Dovizioso: Marquez's 2019 title run "something crazy"

Aside from a crash out of a commanding lead in Austin, Marquez finished first or second in the 14 other races of the campaign so far, clinching the title with four races to spare.

Speaking after Marquez's coronation in Thailand, main rival Dovizioso admitted the Honda man's results en route to his sixth premier-class title were "unbelievable".

"He did an incredible season, because to stay there and fight for victory in every race, and the worst result apart of Austin was second [place], it's something crazy in the MotoGP we are now."

Three other manufacturers besides Honda have won races in 2019, while Dovizioso, his teammate Danilo Petrucci and Suzuki's Alex Rins have both defeated Marquez in last-lap duels.

But speaking in Thailand Petrucci admitted it was difficult to see how Marquez can be toppled over a full season.

"For sure there are some riders that can beat him for a race - I was able to, I am one of the few this year - but his worst result is second. He for sure deserves this title, nothing [more] to say,"  said Petrucci.

"It's difficult to beat Marc. For everybody," Dovizioso agreed. "You can see from the first year he is in MotoGP, has been so strong, and apart from his speed he's so smart. Year by year he understood his limit and became better and better.

"And I think in this season he showed a lot of improvement, because he did fewer mistakes, and in the races he was always there, what in the past didn't happen.

"So, it's very difficult, but it's not impossible and we are working for that."

Dovizioso is likely to finish runner-up to Marquez for a third year running, but while he said his crew "has to be happy about" that, he admitted that the 2019 defeat stung even despite Marquez's near-perfect campaign.

"It's even harder [to take] because in this season he created a bigger gap than in the last two seasons," he admitted. "So, it's even worse.

"We can say just congratulations to them [Marquez and Honda] because they did an incredible season."