Category: MotoGp

The Malaysian MotoGP gets underway this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2017 season, at Sepang, approximately 35 miles away from the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. Since the switch back to 1000cc motorcycles, Dani Pedrosa has won three times from five races, although last season, it was Italian and current championship challenger, Andrea Dovizioso who took honours. The Malaysian GP has been hosted at three venues in total: the current Sepang circuit since 1999, Johor in 1998 and Shah Alam from 1991-1997. Marc Marquez comes into the weekend with a 33 point lead, after a disastrous Australian GP for rival Dovizioso. This means that a finish in the top two will be enough for Marc Marquez to win the championship, regardless of what ‘Dovi’ does.

With Marquez leading the championship by 33 points, he has to be favourite to take the championship, whether it be in Malaysia or at Valencia in Spain. The Spaniard hasn’t been lower than 2nd since Misano and if you take out Silverstone, the last time he was off the podium would be at Mugello, in June. Marquez won the Malaysian GP in 2014 and also won the 125cc race at Sepang in 2010. However, Marquez crashed in 2015 after him and arch-rival Rossi came to blows and last season, he crashed but remounted to finish 11th. One mistake for Marquez could swing the championship wide open.

Andrea Dovizioso has a simple task: he must beat Marc Marquez by 9 points to keep the championship alive until the Valencian Grand Prix. A race winner at Sepang last season, Dovi has just two other podiums in the premier class at Sepang: in 2008, which was his first ever premier class podium and in 2010, when he was 2nd to Valentino Rossi. Dovizioso hasn’t had back-to-back finishes outside of the top 10 since 2002, at the Sachsenring and Brno. That is a record he will not want to update. Between 2010 and 2016, Dovizioso’s best finish at Sepang was 8th, so it is a track that he hasn’t particularly shone at in the past. Will that change this weekend?

Maverick Vinales returned to the podium at Phillip Island, having been missing from the top three positions since Silverstone in August. The Spaniard was 8th and 6th in 2015 and 2016 respectively at Sepang but will want to consolidate his podium pace this weekend. The last time he had back-to-back podiums was at Le Mans and Mugello, in the first third of the season. Vinales is a winner at Sepang too, taking victory back in 2011 – his first season of racing and his first visit to the track. He also won the Malaysian Moto2 race in 2014 so that proves that he could be a race winner this weekend as well. If he was to win, he’d be the first ever premier class winner at Sepang who has also won a Moto2 race. Vinales can’t mathematically win the championship but he could be just as big an upset.

Valentino Rossi’s heroic ride to 2nd in Australia was his first podium since Silverstone. ‘The Doctor’ hasn’t had back-to-back podiums since the opening three races of the season, an incredible statistic given Valentino still holds 4th in the championship. He has won at Sepang a total of six times in the premier class and won at Shah Alam in 1997. Rossi made his GP debut in 1996 and that was also at Shah Alam, where he finished 6th. Yamaha haven’t had a race win at Sepang since Rossi won their in 2010 but they have also never had a 1-2 at the venue. Rossi is 31 points behind Vinales, meaning he needs to score 7 or more points than him to keep the race for 3rd in the title alive. He is 48 points behind Dovi, meaning nothing less than two wins in the final two races will give Rossi 2nd overall – an unlikely outcome.

Dani Pedrosa was demoted from 4th to 5th in the standings after a dire Australian GP, in which he was 12th. It was the 3rd time in 2017 that Pedrosa had finished a race outside of the top 10, eliminating him from the championship race. Pedrosa has won three times in the past five races at Sepang, making him a hot favourite this weekend. A win for Pedrosa would match Valentino Rossi’s current record of six wins at Sepang. The last time Honda had a double podium was in 2013, a performance they will seek to repeat. Dani Pedrosa hasn’t had back-to-back finishes outside of the top 10 since Donington Park and the Sachsenring in 2001 and he will not want to update that fact. Pedrosa is 14 points behind Rossi.

Johann Zarco has won at Sepang twice, in 2015 and 2016 in Moto2. He was the first rider since Hiroshi Aoyama to achieve this feat. If Zarco was to get on the podium on Sunday, he would be the first Frenchman to stand on a premier class podium at the Malaysian GP since the event started back in 1991. The reigning double Moto2 champion is yet to DNF since the Qatari Grand Prix at the start of the season and has finished every Malaysian GP since 2013 in the points. Tech 3 haven’t had a podium at Sepang in MotoGP, with their best result being 4th, with Ben Spies, back in 2010.

Jorge Lorenzo somehow retains 7th in the championship, despite the Spaniard finishing 15th at the Australian GP. Lorenzo has never won a premier class race at Sepang and will be hoping to become the 4th Ducati rider to win in Malaysia, joining Capirossi, Stoner and Dovizioso. Lorenzo did however win the 2006 250cc race, although that is his only win at the circuit.

Danilo Petrucci missed a huge opportunity to close in on Lorenzo at Phillip Island, with his dire 21st place finish. Petrucci hasn’t had back-to-back finishes outside of the points since Catalunya and Silverstone in 2012, his first season of GP racing. Petrucci was 10th at Sepang last year and 6th in 2015. Teammate Scott Redding has finished every Malaysian GP in the points since 2011 and will yearn for that run to continue.

Cal Crutchlow is 9th in the championship and his 5th place in Australia helped him close in on the battle for 7th overall. Crutchlow has never scored a podium at Sepang and his last back-to-back top 5 finishes came at Aragon and Motegi last season. His best result at the Malaysian GP remains a 5th, from 2015.

