Márquez has 353 points and Martín 355 before the Australian Grand Prix on 23 to 25 October, with five rounds left.
Márquez wants to get as close as possible to the 37 points on offer across the sprint and the Sunday race.
Some fear the war in Iran could force the suspension of the Losail race, which would cut the points still at stake from 185 to 148.
The race is the final one at Phillip Island before the move to Adelaide in 2027, where the circuit is still under construction.
Marc Márquez arrives at Phillip Island with 353 points, two behind championship leader Jorge Martín on 355. Martín, the 2024 world champion, has one win and nine podiums this season. Márquez has six wins, more than any other rider this year, and Marco Bezzecchi sits third, 46 points behind Martín. Five rounds remain, and Márquez wants to win both the sprint and the Sunday race. In 2024 the title fight with Francesco Bagnaia ran to the final round, when Martín won three of the 20 races to Bagnaia's 11.
Márquez said at Thursday's press conference that he wants to finish as close as possible to the 37 points on offer across the sprint and the Sunday race. He has called Phillip Island one of his favourite circuits.
“I came here to be as close as possible to the 37 points.”
He also treats the rest of the season as a points contest with Martín, saying he will try to outscore him in every remaining round.
“In the five races that remain, I will try to score more than Jorge Martín in each of them.”
Márquez does not see Ducati as the fastest bike this weekend. He said Aprilias were quicker here last year, and he wants to see whether Ducati can counter Aprilia's strength in the fast corners by improving through the left-handers.
Phillip Island has seven left-hand corners and five right-hand corners, which is good news for Márquez. He won here in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024, the last one while riding for Gresini, and he finished second in 2022. This weekend he rides a factory Ducati at the circuit for the first time. Martín and Bezzecchi have never won here, but both hope to use Aprilia's current form to challenge Márquez.
The five remaining rounds are Australia, Malaysia, Qatar, Portugal and Valencia, and all of them are due in just six weeks. Some fear the war in Iran could force the suspension of the Qatar race at Losail. Suspending it would cut the points still at stake from 185 to 148.
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Ai Ogura is fourth, 96 points behind Martín, after injuries from two crashes at Mandalika in Indonesia, including a fractured finger. Francesco Bagnaia, champion in 2022 and 2023, is ninth and still seeks his first win this year, which would avoid a first season without a win since 2020.
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Fabio Quartararo is 14th, having the worst season of his MotoGP career, with a fifth place as his best result. He said he will give 100% at the last Phillip Island race. Alex Rins, his Yamaha teammate, won at the circuit in 2022 for Suzuki and says he has many good memories there.
The circuit first appeared on the world championship calendar in 1989 and has hosted the Australian Grand Prix since 1997. This is the final round here before the race moves to Adelaide in 2027, where a semi-urban circuit is still under construction. The track sits beside the sea, with low temperatures at this time of year and strong wind that can force riders to change their lines.
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Marc Márquez trails championship leader Jorge Martín by two points as the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island runs from 23 to 25 October. It is the last MotoGP race on the circuit before the event moves to Adelaide in 2027.
AI text based on reports by Mediafax.ro, LaSexta, Notícias ao Minuto and other publishers. Published .