Marc Marquez aims to be 'realistic and calm' at the TT Circuit Assen as he acknowledges his previous struggles at the track.
Off the back of dominating the Italian Grand Prix, Marc Marquez is approaching the Dutch TT with the same mindset that he had at Mugello.
The eight-time World Champion knows that Assen is a circuit that he has struggled at in past, so he aims to remain 'realistic and calm' throughout the weekend.
"Assen is a race track where some years I have been super fast, but some years I have struggled," Marquez told MotoGP.com.
"In my personal calendar, it is a race track that I approach the same as Mugello. I will try to defend and not lose a lot of points.
"But I will be optimistic. At Mugello, I was optimistic from Thursday, I was going to try everything, but I was realistic because it is a race track that I do not normally like, or take the maximum amount of points."
Marquez went on to acknowledge his 'unexpected wins' this season at circuits where he usually struggles.
"Qatar and Mugello were unexpected wins," he explained.
"They were unexpected weekends because I was able to achieve all 37 points, which I did not predict.
"The fact that I have been realistic and calm all weekend, I think, helps me. I will try to keep the same mentality here in Assen, because I know that Pecco and Alex will be very fast."
The factory Ducati rider admitted that his main rival for the title is now his brother, with Francesco Bagnaia now being his second opponent.
"My main opponent is the rider who is second in the Championship, which is Alex," he stated.
"He is in very good form, he is riding super fast, and I am pushing, but he is always there. He is putting together an amazing season, so my main opponent is Alex.
"My second opponent is Pecco because he is third in the Championship, but we already have a nice gap.
"So, we need to accept if Pecco, Alex or another rider is faster than us in Assen. At the same time, we cannot start thinking about managing the points; we need to understand during the weekend what we can do."