10th place in the championship belongs to Jonas Folger but once more, he isn’t racing due to his virus. Michael van der Mark gets his long-awaited opportunity to ride a premier class MotoGP prototype machine and is the German’s replacement this weekend. The Dutchman has been to Sepang before, on a World Superbike Honda Fireblade, where he achieved a 7th and 6th last season and a 5th in 2015.

The factory Aprilia team will be hoping for a change of luck this weekend, as their lead rider, Aleix Espargaro, recovers with a fractured hand and does not take part. That means all eyes will be on Sam Lowes, who has a best result of 13th at Sepang, back in 2015. Last year, Aprilia had a 7th place finish from a row three start, with Alvaro Bautista.

Andrea Iannone’s return to form over the last two GPs have been a welcome return to form for Suzuki too. Iannone hasn’t finished three consecutive races in the top 10 since Brno, the Red Bull Ring and the Sachsenring last year. Suzuki in turn haven’t had three double-top-10s on the bounce since Mugello, Le Mans and Jerez last season.

KTM come off the back of an incredible Australian Grand Prix, where they had their first ever double-top 10. The Austrian manufacturer will be looking to achieve their first back-to-back double-top 10s and possibly even break into the top 8 for the first time ever. Pol Espargaro will be looking to continue his run of top 11 placings and Bradley Smith will hope to achieve his first back-to-back top 10 since Losail and Termas de Rio Hondo in 2016.

Aspar Ducati will be looking to have a change of fortunes after a difficult Australian GP, endured by all Ducati teams. It was the first time Alvaro Bautista had finished a race outside of the points since Brno last year. If he finishes outside of the points again at Sepang, it will be the first time since Austria and the Czech Republic last season that he has done it on consecutive occasions. Karel Abraham was 14th at Phillip Island and has a best finish of 10th at Sepang, back in 2012.

Marc VDS made a welcome return to form at Phillip Island – or one of their riders did. Jack Miller lead the opening laps at home in Australia to the delight of the 36,000 people trackside. His 7th place meant he kept hold of 12th in the championship. Tito Rabat will be hoping to get his first top 10 of the season at Sepang. He won in Moto2 in 2014 and was 3rd in 2015.

Last but by no means least, Avintia Ducati come to Sepang in search of returning to point scoring ways. Both riders were in the top 5 last season, with Barbera beating Baz. The last time the team failed to finish a race in the points on two consecutive occasions was in 2014, at Aragon and Misano.

The championship could be won this weekend with Marc Marquez looking odds on to wrap it up, now he has a 33 point lead. However, as we have seen in British Superbikes this season, a 33 point lead could be slashed if bad luck falls in order. Vinales, Rossi and Pedrosa could all be massive championship upsets on Sunday and after a hardcore ride at Phillip Island, Johann Zarco will be more determined than ever before to mount the podium, after coming so close Down Under. What the weather will do on race day is another question? Could the heavens open and give us a championship fight or will we see Andrea Dovizioso’s championship dreams become drowned out? Time will tell.

Marc Marquez took his sixth win of the year and his second ever in Australia after a frantic Phillip Island race on Sunday. The Spaniard broke clear of an eight-man scrap for the win in the final laps to take to the top step of the rostrum. It was a disastrous race for title rival Andrea Dovizioso, as the Italian suffered an early run off and was only able to fight back to 13th. It leaves Marquez now 33 points ahead in the points table. Valentino Rossi took second – his first podium since Silverstone – as he came out on top of the fight for the podium, with teammate Maverick Viñales taking third. Viñales is now out of the Championship fight, 50 points back with two rounds to go. Two wins for Vinales and two DNFs for Marquez would not be enough for the Yamaha man to take the crown, as he would only draw level on points. Marquez would win on count back of victories.

It was Marquez who got the initial lead into turn one, however he couldn’t retain it into The Southern Loop as a sensational start from Jack Miller from the middle of row two saw the home-hero carve his way through into the lead before pulling the pin and bolting off at the front. Viñales was the man in third on the charge, as he tried to keep his title hopes alive. As an incredible first lap concluded, the next big drama was into Doohan’s at the start of lap two, when Dovizioso and whole host of other riders went wide, leaving the Italian down in 20th.

A huge chain of eight riders closed in on Miller in the lead. Rossi and Viñales were the first to get through, straddling the Marc VDS Honda on both sides down the Gardner Straight. A lead group of Marquez, Viñales, Rossi, Andrea Iannone and Johann Zarco began to fight it out. The group was cut down to seven riders in the chasing pack, as Aleix Espargaro crashed out at turn 1, putting him out of the race and also, out of the forthcoming Malaysian GP.

Here were just some of the battles: Marquez vs Rossi, Zarco vs Rossi, Viñales vs Marquez, Iannone vs Zarco…in one of the most aggressive and hard-fought battles of the century, the passes came thick and fast, each, just as aggressive as the previous.

Zarco was one of the most flamboyant and outstanding. After tagging the rear of Marquez at Honda hairpin, he forced Valentino Rossi out wide at the exact same corner. A few laps later, the Tech 3 Yamaha man powered around the outside of Maverick Vinales at Doohan’d, a 140mph sweeping first corner. Zarco continued to show his front wheel, going side-by-side with Valentino Rossi and leaving rubber marks on the Italian as they went through the Hayshed corner, on the charge up Lukey Heights. Valentino was also run wide by arch-rival Marc Marquez, as the two contacted on the exit of The Southern Loop, costing Rossi another place as Iannone passed him too.

