Marquez ready to wear crown

– Spain’s Marc Marquez (above) is poised to wrap up a fourth world MotoGP title tomorrow, an achievement which appeared a long-distance dream in the first half of the season.

The 24-year-old Honda rider, who was world champion in the premier class in 2013, 2014 and 2016, watched as Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales romped to victory in three of the first five races.

He was even down in fourth spot in the standings after old rival Valentino Rossi won in the Netherlands.

But the second half of the season has been monopolised by Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso on a Ducati.

Five of Marquez’s six wins in 2017 have come since the Assen race as Yamaha fell off the pace.

Dovizioso also has six wins, but Marquez heads for Spain with a 21-point advantage so he only has to finish in the top 11 to again be crowned world champion.

“Of course it will be natural to feel some pressure in Valencia with so much at stake, but honestly there has been pressure for the entire second part of the season,” said Marquez whose attempts to wrap up the title in rain-swept Malaysia two weeks ago were thwarted by a fourth-place finish.

The 31-year-old Dovizioso has been a sensation in a season in which his Ducati team-mate and former world champion Jorge Lorenzo was expected to be the outfit’s go-to rider.

But the Italian has completely overshadowed the Spaniard with Dovizioso even getting the better of Lorenzo in Malaysia in Ducati’s only one-two finish in 2017.

“What Marquez did this season is incredible,” admitted Dovizioso, wary of mission impossible which confronts him. – AFP