Marc Marquez eyes glory at Motegi

Honda’s Marc Marquez gets his first chance to seal this year’s MotoGP world championship on Sunday in Japan.

The two-time world champion from Spain has a 52-point gap over his closest rival, Valentino Rossi.

He would claim the season trophy if he wins and if the Italian finishes 15th or lower and if third-placed Jorge Lorenzo comes in fourth or worse.

“We will try to have the same mentality” as other races, said Marquez, who has never won at the Motegi circuit, which is known for its hard braking and acceleration.

The Spaniard said he was focused on the race at hand since “many, many things” would have to work in his favour for him to lock the season victory in Japan, with 100 points still up for grabs.

“My riding style is not so bad. But our bike struggles a little bit every year here. We will see during this weekend...And try to take points for the championship. That will be most important,” Marquez said.

Triple header could be decider Sunny weather is expected for the race in cool, mountainous Motegi, as teams readied to build their concentration through three weekends of successive races in different time zones and climates in the Asian “triple-header”, which also takes them to Australia and Malaysia.

The championship could still go to the wire at the season finale back on Marquez’s home soil in Spain, as this unpredictable season has yielded an incredible eight different Grand Prix winners so far.

With a successful track record in Japan, Yamaha’s Rossi is hungry for more wins to close the gap following four-straight podium finishes.

The nine-time world champion said the triple-header is “always complicated” as a small problem in Motegi could turn into greater risks further down the line. “You stay on the bike a lot of time, so you can go faster and faster. Also, those are three fantastic tracks,” Rossi said, adding that Yamaha machines have traditionally fared well in Motegi.