Once Marquez was in the lead, however, the reigning champion was able to start pulling a gap with five laps to go. As the battle for 2nd raged on behind, the Repsol Honda rider began to sprint off, leaving the fight to get on the podium to three riders on the final laps: Rossi vs Viñales vs Zarco.

With some of the craziest and most desperate lines ever ridden around ‘The Island’, ‘The Doctor’ was able to win the scrap for 2nd. However, all three were neck and neck over the line. Over the line behind the nine-time world champion, it was Viñales just edging ahead of the Tech 3 of Zarco, taking third for a return to the podium but a concrete end to his chance of the title. Zarco’s fourth, however, confirmed him as Rookie of the Year, despite it not justifying the hardcore racing he displayed.

After Iannone got pushed back in the closing stages, Cal Crutchlow took fifth ahead of ‘The Maniac’, with early race leader Miller, rookie Alex Rins and both of the Red Bull KTMs completing the top ten; Pol Espargaro just pipping Bradley Smith. Dovizioso suffered late on after losing out in a drag to the line with both Scott Redding and Dani Pedrosa. Redding in turn was the top Ducati. Behind Dovi was Karel Abraham and fellow Ducati rider, Jorge Lorenzo, completing the top fifteen, compounding a terrible weekend for the Italian marque.

Sepang and Malaysia now beckon for the GP circus. Will we see another thriller to top off what have been some of the best ever fly-away Grand Prix in recent memory?

Image by MotoGP

MotoGP heads Down Under for round 16, as we go to the Australian Grand Prix, coming from the high-speed, high-stakes Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, near Ventnor, Victoria. The track oozes fast bends and long, sweeping corners, as well as dead-stop hairpins and undulations. After their battle in Japan, Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso will be looking to reignite their title fight and go head-to-head once more. Likewise, Maverick Vinales will want to give Yamaha something to cheer about as the manufacturer is still yet to win a race in the second half of 2017. Phillip Island has consistently hosted some of the best GPs over time and can also spring a few surprises. Last season, it was Cal Crutchlow who took the win and back in 2006, Marco Melandri took a surprise victory. Who will it be this time?

Marc Marquez’ championship lead has been whittled away after losing a last-lap last-corner battle with Andrea Dovizioso at Motegi. The Spaniard has a terrible form in Australia, finishing just one race in the premier class, of which he won, in 2015. A disqualification in 2013, crash in 2014 and likewise again last season place Marquez on the back foot going into the Australian Grand Prix. Marquez is one of just three Spaniards to win at Phillip Island in the premier class, the others being Alex Criville in 1997 and Jorge Lorenzo in 2013. Will be become the first Spaniard to win two?

Andrea Dovizioso will be desperate to prove a point at Phillip Island. The smooth Italian left it late to take victory in Japan but, like in Austria, he beat Marquez on the run to the line. Ducati as a manufacturer have enjoyed endless success in Australia, winning four races with Casey Stoner. ‘Dovi’ has also won at the circuit, back in the 125cc class in 2004. He was 4^th last season but 13^th the season before, whilst his last podium was back in 2011 on a Repsol Honda. He has just one other podium in 2007 in the 250cc class, finishing 3^rd.  In 2016, Marquez outscored Dovizioso in the last three races by the just three points. Will it be the same again this year?

Maverick Vinales is 41 points back of Marc Marquez and 30 behind Andrea Dovizioso. You’d have to say that it really is over for a championship challenge from the new Yamaha rider. Another disappointing result in Japan – where he was 9^th – now means that Vinales can’t hand more than 9 points to Marquez or more than 20 to Dovizioso if he is to remain in the championship race. Vinales was third at Phillip Island last season and 6^th in 2015, both results coming for Suzuki. He was a winner in Moto2 in 2014 and 2^nd in Moto3 in 2013. Vinales isn’t out of the title race just yet but it’d take bad luck to go the way of the two ahead. Anything is possible in GP racing.

Dani Pedrosa’s championship charge is now realistically over, as he is 74 points back off leading teammate, Marc Marquez. The Spaniard retired in Japan, meaning he must win every race and hope that Marquez picks up just one point from the remaining races. On top of that, Pedrosa doesn’t go well at Phillip Island, with his light body weight often being the reason he can’t generate heat into his tyres on an often cold track. Pedrosa didn’t start last season’s Australian GP and was 5^th in 2015. His best result was 2^nd, in 2013 but he’s never won in the premier class. Could he shock us all come Sunday?

Valentino Rossi mathematically can’t win the MotoGP championship in 2017, as he is now 76 points back of Marc Marquez with just 75 points left for the taking. Rossi has endured one of his most injury hit seasons of his career this year and of late, that has been detrimental to the Italian’s fall in form. He loves Phillip Island however, taking 2^nd last season, 4^th in 2015 and winning most recently, in 2014, as well as a podium in 2013. Rossi won every Australian Grand Prix from 2001-2005 and had won at the track in 1998 and 1999. ‘The Doctor’ is the only rider to have won more times than Casey Stoner at the venue and he will be looking to extend that margin this weekend, as he is out there purely to race.

