MotoGP Grand Prix of Austria 2018: Race Schedule, Live Stream and Top Riders

Marc Marquez holds a 49-point advantage over Valentino Rossi coming into Sunday's 2018 Austrian Grand Prix, but Andrea Dovizioso's second win of the season has added some spice to the MotoGP standings.

The Italian scraped a sensational victory at the Czech Grand Prix last Sunday, and Jorge Lorenzo took third to seal a Ducati one-two on the podium, where Marquez had to settle for third.

Dovizioso's first win since the opening race of the season and just his third podium finish of the campaign will give him new belief in the championship stakes, but more than that will be required to restrain Marquez.

Ducati's star rider is also boosted after winning the 2017 Grand Prix of Austria, the only race on this year's MotoGP schedule at which Marquez is yet to taste victory, with the Thailand Grand Prix set to make its debut in October.

Michelin Motorsport posted a breakdown of the current riders' standings:

Read on for discussion of the top riders to watch out for at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, on Sunday, complete with a schedule for this weekend's action and live-stream information.

Saturday, August 11

8:55 a.m. BST/3:55 a.m. ET: Free Practice (FP3)

12:30 a.m. BST/7:30 a.m. ET: Free Practice (FP4)

1:10 p.m. BST/8:10 a.m. ET: Qualifying 1 (Q1)

1:35 p.m. BST/ 8:35 p.m. ET: Qualifying 2 (Q2)

Sunday, August 12

1 p.m. BST/8 a.m. ET: Race

The full schedule and times can be found on the MotoGP website.

Live-stream options are available via the BT Sport App and beIN Sports CONNECT.

Preview

Some way off matching last season's career-best win total of six races, Dovizioso needs to begin closing the gap on Marquez if the championship is to stay within sights, having only triumphed twice so far in 2018.

That being said, Dovizioso has the same number of victories that he did coming into last year's Austrian Grand Prix, which sparked a kick in form and a more heated rivalry with Marquez in particular, via BT Sport (UK only):

What's more, he has one more race this season in which to best 2017's win total and hopefully make the climb from silver medal to his first gold, although the 68 points between him and the leader with nine races left is daunting.

The 32-year-old is closing toward the end of his career while the irrepressible Marquez, 25, has arguably yet to peak, difficult though that may be to believe based on his achievements thus far:

The Red Bull Ring has several long stretches down that Ducati can hope Dovizioso kicks on and puts some pressure on Marquez again, with the Spaniard still yet to win here since Austria returned to MotoGP in 2016.

But there's another Ducati star, Lorenzo, who sent a reminder to his peers last Sunday by finishing second for his third podium of the year, and he'll be out to challenge again after finishing fourth here in 2017.

Lorenzo's third place was largely down to a terrific pass from the veteran near the end of the Czech Grand Prix, and the 31-year-old posted a daring declaration ahead of his return to battle this weekend:

Ahead of his move to Honda this summer to replace Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo has only a handful of opportunities to make the most of his time with Ducati, and this track could be one of the best chances to do so.