News 18 Oct 2018

Marquez in line to clinch MotoGP crown at Motegi

Spaniard targeting fifth MotoGP crown in Japan this weekend.

Source: Supplied.

This weekend’s Japanese grand prix at Twin Ring Motegi presents the first opportunity for Marc Marquez to clinch the 2018 MotoGP World Championship.

Marquez currently holds a 77-point advantage over Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, and with just 100 points up for grabs over the last four rounds, the Repsol Honda ace stands a strong chance of earning an incredible fifth premier class crown.

Japan is home to Honda’s factory, making it a special location to earn the title – a feat Marquez has previously completed on two occasions at Motegi.

“We have our first match ball at Honda’s home race, which is very important for our factory,” Marquez commented. “Of course we’ll try to get the best result in front of Honda’s people and home fans, but Motegi is a stop-and-go track where strong acceleration is a key factor, so we’ll have to work hard and improve a little bit in that area if we want to fight with Ducati.

“Otherwise, we’ll try to remain focused and calm and handle the situation as well as possible. The important thing is to ultimately achieve our goal at some point.”

For the Spaniard to claim the title, he’ll need to finish ahead of Dovizioso or not lose more than two points to him, or the alternative scenario would be if Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) doesn’t win the race while Marquez finishes out of the points.

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