Johann Zarco completes the top six in the standings. The Frenchman started from pole at Motegi before dropping back to 8^th in the closing stages – although he still finished top Yamaha. Tech 3 as a team have been successful at Phillip Island before, with a 3^rd place back in 2014, with Bradley Smith. Zarco hasn’t had a top five at the Australian Grand Prix since 2012 in Moto2 but did score a podium there in 2011. There has never been a French winner in the premier class at Phillip Island and the last time a French rider won at all in Grand Prix at Phillip Island was 2008, with Mike Di Meglio in the 125cc race. The last French rider to stand on the podium at Phillip Island in the premier class was Regis Laconi, also on a Yamaha, in 1999. The only other Frenchman to stand on a premier class podium at Phillip Island was Christian Sarron, in 1989. Could Zarco set the record straight?

Jorge Lorenzo is the 7^th rider in the standings. He has won at Phillip Island three times; once in MotoGP and twice in the 250cc class. Lorenzo finished 6^th in Japan and he hasn’t had back-to-back 6^th places since Donington Park and Assen in 2008. That is one record Jorge Lorenzo will not want to break.

Danilo Petrucci is closing in on Lorenzo for 7^th. Petrucci, currently 8^th, took his fourth podium of 2017 and will be hoping to make it five at Phillip Island. The Australian circuit is one of just two tracks at which Petrucci has finished every race in the points – the other is Valencia. His best result is 9^th, coming last season.

Cal Crutchlow has mixed memories of Phillip Island. The Brit, who is 9^th in the championship standings, won last year’s race – the first time a British rider had ever won the Australian Grand Prix in any class. However, he crashed out of 2^nd on the penultimate lap in 2014. He has one other podium, coming in 2012, when he was 3^rd.

Jonas Folger isn’t racing again this weekend. His seat is filled by Broc Parkes. The Australian has four World Supersport podiums to his name at the track as well as a 5^th way back in 2001 in WSBK, for NCR Ducati. He has never scored points at Phillip Island in his GP career.

Suzuki looked well and truly back in good shape at Motegi, taking 4^th and 5^th with Iannone and Rins. This was the first time Suzuki achieved a double top-5 placing in a GP since the 2016 Japanese GP, when Vinales was 3^rd and Aleix Espargaro was 4^th. Suzuki haven’t had back-to-back double top-5 placings since Brno and Misano in 2007, with John Hopkins and Chris Vermuelen.

KTM arrive in Australia, looking to improve on a mixed Japanese GP. They haven’t had all of their fielded bikes in the points since Misano. Both riders have scored podiums at Phillip Island at some point in their careers, with Smith scoring one in MotoGP. KTM have never raced at Phillip Island so we will get a better indication of their performance after practice.

Aprilia had a good Japanese GP, with Aleix Espargaro finishing 7^th and Sam Lowes finishing 13^th, a personal best for Lowes. It was the first time that both of their bikes had scored points in the same race since Valencia last year. Stefan Bradl scored a third row start for the manufacturer last season at Phillip Island and they will want the same again from their riders this season.

The Aspar Ducati team will want more from their riders at Phillip Island. Both failed to finish at Motegi and they haven’t had back-to-back non-point-scoring rides since Eugene Laverty and Nicky Hayden in 2015, at Malaysia and Valencia. Bautista has had a win and two podiums in the smaller classes but neither rider has finished higher than 5^th in the premier class.

Scott Redding’s difficult 2017 continued in Japan, when he finished 16^th and out of the points. He was 7^th at the Australian Grand Prix last year and has two podiums at Phillip Island from Moto2, in 2010 and 2012. His Moto2 championship challenge in 2013 came to an end at Phillip Island when he suffered a bad wrist injury, so he will want to make happier memories.

The Marc VDS Honda team are back to their normal line-up this weekend, with Jack Miller returning from injury for his home Grand Prix. Miller was 10^th in the race last season and won the Moto3 event in 2014. Tito Rabat has just one podium at Phillip Island back in 2014 in Moto2. That was also the last time he scored a point in Australia.

The Avintia Ducati team had both of their bikes in the points at Motegi, with Baz 10^th and Barbera 14^th. That was the first time since Silverstone, back in August. They haven’t had back-to-back double point-scoring rides since Losail and Termas de Rio Hondo at the start of the year. Baz has never scored a GP point at Phillip Island, although he was 2^nd in a WSBK race at the track in 2014. Barbera was 2^nd in the 250cc class in 2009 but that is his only podium. The Spaniard hasn’t scored a point at the track since he was 5^th there, in 2014. This is his best result in the premier class at the venue.

The championship can’t be decided this weekend but it could take a turn in either Dovizioso’s or Marquez’ direction. One mistake or bad weekend could prove costly to their title charge and allow the pendulum to swing in either direction. Maverick Vinales will be there to pick up the pieces if the two leading riders in the championship tangle. You can never discount Valentino Rossi at the Phillip Island circuit and just watch out for Danilo Petrucci, who could spring a surprise come race day.

Jonas Folger will miss the Japanese Grand Prix, having been flown back to Germany with a suspected virus. The rookie German said that he has been feeling weak since the San Marino GP and said that “even leaving the hotel room was impossible”.

“I came to Japan and was motivated for these three flyaway races, but I’ve been feeling really weak since the Misano and Aragon rounds. On arrival here, I have been struggling with my energy levels, even leaving the hotel room was impossible for me, and unfortunately, I had to miss some Yamaha events, which I’m very sorry for”, stated Folger – 10^th in the championship.

“I met with Hervé (Poncheral) on Wednesday night and we agreed to go for a check with the doctors this morning. I met with Dr Charte and the Clinica Mobile team and they have advised me to return to Germany right away for a series of blood tests”.

