MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan 2016: Race Schedule, Live Stream and Top Riders
Marc Marquez can win his third MotoGP championship on Sunday at the 2016 Grand Prix of Japan.
The Repsol Honda man has a 52-point lead over second-placed Valentino Rossi. If the Italian finishes 15th or lower, and his Movistar Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo places outside the top four, Marquez will be crowned champion once again having previously won the title in 2013 and 2014.
The Grand Prix is also the first of three flyaway races in as many weekends, with the Grands Prix of Australia and Malaysia soon to follow.
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Here's the full schedule for the race. Read on for a closer look at the riders to watch on Sunday:
| Friday, Oct. 14 | 1:55 a.m | Free Practice 1 |
| Friday, Oct. 14 | 6:05 a.m. | Free Practice 2 |
| Saturday, Oct. 15 | 1:55 a.m | Free Practice 3 |
| Saturday, Oct. 15 | 5:30 a.m. | Free Practice 4 |
| Saturday, Oct. 15 | 6:10 a.m. | Qualifying 1 |
| Saturday, Oct. 15 | 6:35 a.m. | Qualifying 2 |
| Sunday, Oct. 16 | 6 a.m. | Race |
Live streaming can be found at the BT Sport website (UK), beIN Sports CONNECT (U.S.) and fuboTV (U.S.).
Marc Marquez
Following his victory in Germany, Marquez steadily lost ground—if only a little—to Rossi in the next four races as the Italian finished ahead of him each time.
The Spaniard came roaring back in Aragon last time out, though, while his rival finished third, and now holds a commanding lead with four races left.
As MotoGP broadcaster Nick Harris demonstrated, it should be a question of when Marquez wins the title, rather than if:
The rider is not expecting to be crowned on Sunday, though, per MotoGP:
Marquez has experience of winning world titles there having won his second at Motegi, but he's anticipating a difficult race, according to MotoGP.com:
"The Japanese Grand Prix is an important appointment for us as it is Honda’s home race and one where we have great memories, as we clinched the title in 2014.
On the other hand, it’s a circuit that has always been a bit challenging for us. So for example, if Aragon was a track that I marked for attacking, Motegi is one that I marked for giving up as few points as possible. That said, we’ll approach it with an open mentality, aiming for the best result possible but ready to adapt to the circumstances.
"
Rossi has finished on the podium in his last four races while Lorenzo has won twice at Motegi in the past, so it is quite unlikely Marquez will become the champion on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the Honda rider should be able to limit the ground lost or perhaps even avoid losing it entirely with a positive finish.
Valentino Rossi
With Lorenzo a further 14 points behind Rossi, the Doctor is effectively the only rider who can pose a threat to Marquez in the standings.
He shared a snippet of his team's preparation for the race on Instagram:
The 37-year-old ideally needs to take maximum points and have Marquez either retire—which he is yet to do this season—or have a repeat of the disastrous 13th-placed finish he endured in France.
Rossi isn't particularly enamoured with the prospect of three races in three weekends, however:
Most of his success in Japan came at Suzuka, where he won three times, but he has only won once in Motegi, and that was in 2008. Last year, he finished second.
If he's to have any chance of claiming an unlikely title, he'll need to put in a similar performance.
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