MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan 2014: Race Schedule, Live Stream and Top Riders
Marc Marquez can seal his second consecutive world championship at this weekend's MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan in Motegi.
He has a 75-point lead in the standings over his second-placed Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa with four races of the season remaining.
Thus the race win would see the 21-year-old crowned champion, but he would also seal the title without victory as long as he beats Pedrosa and does not lose more than three points on Valentino Rossi or more than 15 points to Jorge Lorenzo.
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The winner of 11 of the opening 12 races this season, Marquez has had a dip in form slightly of late but has incredible motivation this weekend to perform to his best.
| Session | Date (UK) | Time | Live Stream |
| Free Practice 3 | Oct.11 | 1:55 a.m. - 2:40 a.m. BST/8:55 p.m. - 9:40 p.m. ET | BT Sport app (subscription required) |
| Free Practice 4 | Oct.11 | 5:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. BST/12:30 a.m. - 1 a.m. ET | BT Sport app (subscription required) |
| Qualifying 1 | Oct.11 | 6:10 a.m. - 6:25 a.m. BST/1:10 a.m. - 1:25 a.m. ET | BT Sport app (subscription required) |
| Qualifying 2 | Oct.11 | 6:35 a.m. - 6:50 a.m. BST/1:35 a.m. - 1:50 a.m. ET | BT Sport app (subscription required) |
| Race | Oct.12 | 6 a.m. BST/1 a.m. ET | BT Sport app (subscription required) |
Top Riders
Valentino Rossi
Whether it be this weekend or at one of the other remaining races, the fact of the matter is that Marquez is going to win the 2014 MotoGP championship.
However, as the legendary Rossi has highlighted, the race for second place between the veteran Italian himself, Pedrosa and Lorenzo is very close, with just 15 points separating the three, per Crash.net:
"The fight for second place is getting interesting, we will try to achieve the best result possible! Japan is not one of my favourite tracks but also Aragon was not and still we went very well. We will see. It's Yamaha's home GP and we will do our best to get a good result!
"
Rossi has recovered from the accident he suffered on his Yamaha at Aragon last time out from which he suffered a suspected loss of consciousness and concussion.
Currently sitting in third, just three points behind Pedrosa, he will no doubt be aiming for a repeat of the San Marino Grand Prix last month when he claimed his sole victory of the season so far.
Jorge Lorenzo
Spaniard Lorenzo is fresh from a brilliant rain-affected victory at Aragon and it may be another wet weekend in Japan with Typhoon Vongfong expected to cause several downpours, per Supersport.com.
Lorenzo claimed victory around this circuit last year in the season's latter stages as he ran Marquez incredibly close for the title.
Thus he comes into the weekend in good form and with the knowledge of how to win in Japan and he must be considered a strong contender as he attempts to catch up to his Yamaha teammate and Pedrosa in the race for second.
He is 12 points back from Rossi and, with time running out, he needs to outscore the two men ahead of this weekend at Motegi and only a brave punter would bet against it.
Marc Marquez
The star of the show, the young Spaniard has been largely irresistible this season and completely deserves the inevitable glory that will come in the form of his second MotoGP world championship.
However, will he complete the job in Japan? The fact of the matter is that he has fallen in the last two races and picked up a grand total of just four points.
The man himself hardly seems to be feeling the pressure, though, and claims he is not getting ahead of himself before Honda's home race, per Crash.net:
"I will try not to think about it too much - even if I know it would be great to achieve this on Honda's home soil - we will go there and work hard from day one and treat it as a normal race weekend and push for the victory on Sunday. Last year was my first visit to Motegi on a MotoGP machine and it was a very difficult weekend, so we hope to have more dry track time this year to find a good setup!
"
With such a handsome lead in the standings, Marquez's mistakes of late have not cost him, nor would another one likely harm him in Japan. But, despite what he says, he would clearly like to wrap things up at the first opportunity and a win this weekend would do just that.
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