“I’ve had Epstein Barr virus in the past and it’s a possibility that this has flared up again and resurfaced but we can’t be sure until I’ve had these tests in Munich. I am sorry for my whole team and for Yamaha at their home race. I would like to thank them for all their support. Also, sorry to my personal sponsors, I appreciate them all standing by me at this difficult time. Now we must remain positive and aim to come back stronger.”

Folger’s absence means that his 10^th place in the championship could be under threat from Alvaro Bautista, who has scored a podium in the premier class before at Motegi, in 2012. The German will be replace by Kohta Nozane, a 20-year-old Japanese rider, who described the call-up as “a big surprise” and that he “can’t believe” he will be racing at the Japanese GP.

Image by: Yamaha Racing

Maverick Vinales has declared that he and his Yamaha team must keep fighting in the championship battle, even though his chances of title victory took another blow at Aragon. The Spaniard finished 4th once more, handing more points to Marc Marquez. This means that the next four races are crucial for Maverick, who hasn’t won since Le Mans, in May.

“The next Grand Prix, held in Japan, is very special for me since it’s one of my favourites of the season and it’s also the home race of Yamaha. I hope to do a good job and be able to collect more points for the championship, which is crucial to continue fighting for the title”, began Vinales, ahead of the Japanese GP – an event at which he finished 3rd in last season.

“For the next races we have to try to work even more than usual. We have to keep fighting and working with high motivation, even though it will not be easy to complete the last part of the season and bridge the gap between the championship leader and me”, he said. Vinales is 28 points behind Marquez in the championship.

“I will try to work even harder and I arrive in Japan with the aim to learn and be even stronger. I’m convinced that, with the support of the amazing fans at the Motegi circuit, we will be able to give our 100%.”

Whilst taking four podiums at the Motegi circuit, Vinales has never won. That is one statistic he will want to change for 2017 and also for the good of his championship credentials.

Image by: Yamaha Racing

The 15^th round of the MotoGP championship season comes from Motegi in Japan, with the title still all to play for, unlike last year when Marc Marquez had his first chance to win the title. The Twin Ring Motegi circuit has been on the calendar since 2000 and has been home to the Japanese Grand Prix since 2004. Marc Marquez has won at the track on just one occasion in the premier class – last season – but Honda have won a total of five times, with Yamaha and Ducati winning four times. It promises to be a great weekend of racing, as well a potential turning point in the championship – although it mathematically can’t be won.

Marc Marquez has won the last two races in 2017 at Misano and Aragon. Marquez hasn’t won three on the bounce since Assen, Sachsenring and Indianapolis in 2014, a staggering statistic for someone who has took 18 wins and two titles since then. The 24-year-old has not finished outside the top five at Motegi since 2009 and has taken two other victories at the venue – one in the 125cc class in 2010 and one in Moto2 in 2012. Marquez will be hoping to extend his championship lead to above 25 points, which not only gives him a race-in-hand over the opposition but also gives him a shot at the title at Phillip Island.

Andrea Dovizioso had a terrible Aragon and haemorrhaged 16 points to Marquez. Dovi knows he has to take points back out of Marquez in Japan to have any realistic chance of the championship. With the exception of Casey Stoner in 2010, all of Ducatis wins in Japan have come from an Italian rider. Dovizioso – who has taken four wins in 2017 – finished 2^nd to Marquez last year, whilst finishing 5^th in 2015. The 31-year-old has taken two pole positions at Motegi in the premier class, in 2010 and 2014. His worst result was 2013 with 10^th but apart from that and 9^th in 2008, he has never finished outside the top 5 at Motegi. Could Sunday be a Dovizioso and Ducati success story?

Maverick Vinales is really on the back-foot as we approach Japan, with him giving more points to Marquez last time out at Aragon. Vinales hasn’t won since Le Mans and his last podium was Silverstone and before that it was Brno. Vinales was third last year on the Suzuki at Motegi, although he failed to finish in 2015. Vinales has never actually finished a race at Motegi outside the top four but at the same time, he hasn’t won at the Japanese venue. Yamaha’s last win came in 2014 with Jorge Lorenzo, despite taking pole position for the last two seasons. The rival Japanese manufacturer will be desperate to reignite their title fight with a win in Honda’s backyard.

Dani Pedrosa was the winner of the Japanese GP in 2015, coming from eight seconds behind to beat Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard hasn’t had back-to-back 2^nd places since COTA and Termas de Rio Hondo in 2014 so a 2^nd in Japan would update that statistic. Pedrosa didn’t start the race in Japan last season but was a winner at the track in 2011 and 2012. He has two other wins in the smaller classes too – in the 125cc class in 2002 and in 2004 in 250s. A podium for Pedrosa would give him 9 for the season, his highest since scoring 10 in 2014. Pedrosa must finish 11^th or higher to remain in with a chance of winning the title this year, although realistically, he could do with beating teammate Marquez.

Valentino Rossi caused an earthquake when he announced he would be racing at Aragon and he triggered even bigger aftershocks after running 2^nd for almost 50% of the race. Eventually finishing 5^th, Rossi has been hard in training at his ranch to try and speed up his recovery. Going into Japan, the Italian is two points shy of Dani Pedrosa and is 56 points behind series leader Marquez. The 38-year-old veteran has won at Motegi just twice, in 2001 and 2008. He has achieved 9 other podiums however and will be hoping to repeat his pole position success of last year. ‘The Doctor’ has crashed out of the Japanese GP three times in the premier class and will surely be hoping not to do the same as last year. Rossi must finish 9^th or higher to have a mathematical chance of the title but in reality, he just needs to take as many points off his rivals as possible.

