Can Marquez claim the 2018 MotoGP title in Motegi?

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has done it before and wrapped up the title on the home turf of manufacturer Honda, and in 2018 he has chance to do it again in the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.

Located in a mountainous area, the Twin Ring Motegi circuit consists of a 2.5 km banked oval and a classic 4.8 km road course built to international standards. Constructed by Honda as a test facility in August 1997, the road circuit became home to MotoGP in 1999. Twin Ring Motegi, which is around 100km from Tokyo’s Narita airport and 30km from Mito, is the venue for the Honda Museum, as well as a safety and riding school, dirt-track and go-kart tracks, a hotel, a restaurant, shops and event halls.

Twin Ring Motegi Circuit – Japan

If Marquez scores points and finishes ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and if he doesn’t concede more than two points to Dovizioso and 24 to Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Marquez is Champion and takes his seventh crown. The hard-braking behemoth of the Twin Ring Motegi could decide everything.

Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez enthused, “We have our first match ball at Honda’s home race, which is very important for our Factory. 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.”

The mission for Dovizioso is clear, then. He has to be ahead of Marquez and the best case scenario is to win. He has good form at the venue including two poles – 2010 and 2014 – and two podiums, one of which was a win, last season. And who could forget the stunning showdown in the rain as Marquez and Dovizioso dueled it out? The Italian certainly won’t, nor the fact that he won it in style. Despite the Spaniard fighting back last time out, Dovi remains ahead in their last lap showdowns.

Andrea Dovizioso

Andrea Dovizioso explaining, “After the Buriram result I think that the title battle is almost over, and even though it’s not yet a mathematical certainty, we will of course be fully committed in the next few races. Together with my team, we are able to understand some new important details in every race, and so we’ll continue working this way also at Motegi, where our aim is to win. I like the Japanese track a lot and our Desmosedici is always efficient in braking and acceleration there, so I can’t wait to get out on track and try and get payback on Marquez.”

So what of Valentino Rossi? The Italian remains third by virtue of consistency and consistently getting the best from the package, despite some struggles for Yamaha of late. He needs to go big to play a big part in the title decider, but like most venues, he’s a former winner at Motegi – that’s a given.

Valentino Rossi

Could Thailand have been a turning point for Yamaha too? Both Rossi, who came fourth at Buriram, and teammate Maverick Viñales, who locked out the podium, had much improved pace there – and that despite the hot temperatures and high tyre wear.

They’ll hope to be a force to be reckoned with as it’s their home race and also the home track of arch rivals Honda – something also true of Hamamatsu factory Suzuki and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone.

Alex Rins

One unknown quantity who could have a big say in the weekend is Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team). Crashing out at Aragon and left riding through the pain barrier on Friday in Thailand, the ‘Spartan’ was on the pace – until a monster highside in FP2 put paid to his weekend at Buriram.

Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo saying, “Several days have gone by since I left Buriram without being able to race and, even though now I feel better after training and resting in Thailand, only in Friday’s free practice will I be able to get an idea of how I feel on the bike. I absolutely want to race in Japan because Motegi is one of those circuits where I think I can do really well, and so I hope that the after-effects of the injuries to my foot and my wrist won’t give me any trouble. Furthermore, the weather conditions this weekend are sure to be an important factor, because in the last few years it’s almost always rained in Japan during the race weekend.”

A first corner crash ruled Lorenzo out of contention in Aragon and saw him sit out Argentina

It was caused by a mechanical problem and Lorenzo, classed fit to race, nevertheless chose to sit the weekend out. He’ll be back at Motegi, however, and he has quite a CV at the Japanese venue, including three wins. As does Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who crashed out in Thailand.

Dani Pedrosa adding, “I’ve had many good results at Motegi in the past as I enjoy the track a lot, but I’ve also suffered some challenging moments. So we must wait and see, but of course I hope this year will be good and we’ll be able to continue the progress we’ve made in the last races, in term of pace and bike setup. The Japanese fans have always made me feel welcome and supported, and I look forward to be there again soon.”

Dani Pedrosa

The fight for top Independent Team rider continues to rage just behind Lorenzo in the standings. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) has 128 points, Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) 126 and Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 123 – so it remains incredibly close and every weekend is pivotal, with Motegi no different.

The same is true in the battle for Rookie of the Year as last time out Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) closed on Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and it’s just five points between the two, but at Motegi, eyes will be on a different rookie.

Jack Miller

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) is one of the home heroes who will be on track and the Japanese rookie has had some good pace of late – and then suffered bad luck on race day. He’ll want to put on a good show at his home race and the home race of HRC, but he won’t be alone in flying the flag.

Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga will be another Japanese rider on the grid as he wildcards, giving the home crowd a rookie and a veteran to cheer for.

