Randy Mamola: Marquez could dominate MotoGP like Rossi did

Marc Marquez's dominance of the 2016 season deserves a hats off.

The way he handled the championship until he secured the title was perfect from the start, with a difficult bike that was no match for the Yamaha or even the Ducati, going through the relief that meant winning two of the first three races (Argentina and Austin), to the defence he carried out until the halfway point of the season, and to its culmination, when the Honda started to handle the way he wanted.

Clinching the title with three races remaining in such a convincing manner deserves all the recognition for the boy, who has grown up and showed tremendous maturity for someone who is only 23.

Marc competes against Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, two of the greatest riders of all time, and despite being much younger than them and showing up in the first race with worst equipment, he has made fewer mistakes than the Yamaha duo.

The clairvoyance of his approach and his flawless execution make him the reference from now on.

Lorenzo won the championship in 2015 in the final race (Valencia), coming from behind and with a five-point advantage over Rossi. Marquez has managed the advantage since the summer and has made it grow until he was crowned at Motegi.

To give the achievement a real dimension, you only need to look back a few months. We are at the Italian Grand Prix. After exiting the final corner in the lead and after losing that race to Lorenzo due to the lack of speed from his bike, did anyone think an outcome like this was possible? I didn't, at least.

What happens is basically that we are living a MotoGP season that's similar to those in Formula 1, where car development has a key influence in the end result.

In this sense, the manufacturers have evolved and so have the tyres following Michelin's return. Honda has been, by some margin, the highest scorer in that exam.

As for the human component, we've seen a very mature Marc, but at the same time someone not shying away from close fights, which fortunately for the fans is what he enjoys the most.

We saw it in Japan, where he felt very strong on Sunday and accepted the battle against Valentino, whom he not only beat, but also took to the limit until he crashed. If he could do that it was because he had a two or three-tenth margin, something that confirms his bike's good form.

If Honda gets its right next year and if Marc continues to race as wisely as he has done in 2016, we could be witnessing the start of an era similar to the one Vale enjoyed between 2000 and 2005.

Although it's also true that the current competition is not the same it was back then, and I can't see Lorenzo, Rossi, Vinales or Pedrosa being happy playing second fiddle.