Johann Zarco continues to hold onto 6^th place in the championship. Zarco has finished every race this season, with the exception of the Qatari GP where he crashed out the lead. Whilst that statistic may be impressive, Zarco’s last top five was in Austria and he has only had one podium finish – at home at Le Mans. The Frenchman took his first ever GP win at Motegi in 2011 and also won the Moto2 race at the track in 2015. A French rider has never won in the premier GP class in Japan at any circuit. Could Zarco break that record? He is 51 points off Valentino Rossi’s 5^th place in the championship and mathematically can’t win the championship, relieving Zarco of any pressure, so he can attack fully in the final four races.

Jorge Lorenzo is the 2^nd Ducati rider in the championship. He hasn’t taken back-to-back podiums since Sepang and Valencia last season and will be itching to use the Ducati’s horsepower at Motegi, as the circuit hosts four long straights. Lorenzo has won at Motegi three times and has taken four other podiums. Could Jorge take a win this weekend?

Aprilia’s hopes of a good weekend will be sky-high after finishing the closest to a race win ever at Aragon last time out. Aleix Espargaro was 6^th and will be looking to give Aprilia their first ever top 5. Sam Lowes’ season has been a difficult one, so he will be looking to finish in the points for only a 2^nd time this year. He hasn’t had a top 20 ride since the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The factory Suzuki team have had a disastrous 2017 campaign. Andrea Iannone didn’t ride at Motegi last year and hasn’t finished a race at Motegi since 2014, where he was 6^th. Alex Rins hasn’t had a top 10 at Motegi since 2014 but apart from that and a 4^th in 2012, he hasn’t had any other top 10s. It may be another tricky weekend for Suzuki at home.

KTM continue to impress – in the Pol Espargaro corner anyway. Pol is level on points with Iannone going into the Japanese round, on 37 points. Since Assen, every race Espargaro has finished has been in the points. Bradley Smith however will be feeling the pressure, especially after wildcard Mika Kallio beat him again at Aragon. Smith last scored points at Misano, finishing 10^th, which is so far his best finish for KTM. Neither KTM rider has finished inside the top five before at Motegi in the premier class.

Danilo Petrucci is top independent team rider, in 8^th place. Petrucci endured a disastrous weekend at Aragon, finishing 20^th. It is the first time since Aragon in 2016 that he has finished a race outside of the points. The last time it happened in back-to-back GPs was in 2012, at Catalunya and Silverstone – his rookie season. Teammate Scott Redding finished ahead of Petrucci for the first time since Phillip Island last season (calculated on the basis that both riders have finished the race). Redding has finished every race since Brno in the points and will be looking to extend that run to Motegi, where his best finish so far is 9^th, achieved last year.

Cal Crutchlow did not capitalise on Petrucci’s dire weekend at Aragon, as he crashed out whilst inside the top 10. The Brit’s best result at Motegi is a 5^th from last season, although he retired from a podium battle with Alvaro Bautista in the closing stages of the 2012 race, after running out of fuel. Crutchlow has finished the last two Japanese GPs in the top six, although he didn’t finish in 2014.

Jonas Folger is 10^th in the standings, making all four Yamahas appear in the top 10 places of the championship. The German was 2^nd in the 2015 Moto2 race at the track and 3^rd in 2013 in the Moto3 class. A German rider has never scored a podium in the premier class at any Japanese GP. Could Folger set that record straight?

The Aspar Team have Alvaro Bautista in 11^th and Karel Abraham in 18^th in the championship; both riders have achieved a podium at Motegi at some point in their careers. Alvaro was 7^th last season at Motegi and took a podium for the Gresini Honda team in 2012. Karel Abraham has only finished one premier class race in Japan and that was in 2012 but he was 3^rd in 2010, in the Moto2 class.

Jack Miller is next up in 12^th but isn’t racing this weekend due to a broken leg. He is replaced by Hiroshi Aoyama, who finished 2^nd at Motegi in the 250cc class in 2009. He finished 15^th in the premier class last year. Tito Rabat on the other side of the garage has been more impressive of late. He has a best result of 3^rd at Motegi, back in 2014.

Loris Baz and Hector Barbera are the last riders left to cover. Baz has confirmed he will leave the GP paddock after this year, therefore this will be his last race at Motegi. The Frenchman has never scored a point in Japan. Barbera was 17^th last year, as a replacement rider in the factory Ducati team. His best result in Japan in the premier class has been 9^th, in wet conditions two years ago.

Whatever happens at Motegi, it promises to be a pivotal race in the championship. Will Marquez be able to escape the attentions of his rivals or will they hunt him down and narrow the point’s gap at the front? Could weather play a part in proceedings? It has done before. Will we see Aprilia and KTM up the sharper end again, like at Aragon? Of course, it could be another frantic race, which will be just as unpredictable as others have already this season. We will have to wait and find out.

• Race Record (Considered lap circuit record): 1.45.350 – Jorge Lorenzo, 2015, Yamaha
• Fastest Lap (Any timed session) 1.43.790 – Jorge Lorenzo, 2014, Yamaha
• Top Speed – Andrea Iannone, 2015, 314.3kmh/195.29mph

Aprilia finished closer to a victory than ever before in the premier class, just under seven seconds away from Marc Marquez on Sunday at Aragon. Aleix Espargaro used a good qualifying position to give him an advantage late on in the race, with the Aprilia once again demonstrating how user-friendly its tyres are.

“I think everyone had fun today! It is not often that so many riders are so close all the way to the chequered flag in MotoGP”, began an elated Aleix Espargaro, picking up his second 6th place of the season.

