Marc Marquez has two victories from a possible three in 2016 and has climbed the podium in the last four Jerez races, winning in 2014.
After an excellent start to the season in Qatar, Argentina and the United States, Marc Marquez returns to Europe leading the MotoGP World Championship and aiming to extend his advantage. The Circuito de Jerez is the venue for the first of eleven consecutive races in Europe, and has provided some fond memories for the Repsol Honda riders: Dani Pedrosa has achieved nine podiums in a row there since his brilliant debut in the premier class in 2006 -at which he took second place. At a circuit where the fans enthusiastically support the home riders, Marquez and Pedrosa will feed off the energy of the crowd this weekend.
Marc Marquez: “We’re very happy to head to Jerez with a small advantage in the championship standings because I think our rivals are going to be very strong there. I’m also very happy with the work we’re carrying out with Honda and my team because we’ve improved step by step at every race: we found a good base setup in Qatar and we further bettered it slightly in several areas, such as engine braking and electronics, in Argentina and Texas. Anyway, there’s still work to do and margin for improvement, especially in acceleration. Besides this, the tracks are different in Europe—narrower, with a different tarmac—so we have to wait and see how we can manage the situation. Of course I love to be back in Spain after three flyaway races. Racing in front of my home crowd and my fan club is always very nice and gives me a special emotion and extra motivation.“
