Defending MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez says he’s remaining grounded despite holding a healthy 36-point advantage in the championship standings just five rounds into the current series.

Multiple race victories and inconsistencies from his rivals has allowed the Repsol Honda rider to stretch out such a lead in the early stages, although the multi-time champion acknowledges that anything can happen in the 19-round series.

“It’s good to go to Mugello with an advantage in the championship, but we’re still in the early phase of the season and everything is very tight, so we must keep our feet well on the ground,” Marquez explained. “We had a test at Mugello before the French GP and were able to be fast and very consistent.

“That’s good of course, but you always have to wait and see what situation you’re in when you start working for the race. There are always question marks regarding tyres, set-up, temperatures, and so on.

“For instance, conditions will probably be warmer this weekend compared to when we tested, so we’ll just keep concentrating to try and manage well the usual ups and downs of preparing for a race.”

Mugello will host round six of the prestigious MotoGP World Championship this weekend, marking the first of two stops in Italy.