will notice that quality players are being selected from all race groups. So, I will say that the process is necessary and successful.” Siya Mnyanda of The Guardian also agrees with the purpose of the quota systems saying that they are a way to “reverse the apartheid policies of racial division and systemic disadvantage”.

In contrast, Samo Nxumalo, the Student Representative Council Sports Officer says that “no one ever wants to stick out like a sore thumb and that’s exactly what these quotas are doing”. Nxumalo explained that teams are ‘forced’ to include black people in their leagues and that “it just gives the impression that it’s not that they want them there, it’s because they have to have them there.” She added that South Africa prides itself in the diversity it offers but it now seems like “pretend” diversity. Nxumalo commented saying that players want to be part of the team simply because they are good enough and not because the team doesn’t want to face law suits.

MSA is known for its diversity amongst students and has a vast variety of sporting clubs and societies. However, when the diversity was called into question, Nxumalo explained that sports clubs are diverse “but not diverse enough”. She elaborated saying that rugby is one of the only sports that break the stereotype as majority of their players are black. 

Considering what solutions could be proposed to address the issues against the quota systems, Nxumalo says that sports should be promoted as a whole and that every race should be treated “based on merit and not colour of their skin.”

As the controversial topic of the quota systems is still continuously met with mixed reactions, especially in the eyes of rising sports stars who want to be noticed for their talents, sometimes the agreement over sporting merit while pushing ethnicity aside is all it takes to get people to come together and join as one with a positive future-orientated attitude for South Africa.

For Fikile Mbalula’s full speech, click here.

Swimmer Kevin Paul Of SA Wins Gold

South African swimmer Kevin Paul has won a gold medal on Day 1 of the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Kevin Paul and Denys Dubrov competing for the gold (Photo courtesy of Bob Martin/EPA)

Competing in the Men’s 100m breaststroke, Paul started in the fourth lane after going strong in the heats leading up to the final race. With a strong start off the block and a good streamline under the water, Paul lead the race. However, Ukrainian Denys Dubrov on Paul’s right in lane 3 and Duncan Van Haaren of the Nederlands in lane 5 were catching up to the South African with a good pace.

Dubrov touched the wall first ahead of Paul at the 50m mark and Paul was put under pressure as the white cap of the Ukrainian had the advantage over him. However, in the final 15m, Dubrov and Paul were neck-and-neck, with Paul giving it all he had.

Just 8 years on from winning his first Paralympic medal, Paul reclaimed the title he lost in the 2012 London games in a thrilling finish just outside of World Record time at 1.04.86, just 0.0.24 milliseconds ahead of Dubrov. Paul won gold, Dubrov won the silver and Van Haaren claimed the bronze.

The 2016 Rio de Janiero games will continue until 18 September.