ISTANBUL

Marc Marquez of the Ducati Lenovo Team won his seventh MotoGP world championship title on Sunday.

The 17th race of the season in motorcycle racing's premier event was contested over 24 laps at Motegi Circuit in Japan.

Marquez came second behind his teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who finished in 42 minutes and 09.312 seconds.

The Spanish driver finished the race 4.196 seconds behind Bagnaia, while Honda HRC Castrol's Spanish rider Joan Mir claimed third place, 6.858 seconds off the leader.

Despite finishing runner-up, he secured his seventh career championship title and drew level with Italian motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi on seven titles.

Marquez burst into tears after winning his seventh title in MotoGP, saying: "It's impossible even to speak. I just want to enjoy the moment, but it was indeed difficult; it was super difficult, but now I’m at peace with myself," Marquez said as he fought back tears.

The 32-year-old said he made a mistake returning to the circuit too soon. "I made a big mistake in my career, to come back too early (from surgery), and then I fight, fight, fight—and I won again! So I’m at peace," he added.

The 18th race of the season, the Indonesia MotoGP Grand Prix, is scheduled to take place on October 5.

The top five riders in the MotoGP standings are as follows:

1. Marc Marquez (Spain): 541 points

2. Alex Marquez (Spain): 340

3. Francesco Bagnaia (Italy): 274

4. Marco Bezzecchi (Italy): 242

5. Franco Morbidelli (Italy): 196