Marquez within touching distance of historic eighth MotoGP crown

Jorge Martin will again try and stay in the title fight despite his broken right wrist. It’s a simple equation for Marc Marquez in his quest to clinch a record eighth MotoGP title in Qatar this weekend. The Ducati man leads the premier class title race on 399 points and he needs to outscore his Spanish compatriot Jorge Martin by 30 points at the Lusail International Circuit. Should he succeed, Martin (355 points) will not be able to overtake him in the last two rounds in Portugal and Valencia even if he collects all 74 points on offer and Marquez gets none. Eight is great for Marc Marquez Enhancing Marquez’s chances of equalling Giacomo Agostini for the most MotoGP titles in Qatar already is the fact that Martin might not be able to put up much of a fight. The 2024 champion broke his right wrist in Australia and despite his brave attempts to partake in the last round in Malaysia, had to throw in the towel before the sprint race. Martin will try again this weekend, but his prospects do not look good being less than two weeks into a fracture that usually takes five weeks to heal. One rider that can delay Marquez’s early title parade is Martin’s factory Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian is third in the title race on 332 points and if Marquez are not able to outscore him by eight points in Doha, the championship will still be mathematically alive going into Portugal. Binder enters the home straight Further down the championship standings, 12th-placed Brad Binder will look to overtake Fermin Aldegeur, who is on 125 points and seven points ahead of him. Aldegeur is hoping to return to the track after fracturing his hand four rounds ago in Indonesia. It is Binder’s third last MotoGP event before he moves to the World Superbike Championship next year. 11th place is the lowest that the Red Bull KTM rider has finished in the title race in his first six premier class seasons. Ruché Moodley will also be hoping for a strong finish to the season. The teenager only has a solitary point to show in the Moto3 championship. Both the sprint race and main races in Qatar start at 6pm respectively on Saturday and Sunday. The Moto3 race starts at 3pm on Sunday.