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MotoGP, Marquez: at Brno as if it were the first race of the year

Marc will celebrate his 100th MotoGP race start: "I don't want to think about my championship lead, my rivals are fast and we need to adopt the right strategy"

MotoGP: Marquez: at Brno as if it were the first race of the year

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Time passes for everyone, with child prodigy Marc Marquez set to reach the milestone of 100 MotoGP races at Brno. A relatively short career as yet, but one that involves figures that speak for themselves. Since 2013, across 99 races, the Spaniard has clocked up 40 wins, 70 podiums, 48 pole positions, 42 fastest laps and 4 world titles (in 5 years).

A fifth is well within his reach, as Marc arrives in the Czech Republic with a 46-point lead over Rossi, his closest rival, and with the memory of last year's Honda 1-2 (Marquez first, Pedrosa 2nd).

In addition, the HRC team is the only one to have tested at Brno during the summer break.

We had a good test at Brno and we’re coming off of wins at two very different races, one an all-out battle and one more tactical, so we arrive in Brno in a confident mood. It was also good to enjoy a few days of vacation to recharge the batteries and prepare for the second half of the season, which will still be very long with 10 races to go, and not easy at all.

Arriving as championship leader is clearly an advantage though.

Our rivals are riding fast at every circuit and in every situation, so we must understand and plan the best strategy each time. We’re working very well with the team and the HRC engineers, and we must continue that trend. I’ll go to Brno not thinking about the advantage in the Championship, as if we were all still at the beginning, on zero points. The target for Sunday is to try and win, but if the situation won’t allow it, we’ll manage to get the best result possible.”

While Marc considers the championship, Pedrosa wants to enjoy his last months as a rider, having announced that he will retire at the end of the season. He hasn't quite got into his stride yet this season, but there is still plenty of time.

“We’ve had a few days off, not a real summer break but good nevertheless. Now we go to Brno, which is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, so we hope to be a little faster there. In order to do that, we must improve the feeling and setup of the bike, because so far we’ve been facing some problems everywhere. We mainly need to improve in cornering, because at the moment I can’t turn the bike fast enough, especially mid-corner and out of the corners.”

Translated by Heather Watson
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