If Marc Marquez keeps winning, he will wrap up this year's MotoGP world title at MotorLand Aragon â regardless of what his rivals do. In order to do that, the Spaniard would need to claim a fifth straight victory at Germany's Sachsenring this weekend.
21-year-old Marquez is no stranger to the Sachsenring. In fact, he's won there on his last four attempts: in the 125 class in 2010, in the Moto2 class in both 2011 and 2012 and in his first MotoGP German Grand Prix last year. On each of those occasions he was coming from pole position.
With this in mind, it is fair to say the odds are in his favor for another good weekend, having proven unbeatable across the first eight Grands Prix of 2014. If he pulls it off, he will have won every single event across the opening half of the premier class season, and in varying circumstances.
Marquez has already become the 13th most successful rider of all-time (across all World Championship classes to have ever existed) in terms of GP wins, having celebrated his 40th victory in mixed conditions at Assen two weekends ago. He now targets a 25th MotoGP podium, having already equalled the totals of great names John Surtees, Luca Cadalora, Jack Findlay and Carlos Checa. On top of this, the Cervera-born Catalan has become the first rider to claim eight straight wins since the MotoGP category was introduced at the start of 2002 ... and he is in good company, with only six other riders in history having won eight or more Grands Prix in a single season: the surnames are Hailwood, Agostini, Doohan, Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo ...
In what has fast become the 'best of the rest' battle for second overall, things could not be closer. Valentino Rossi heads to Germany with a fresh two-year deal signed and sealed, binding him to Movistar Yamaha MotoGP until the end of 2016. He now shares second in the standings with Marquez's Repsol Honda Team partner Dani Pedrosa, although the gap to the leader is a mammoth 72 points. However, should Rossi finish on the podium, he will become the first rider ever to rack up 4,000 career points. Bearing in mind this will be the 76th GP staged in Germany â a nation that boasts more Grand Prix history than most â this may seem only fitting.
In fourth place, Ducati Team's Andrea Dovizioso is well over a century of points in arrears of Marquez, but upbeat again following the red team's best result since Misano 2012 â he finished second last time out. Fifth overall is Jorge Lorenzo, having admitted post-race in The Netherlands that he had been distracted by conditions which reminded him of the weather in which he broke his collarbone a year earlier.
With the help of colleagues in Moto2 and Moto3, the likes of Marquez, Pedrosa or Lorenzo could make more history this weekend. Should all three races at the Sachsenring be won by Spanish riders, the nation would become only the second (after Italy) to win a total of 500 World Championship Grands Prix, with 90-times race winner Angel Nieto having contributed to the majority of them thanks to his immense success in the 125cc, 80cc and 50cc categories. It could prove to be a rather special weekend, should the 'Marcha Real' play out three times on the podium.
