Marc Marquez begins second half of World Championship on top

The Repsol Honda rider comes into the second half of the season at the top of the World Championship standings with 170 points, 48 ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. The MotoGP World Championship will contest 5 races in the next 7 weeks.

After nearly a month away and following the first nine races of the season, the MotoGP World Championship beings an intense second half of the 2016 campaign at the Austrian Grand Prix. The event returns to the calendar for the first time since 1997. Marc Márquez head to Spielberg leading the World Championship with 170 points –48 more than his closest rival.

Marc Marquez: “The holidays have been very good because we started the summer break knowing we had worked as well as possible with my team and with Honda in the first part of the season. I had some time off, resting and relaxing with my friends on the beach. Anyway, a quite hectic and challenging second half of the season is about to begin, requiring our total concentration and a lot of hard work, so I also spent some time preparing myself with cycling and supermotard training.

Now I really look forward to getting back to racing my bike and to riding again at the Red Bull Ring. I had the chance to enjoy this amazing track twice, even if I wasn’t riding my factory bike and of course I couldn’t push as much as I like. It’s a circuit that’s quite enjoyable; some things about it remind me of Austin in that you have to brake very hard and stop the bike and turn quickly, but then there’s the last part that’s faster. I think it’s a good track for the World Championship and I can’t wait to ride there with a MotoGP bike.

When you approach a weekend at a new circuit, it’s different and you have to be able to adapt as quickly as possible. I’m also proud to race there because my fan club will join us with many Austrian fans. I’m sure we’ll have a great weekend and hopefully sunny weather.”