Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso are both in excited mood ahead of this weekend’s MotoGP championship decider at Valencia, even though both head into the race with different requirements. Marquez leads by 21 points heading into MotoGP’s fourth ever championship showdown, meaning an eleventh-place finish or better will secure his sixth world crown.
Although he describes this weekend’s finale as a “special occasion”, the reigning champion admits he may need to take a cautious approach given that a victory isn’t necessarily required.
“It has been a tough season, and one race decides everything. We’ll see, we’ll try to approach the weekend the same as always and give 100% in the practices but of course you feel it and feel it’s a special race. But we’ll try and enjoy the party at 2pm and it will be a special race in front of my fans at a circuit I like. In motorsport, anything can happen. To finish the race is the most important thing. It’s not the first time I’ve fought for the Championship here and it’s difficult but I’ll try to manage it the best I can. I’ll push like always throughout the weekend, then after Warm Up we will see. I will go out, try to find the feeling with the bike and try to enjoy the race.”
For Dovizioso, victory is the only option with any other result guaranteeing Marquez the title. The Ducati rider has been the season’s big surprise package and is delighted to simply be in this position heading into the final round.
“I wouldn’t have believed I’d be in this situation, and no one watching expected it. That’s why I’m so happy and proud of what we’ve achieved in this Championship. From Mugello on we’ve become very competitive. Some ups and downs but we’ve been able to arrive at the last round fighting for the Championship. We will see…21 points is a lot and very difficult, but it’s still open. We have to focus. We have to win the race, which will be difficult, but we have good speed now. Let’s see what we can do in the race. We have one strategy: try to win. I don’t feel much pressure because I know what we’ve done this season and I’m so happy about the results up to now.”