“It was a hard race, but I liked it. At a certain point, I thought that I might be able to have a go at fourth place with Valentino and Maverick but when there were only a few laps left, they picked up their pace and I had to settle”, continued the Spaniard – who took his only premier class podium at Aragon in 2014.

Aleix Espargaro’s result means that he leaps to 14th in the championship, just three points behind 12th, occupied by Jack Miller.

“I any case, I am satisfied with the sixth place finish, but especially with the gap behind the winner. We are improving constantly and we demonstrate this basically every weekend. Unfortunately, we have been lacking consistent race results”, said Aleix, highlighting that top six positions need to be happening on a more regular basis.

“In any case, we still have four rounds to go on tracks that I really like, so I want to finish this season well”.

Image by: MotoGP

Marc Marquez took victory at Aragon for the MotoGP race, ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa and Ducati’s Jorge Lorenzo, in an action packed race – which also saw the return of Valentino Rossi from injury.

The race got underway and immediately, Jorge Lorenzo took the lead, with Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi in behind. Quickly, Rossi got passed his teammate and set off after the Ducati rider, who had an 0.8s lead by the end of the first lap. Marc Marquez had a difficult start and was in 5th place, behind the second factory Ducati, Andrea Dovizioso.

Maverick Vinales dropped back in the early stages, becoming mired in a battle for 5th with Dani Pedrosa, Aleix Espargaro, Mika Kallio, Cal Crutchlow, Johann Zarco, Pol Espargaro and Andrea Iannone. The front four escaped and were all within a second of each other.

On lap nine, Marquez tried an outrageous manoeuvre on Valentino Rossi at the turn 12 bus-stop, however, he narrowly missed colliding with the Italian and had to let the brakes off, running up the inside of Jorge Lorenzo before going off track and rejoining back in fourth. It was a very close call!

Karel Abraham was the first crasher of the race, at turn eight – similar to his teammate Alvaro Bautista yesterday. Karel was up and OK. This marked the Czech’s first retirement since the French Grand Prix at Le Mans in May. It also highlighted that Karel and Aragon don’t get on, as he only has one points-scoring finish to his name, with 9th in 2012.

Marquez hit 2nd place on the 12th lap, taking Rossi in the final bend, keeping a tight inside line whereas Valentino opted for a fast, sweeping run up over the hill and down the start/finish straight. Marquez held on. It was at this point where we realised two things: Marquez’ pace wasn’t an issue after his 2nd row qualifying and that Valentino Rossi’s valiant effort was coming to an end, as he start to fatigue, now that the second half of the race was underway.

Cal Crutchlow crashed on lap 16, seven laps from home. He had just been passed by a struggling Johann Zarco. Crutchlow started fourth on the grid and was 10th when he crashed out of proceedings. It was Crutchlow’s fourth retirement of the year and also meant that he didn’t capitalise on taking Danilo Petrucci’s 7th in the championship, as the Italian failed to score a point.

On the same lap, we saw our first change of leader. Marquez dive-bombed Lorenzo into the turn 12 bus-stop, going wide initially but cutting back to retain the advantage. Going into turn 16, Lorenzo used the power of the Ducati and took the lead back momentarily, before Marquez cut underneath him and got the inside line through turn 17 and across the line. The cheers of the Spanish fans told us that Aragon really is Marc Marquez territory.

Also on the 16th lap, Dani Pedrosa passed Valentino Rossi, after passing Dovizioso and Vinales in previous laps. Pedrosa now had around a second of clear track ahead of him before he would be able to mount a challenge on 5-time champion, Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa had preserved his tyre and whilst Marquez was too far ahead he did catch Jorge, setting the fastest lap in the process.

Pedrosa passed Lorenzo at the bus-stop, replicating his teammate’s move on the Ducati ace a few laps previous. Pedrosa held his line and romped away from Lorenzo. It was now a Repsol Honda 1-2. That is how it remained until the end, with Marquez holding off Pedrosa’s late surge and Jorge Lorenzo’s Ducati. It was the first 1-2 for Honda at the Aragon Grand Prix since Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa in 2011, as well as Ducati’s first podium at Aragon since Cal Crutchlow in 2014.

Valentino Rossi, despite his most determined efforts, was pipped by teammate Maverick Vinales, as the two factory Yamahas finished 4th and 5th. Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia took 6th, highlighting once more that the Aprilia’s is very user-friendly with tyres. Andrea Dovizioso was pummelled back to 7th and now trails Marquez by 16 points in the championship going to Japan, whilst Alvaro Bautista was the best privateer Ducati, finishing in 8th. Johann Zarco salvaged 9th and Pol Espargaro emerged from the shadow of test-rider and wildcard, Mika Kallio, to complete the top 10.

Kallio in turn finished 11th, whilst Iannone struggled to 12th – although he finished as top Suzuki. Jack Miller was 13th and top independent Honda, with Britain’s Scott Redding behind him in 14th. Esteve Rabat made it a double point-scoring finish for the Marc VDS squad, taking 15th and the final point of the day.

The championship now takes a two weekend sabbatical before returning to the Land of the Rising Sun – Japan. Motegi beckons next on the calendar but unlike last year, Marc Marquez can’t wrap the series up at this meeting. The top five are the only riders that have a mathematical chance of the championship going into the closing stages of a phenomenal season of Grand Prix racing.

