The 2016 MotoGP World Championship has been full of surprises on any given race weekend, resulting in some truly fascinating races so far. Now in the back-half of the season, we touch on some of the defining factors to take place between now and Valencia.

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Q: Will anybody be able to stop Marc Marquez in the fight for the title?

A: With a 53-point lead up his sleeve, the dual world champion is on target for a third title in 2016. Repsol Honda’s Marquez has been doing just about everything right this season and it’ll take a couple of disastrous races for anybody to be able to track him down. It’s not over until the final flag falls on the championship, but we can’t see anyone overcoming him by now.

Q: Who’s going to come out on top between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo?

A: Something about reigning world champion Lorenzo just doesn’t seem as polished this season, especially when conditions turn sketchy. Movistar Yamaha teammate Rossi moved past him in the standings last time out at Brno and should be able to accelerate clear from here, although he too has suffered from the odd mistake this year.

Q: What can we expect from Jack Miller?

A: Currently recuperating from injuries sustained at Red Bull Ring, it’d be a miracle if Miller can win another race because so many things would have to line up in his favour. But in saying that, they way this season’s gone to date, it’s not impossible. What we expect from week to week however is more top 10s and the possibility of a top five would be outstanding.

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Q: Should we expect any surprises before year’s out?

A: This is MotoGP and, as we’ve seen in the past, anything can and usually does happen. The flag-to-flag races when mixed weather conditions arise have been epic in 2016, however aside from that, we’re anticipating some particularly strong races from Ducati – again – and Suzuki between now and Valencia. Don’t discount some wins on the horizon.

Q: How will KTM fare in its wildcard with Mika Kallio?

A: It’ll be an important weekend for the Austrian manufacturer to cap off 2016, before KTM enters MotoGP fulltime in 2017. Valencia will be all about collecting data, because with Kallio at the helm we can’t expect too much of a result, so with that in mind, points would be mega.