Thomas Lüthi
Márquez followed that win up by winning at Jerez, surviving a high-speed slide following gravel on the track following a crash for Thomas Lüthi. He also scored another win at Le Mans. Both wins were his first on the respective circuits for four years and gave him a commanding championship lead. Due to a crash at Mugello that lead dropped, before a 2nd-place finish in Catalonia, and wins at Assen and Sachsenring led to the commanding advantage being restored. The Sachsenring was among his most hard-fought in terms of his nine wins on the track, while he led a massive pack at Assen.