MotoGP heads south this week, from cool and sometimes rainy Silverstone, venue for last Sunday’s British Grand Prix, to the San Marino GP on Italy’s sunny Adriatic coast.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) arrives at the 13th of 18 rounds holding a 50-point advantage over main title rival Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), while Honda now hold first place in the prestigious Constructors’ World Championship, with five victories so far this season.

Thus the championship is entering its final fascinating phase. Marquez has a good lead in the riders’ title chase, but he knows full well that he cannot afford a single mistake if he is to regain the crown he won during his first two seasons in MotoGP, in 2013 and 2014.

The 23-year-old Spaniard has had another remarkable year. Thus far he is the only rider in all three MotoGP classes to have scored points at each of the 12 races and he has finished on the podium on all but three occasions. Marquez has scored three wins, three second places, three thirds, a fourth, a fifth and a 13th (after he fell and remounted in May’s French GP).

Marquez’s strategy of winning when he can and taking vital points when he deems a win too risky is working perfectly so far. At Silverstone last weekend he battled for second with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) before running off the track, forcing him to settle for fourth place.

Moto2 World Champion in 2012 and 125cc World Champion in 2010, Marquez has a great record at Misano. He won the 125cc race there in 2010, the Moto2 races in 2011 and 2012 and last year’s MotoGP race.

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) has only competed at Misano in the premier class and he’s had an amazing record at the track with five visits to the podium: victory in 2010, second place in 2011 and third place in 2009, 2013 and 2014.

The 30-year-old has sometimes struggled this year, trying to get enough heat into the new-for-2016 Michelin tyres, but he had a superb ride at Silverstone, in the thick of the battle for second place. He ended the race in fifth place, but only two seconds off the podium. So far this year he has achieved two top-three results – in April’s Argentine GP and June’s Catalan GP – to hold fifth place overall.

Crutchlow is currently the top independent-team rider in the MotoGP series, holding eighth overall behind factory Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Ducati riders. The 30-year-old Briton is enjoying a rich vein of form, with one victory and two second places from the last four races, during which he scored 66 points, more than any other rider. His ride to second at Silverstone, in front of an adoring home crowd, was truly stunning: he bettered Marquez and Rossi with a display of superb aggression and control.

→全文を読む

情报提供元 [ Honda Pro Racing ]