The Motul Grand Prix of Japan has everything hanging in the balance. Marquez is on the cusp of yet more history and, again, it’s Andrea Dovizioso the key man in his way. Find out if Motegi hosts another incredible showdown on Sunday 21st October when the lights go out at 14:00 (GMT +2) local time.

Marquez and Dovizioso duke it out in Thailand

The MotoGP top three of Marquez, Dovizioso and Rossi

MotoGP Championship Standings

Marc Marquez (SPA) HONDA 271 points
Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) DUCATI 194
Valentino Rossi (ITA) YAMAHA 172
Maverick Viñales (SPA) YAMAHA 146
Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) DUCATI 130
…12. Jack MILLER (AUS) DUCATI 74

Moto2: Bagnaia sits 28 points clear after Buriram

Francesco Bagnaia was happy after he crossed the line at Buriram for a magnificent seventh win, but that ramped up even more as teammate Luca Marini pulled up alongside him to signal he’d made it a Sky Racing Team VR46 1-2. Bagnaia had been set to gain five points on rival Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by the latter stages but after Marini’s late charge saw him get past the Portuguese rider, five became nine and the advantage for Bagnaia is now more than a win. Worth celebrating? You bet.

Francesco Bagnaia

There is a fair way yet to go and 100 points up for grabs beginning in Japan, but Bagnaia knows that was an important result. Oliveira does too, and he knows it’s now gloves off and there’s no margin to play it safe. Motegi needs to begin a fight back before the venues the Portuguese rider dominated last season appear on the horizon; friendly faces after some tougher rounds.

Tougher round is something on the lips of Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), teammate Joan Mir, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP 40) and Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) after Buriram.

All crashing out and heading for Japan empty headed, it was a Sunday to forget for all. But there are some positives for many to take from the weekend, and some positives looking ahead – Marquez, for example, took his first ever GP win at Motegi, in 2013 as a Moto3 rookie.

An expensive day for those guys was a welcome gain for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) though, as the South African stoked his points haul with another solid result.

“Better than my usual sixth,” was the smile after a hard-fought fourth in Thailand, and the South African is now in a comfortable third overall in the standings. Consistency has been a buzz word for Binder, with the 2016 Moto3 World Champion only surpassed by Bagnaia and Oliveira in that department as the two remain the only two to take points every race.

Miguel Oliveira

Motegi always shows incredible support for every rider and they’ll be in for another showstopper on Sunday, but the crowd will also have their eye on some home favourites – including Tetsuta Nagashima (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) in Moto2. Nagashima has been consistently progressing and getting further to the front, and Thailand saw the Japanese rider take his best ever result in eighth. He’ll be gunning for another top ten and points at home.

Teammates, tactics, thrills and hopefully less spills await at the Twin Ring Motegi. Don’t miss Moto2™ as the tensions continue to rise – tune in for the race at 12:20 (GMT +9) on Sunday.

Moto2 Championship Standings

Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) KALEX 259 points
Miguel Oliveira (POR) KTM 231
Brad Binder (RSA) KTM 157
Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) KALEX 132
Alex Marquez (SPA) KALEX 126

Motegi awaits Moto3 after yet another twist in the tale in Thailand

Friday and Saturday seemed to give us a clue to what was going to happen on Sunday in the PTT Thailand Grand Prix, as Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) struggled with the fitness of his left hand and key title rival Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP) took pole.

Even come Sunday, the Spaniard looked to be on the back foot. It was a big about face by the flag, however, as Martin was able to steadily make his way through the pack and Bezzecchi was crashed out through no fault of his own. The result? 26 points of advantage for the Gresini rider, a serious mountain for Bezzecchi to climb, and a new big contender…

Jorge Martin

After his first win earlier in the season, Buriram marked the second for Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) and it’s taken him to within just three points of second in the standings.

With Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) failing to finish in the incident with Bezzecchi and Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) missing through injury, where there were once a group of five contenders there now appear to be three and ‘Diggia’ is far from a dark horse.

The hard-braking monster of Motegi will be a challenge for Martin and his recovering hand, and both the Italians chasing him down know it’s increasingly now or never as the season barrels on.

As well as that fight at the front and the key names so often in contention, there will be a lot at stake in Japan for those riding on home turf, too. Buriram became something of a turning point for two of them: Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider) and Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing).

Marco Bezzecchi

Masaki put it on the front row for the first time and briefly led before sadly crashing out, and Sasaki led FP2, showed top pace and battled at the front for a good while until falling victim to some racing that got a little too close. Motegi is a page turned but there are some big positives to take there.

That’s also true for Kaito Toba (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), who took P12 and was back in the battle for points and recovering some Sunday form. He also has a new deal for next season in his pocket, as does compatriot Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), although he sadly crashed out in Thailand. It was a mixed bag for the Japanese contingent at the flag, but they’ll mean business once again at Motegi.