Born to ride:
Newly-crowned champ Marquez looking to end season in style
(From left) Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi, Honda’s world champion Marc Marquez, Suzuki’s Maverick Vinales and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso posing ahead of Sunday’s Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday.
SPANIARD Marc Marquez may have already claimed the MotoGP world title, but the season is not over yet for the Repsol Honda Team rider.
Marquez bagged his third world title in the premier class at the Motorcycle Grand Prix of Japan early this month after rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo failed to finish.
And now he’s looking to finish off the season’s last two races in style.
After the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit, Marquez will head to Valencia, Spain, for the final round in two weeks’ time.
The newly-crowned world champion was off the leash for the first time in the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Phillip Island last Sunday when he slid on the gravel and suffered his first race retirement for the year.
But with the title already wrapped up and no injuries, Marquez is ready for the next challenge at the newly-relaid Sepang track.
The track has been fully resurfaced for better drainage and grip while and some kerbs and cambers have been changed.
Everyone will start on a clean slate and Marquez is curious to see how the changes have affected the track.
“In Phillip Island, it was crazy, cold weather but it’s going to be warmer here although it was much worse when we came at the beginning of the year for the winter testing.
“We struggled a lot to find our direction and bike set-up when we came here for testing in February.
“They’ve since resurfaced the track, so we have to wait and see how we will manage this weekend.
“I’m very curious about the track, to see how much smoother the surface is now and how much faster we can lap,” said Marquez, who was also the world champion in 2013 and 2014.
Having won once at Sepang in 2014, Marquez does not intend to take things easy on Sunday.
“We will push hard to get on the podium and, if possible, try for a victory.
“In Australia, we tried but were not successful ... we always look at the positives.
“I again learned something and I’ll be more careful in similar situations next time,” said Marquez, who tops the standings with an unassailable 273-point total.