Marc Marquez vowed he would fight for victory at the Malaysian MotoGP as he heads into the season's penultimate race with a chance of clinching his second straight world title.
The 24-year-old Honda rider dramatically increased his lead at the top of the MotoGP standings to 33 points with a resounding victory at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.
The Spaniard's closest rival is Italy's Andrea Dovizioso who finished a poor 13th place in Australia — his worst performance of the season — and picked up only three points.
Ahead of this weekend's race at Malaysia's Sepang circuit, Marquez said Thursday he hoped for a repeat of his winning performance at Phillip Island. "Of course one of the main targets is to be on the same level and same mentality (like in Australia)," he said.
"I will try to push during the practice to prepare for the race. I have a good points advantage but that is not enough. We will try to finish the last two races and I am thinking of the championship." He added: "If I need to fight, I will fight."
If Marquez comes first or second, regardless of the result that Dovizioso achieves in Malaysia, he will win his fourth MotoGP title.
There is a total of 50 points remaining on the table in Malaysia and in the season's final race, in Spain.
Marquez said earlier this week he would play it cool and reduce his risk-taking in the final two races.
Dovizioso won last year's race in Sepang in wet conditions, with Marquez only finishing 11th after coming off his bike. But the Italian, refreshed after a three-day break on the Malaysian holiday island of Langkawi, insisted he still had a chance. "The championship title is still open. We have to try everything," he said.
Motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi, who is fourth in the standings with 188 points, warned it could be another wet race in Sepang. "The bad weather is following us," he said.
The final race of the season is in Valencia on November 12.
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