MARQUEZ, LORENZO
Top riders show their badminton skills in exhibition match
FERZALFIE FAUZI AND SAIFUL AFFENDY SAPRAN nstsport@nst.com.my the exhibition match 2-0.
“From what I’ve seen, I can tell you that Marquez can play quite well compared to his rival Lorenzo. Perhaps Lorenzo could be carrying an injury to his hand which could explain why he couldn’t hit so well,” said Rashid yesterday.
Lorenzo, a three-time world champion, however, hopes to do better this weekend following his poor showing at last week’s Australian Grand Prix.
“The race in Australia was really bad. We were not as competitive and finishing 15th is not what I wanted.
“The season so far has been really tough for me. Perhaps I need to change my riding style,” said Lorenzo.
Lorenzo said the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) is one of his favourite circuits and because of this, he hopes to finish the race strongly.
“"It is a modern circuit with a challenging yet well laid out track where I have a lot of fond memories,” said Lorenzo.
As for MotoGP championship leader Marquez, he does not want to think too much on being crowned champion at SIC.
“This is actually the first time that I have the opportunity to wrap up the championship here.
“But I do not want to think about it too much, in fact what I want to do is focus completely on the race at hand,” said the Spaniard.
Marquez, who was world champion in 2013, 2014 and 2016, leads the standings with 269 points, 33 points more than his closest challenger, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso.