MARQUEZ'S RACE TO THE CROWN

Regarded as the oldest motorsport world championship, MotoGP has its origins back in the 1930s. The regulatory body FIM – earlier known as FICM (Fédération Internationale des Clubs Motocyclistes), had announced a European championship in 1938, but could not commence due to the WWII. The Italian manufactures were dominant in every category – showcasing the might of the country's motorcycle industry. Their dominance in the 500 cc category was unbroken till 1974.

Since then, things have changed. Japanese motorcycle industry had started to boom by the 70s and thereby resulted in the birth of three major world manufacturers – Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha. The MotoGP known today is the championship's modern version. In 2012, regulations changed and with the advent of technology and engineering, the premier category was elevated from 500 cc to 990 cc.

In GP Racing, the riders with podium finishes get 25, 20 and 16 points respectively. The fourth-placed rider gets 13 points, whereas the rider placed fifth gets 11 points and thereon a decrease in each position leads to the decrease of a point. The 15th placed rider ends the race with one point. The world champion is decided on the basis of 19 races across the world.

A young Italian rider, Valentino Rossi, the last champion before the re-branding of the championship, went on to pull off four consecutive championships – two each with Honda and Yamaha. Rossi undoubtedly went on to pull off miraculous victories against the likes of Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa and hence is regarded as the greatest having already registered 115 wins – 7 wins behind all-time great Giacomo Agostini.

In the backdrop, a 15-year-old Spaniard had created a buzz having won the 125 cc championship and the Moto2 championship. The teenager was moved quickly into the premier class of world-class riders upon registering impressive wins. He took the MotoGP world by a storm and became the first person to claim the world champion in his first season in 2013. He is also the youngest world champion.

Little did Rossi and Co knew what was coming next. Despite some hard fought battles, Marquez not just defended his title next season but pulled off 10 wins in a row with three rounds to spare. In the 2015 World Championships, Rossi pushed himself harder than ever, and as a result, his Yamaha co-rider Lorenzo went to be crowned as the new champion. It seemed Rossi's team had found an answer to Marquez only to be left shattered

since then.

Honda and Marquez went on to win the 2016 and 2017 MotoGP – and looks all set to win for the fifth time in the 2018 World Championship. Scheduled for 19 races, the British GP was canceled after a rider vote due to standing water on the track. 15 rounds have been completed by now, and Marc Marquez has taken a lead of 77 points – with Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi at second and third respectively. Yamaha now has their longest winless streak of 24 races with Rossi left winless throughout the season.

Marquez will be keen to settle all dues on Honda's home turf (Twin Ring Motegi) in the Japan GP and rule out all mathematical equations. All he needs to do is score points himself, finish ahead of Dovizioso and not let Rossi win. Clearly, the main man between Marquez and the world championship is Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, who has been in good form and has defeated the Honda rider in an ultimate showdown last year this venue. Despite some late mechanical struggles with Yamaha, Rossi is placed third in the pack with the virtue of consistency.

Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) would be the rookie and has been practicing at some really good pace off-late. Despite some good performances, he is yet without a win and the Japanese will be eying for one at his home. Yamaha's test rider, Katsuyuki Nakasuga, will be the veteran racer and the two Japanese would definitely want the home crowd to go back happy.

In the last race at the Thailand GP, the battle between Marquez and Dovizioso was a treat for the spectators with the former registering a win only by a fraction (0.11 seconds). On asked about his battle, Marquez replied, "Of course I'm very, very happy today because it's the first time I've beaten Dovi in this way. We were very equal, and my strategy was to try and attack in order to open a gap and avoid having it come down to the last lap. But Dovi had a very good pace and I was struggling with the front tyre, so I wasn't able. Instead, I just tried to manage the tyres and stick to him. Honestly, I wasn't so confident going into the final lap because I've lost many head-to-head finishes with him in the past. But this time, we swapped roles—I used Dovi's style and Dovi used Marquez's style!—and that worked to overtake him on the corner exit. It was a great feeling to race in front of all the Thai fans, who cheered and supported all of us riders equally, really enjoying the sport and making me feel good over the whole weekend. I'm really thankful to them. Now the first match ball will be in Japan, which is the most important race for Honda as it's their only home Grand Prix. Of course, we'll try our best there, but if it's not possible, the main target is still to achieve the title at some point."

For Rossi to win his 10th World Championship, the chances are very unrealistic. Even if Rossi were to win all the remaining races this season, Marquez could score just a single point in any of them and beat Rossi to the title on a count of wins. Dovizioso, on the other hand, has much better chances to be the world champion, but his fate depends on the way Marquez performs. For the Ducati man, all that lies under his control is his much-needed podium finishes at Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Spain.

On the other hand, in the constructor's category, Japanese manufacturers, Honda, scored 306 points and has a lead of 33 points over Italian rivals, Ducati. With four races to go, Ducati's fate in the world championships lies on the hands of Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo. Yamaha, Suzuki and KTM are placed third, fourth and fifth respectively.