Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez only really needs to finish Sunday’s Sepang MotoGP within sight of rival Andrea Dovizioso but says he will get involved in a scrap if he has to.
The world champion-elect has a 33-point lead over Dovi and only needs to leave Malaysia 25 points in front but the Bologna package is strong at Sepang, so Marquez says he will get down and dirty if needs be.
“One of the main targets is to try to be on the same level, same mentality, but obviously you feel a little bit different: you feel like it is a special weekend,” said Marquez, speaking at the track.
“In the other hand I have the same motivation, same mentality, and I will try to push on the practice at the maximum to prepare well for Sunday’s race. Then we will see where we can fight, where we can finish, but at the moment the strategy is to try and keep the same mentality, try to push, because especially at this race track many riders are fast. We did many laps here during the pre-season testing so it will be a tough weekend.
“Of course now remains two races and I have a nice advantage but not enough and we will try to finish both races always thinking about the championship.
“Here in the past I had some ups and downs and it’s not one of my best tracks but OK, in the pre-season – now the bike is completely different – we ride consistent and fast, so we will see where we can arrive this weekend. But if I need to fight, I will fight.”
