Marc Márquez comes into the last round of the season with a 21-point advantage. The Repsol Honda rider will seal the 2017 MotoGP World Championship if he finishes in the top eleven – and takes at least five points – or if Andrea Dovizioso does not win the race.
This season, whenever the reigning World Champion has crossed the finish line, he has done so in the Top 6. At Valencia, Marc has not been off the podium since coming up to MotoGP. The Cervera rider has also won two of his five titles at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit: The 125cc title in 2010 and his first in MotoGP in 2013.
Marc Márquez: “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. And the fact that we’ve been able to manage some tricky situations, as was the case at the last race in Malaysia, gives me a positive feeling. Regarding the track, I feel good because I like Valencia. It’s an anticlockwise circuit, which normally suits me.
Of course it’s also good to have a points advantage to manage. That said, we won’t think too much about any of those things. We definitely don’t think it will be easy, so we won’t go to Valencia with any extra confidence. We’ll keep the same mentality and working method that have brought us to where we are, and we’ll give 100 per cent because it will be important to be fast beginning with FP1.”