Top 5 Championship Standings

1.) Marc Marquez        224

2.) Andrea Dovizioso 208

3.) Maverick Vinales  196

4.) Dani Pedrosa          170

5.) Valentino Rossi     168

Image by: MotoGP

Round 14 of the MotoGP championship beckons this weekend and the venue for the occasion is the MotorLand Aragon circuit, in Alcaniz, Spain. The third of four Spanish rounds, Aragon has become a Marc Marquez heartland since he stepped up to the premier class in 2013 and the capacity crowd will want to witness their man take victory, for what would be a fourth time. Keeping the Spaniard honest is Andrea Dovizioso – joint championship leader, Maverick Vinales – just 16 points back and also Dani Pedrosa, who is a distant fifth in the championship.

Marc Marquez is at the head of the championship, courtesy of having more 2^nd places than Andrea Dovizioso, as both have four wins. The Spaniard has taken three wins at Aragon – two in the premier class and one in Moto2. The five-time champion won at the circuit last season and in 2013 but when Marc hasn’t been winner, he’s been a crasher. The 24-year-old has never won back to back races at same Spanish circuit in consecutive seasons so that will be yet another record he will want to smash. Honda have won at Aragon a total of four times and will also hope to become the first manufacturer to make it five at the track.

Andrea Dovizioso took a steady 3^rd at Misano, his sixth podium of the season. The last time Dovizioso took six podiums in a season was 2012 on the Tech 3 Yamaha and if he manages to make the podium this weekend, it’ll be the first time since 2011 that he has had seven in a year. Dovi has just one podium to his name at Aragon, back in 2012 and his best result for Ducati at the track is a 5^th in 2015. Ducati in turn haven’t won at Aragon since 2010 and their last podium at the circuit was with Cal Crutchlow in 2014. 31-year-old Dovizioso has shattered records this year for Ducati and will hope to continue doing so into the forthcoming weekend.

Maverick Vinales has had a slightly subdued season since his wins in Qatar and Argentina. Vinales was off the podium yet again at Misano, where he finished 4^th, limiting the damage that Marquez and Dovizioso have done to him. Vinales was fourth at Aragon on the Suzuki last year and won at the circuit in 2014 for the Pons Kalex team in Moto2. He has two other podiums in Moto3 too. Yamaha have won at the circuit twice – in 2014 and 2015. Vinales needs points and must take some off either Marquez or Dovizioso this weekend. If he is behind them for another meeting, one would have to think it’d take a monumental effort to get to the head of the championship again. Having said that, as hard as it may be, it is far from impossible.

The man stealing all the headlines into Aragon is 4^th placed Valentino Rossi, who announced that he will attempt to ride during FP1 on Friday morning this weekend. That will make it just 22 days after initially breaking his leg. The Doctor has made the decision to come back at a circuit where he has struggled at in the past. He has been third on three occasions – 2013, 2015 and 2016 – but they are his best finish. Rossi has never qualified on the front row at Aragon either so in a normal, healthy condition, this circuit was never going to be his favourite. If we dare talk about a win for Valentino, then he would be the second oldest rider to win two GPs in a premier class season, after Leslie Graham. Will Valentino show one his most determined rides ever to salvage something out of this weekend?

Dani Pedrosa occupies 5^th in the championship, seven points behind the Italian veteran. Pedrosa won at the circuit back in 2012 and had a strong ride to 2^nd at the circuit in 2015, battling with Valentino Rossi on the final lap. A podium for Dani would see it be his seventh of the season, the first time since 2014 that he has achieved that many. Pedrosa has taken pole at the previous two Spanish rounds this season and won at Jerez so he clearly has no issues about performing in front of a home crowd. With five races to go, Pedrosa needs to slash the 49-point gap to the leaders to be in with a chance of the championship and that must start at Aragon. Like Vinales, it is far from over but it’s going to be tough.

Sixth place in the championship belongs to top rookie, Johann Zarco. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider has been a revelation this season but he has never won at Aragon – one of the few circuits he looked despondent with in his Moto2 championship years. His only podiums at the circuit come from 2011 in Moto3 when he finished 2^nd and in 2014 on the Caterham-Suter in Moto2, where he finished 3^rd. There has never been a French winner at Aragon across all three classes and in dodgy weather, I wouldn’t put it passed Zarco to atleast threaten that particular statistic. Tech 3’s best premier class result at Aragon is a third place by Andrea Dovizioso in 2012.

Danilo Petrucci in 7th will be looking for his first ever back-to-back podiums and Pramac Ducati’s first back-to-back podiums since 2008, with Toni Elias at Brno and Misano. Petrucci has only had one point scoring ride at Aragon, with 11th place back in 2014. He is 15 points behind Johann Zarco.

Cal Crutchlow is top Brit in 8^th. The double GP winner has one podium to his name in GP racing at the circuit, on a Ducati in 2014. His best result for Honda was 5^th last year. Crutchlow will be looking to finish his 8^th consecutive race this season in the points.

9^th place is Jorge Lorenzo, who still seeks his first win for Ducati after crashing out in Misano. Having led his first laps, Jorge can now progress further with the bike at a circuit he loves. He is the only rider to win at Aragon from outside of the front row in 2014 and dominated proceedings in 2015 too. A 2^nd last year fires him up for what should be a successful weekend.

Jonas Folger is 10^th in the championship, making Yamaha the only manufacturer with four bikes in the top 10. Folger never achieved a Moto2 podium at Aragon but he did manage a third place back in 2012 in Moto3. He will be looking to become the first ever German to win at the Aragon venue.

Image: Honda Pro Racing