Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) arrives at the 13th of 18 rounds holding a 50-point advantage over main title rival Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), while Honda now hold first place in the prestigious Constructors’ World Championship, with five victories so far this season.

Thus the championship is entering its final fascinating phase. Marquez has a good lead in the riders’ title chase, but he knows full well that he cannot afford a single mistake if he is to regain the crown he won during his first two seasons in MotoGP, in 2013 and 2014.

The 23-year-old Spaniard has had another remarkable year. Thus far he is the only rider in all three MotoGP classes to have scored points at each of the 12 races and he has finished on the podium on all but three occasions. Marquez has scored three wins, three second places, three thirds, a fourth, a fifth and a 13th (after he fell and remounted in May’s French GP).

Marquez’s strategy of winning when he can and taking vital points when he deems a win too risky is working perfectly so far. At Silverstone last weekend he battled for second with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) before running off the track, forcing him to settle for fourth place.

Moto2 World Champion in 2012 and 125cc World Champion in 2010, Marquez has a great record at Misano. He won the 125cc race there in 2010, the Moto2 races in 2011 and 2012 and last year’s MotoGP race.

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) has only competed at Misano in the premier class and he’s had an amazing record at the track with five visits to the podium: victory in 2010, second place in 2011 and third place in 2009, 2013 and 2014.

The 30-year-old has sometimes struggled this year, trying to get enough heat into the new-for-2016 Michelin tyres, but he had a superb ride at Silverstone, in the thick of the battle for second place. He ended the race in fifth place, but only two seconds off the podium. So far this year he has achieved two top-three results – in April’s Argentine GP and June’s Catalan GP – to hold fifth place overall.

Crutchlow is currently the top independent-team rider in the MotoGP series, holding eighth overall behind factory Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Ducati riders. The 30-year-old Briton is enjoying a rich vein of form, with one victory and two second places from the last four races, during which he scored 66 points, more than any other rider. His ride to second at Silverstone, in front of an adoring home crowd, was truly stunning: he bettered Marquez and Rossi with a display of superb aggression and control.

This is Crutchlow’s second season with Honda and he is really gelling with his RC213V, so he feels comfortable taking the bike to the limit lap after lap.

Honda’s other two independent-team riders are still in the process of getting to grips with a 250 horsepower MotoGP bike. Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) proved he has what it takes when he won June’s Dutch TT, staged in damp conditions. The Australian fought with Marquez that day, finally getting the better of the series leader in tricky conditions. Otherwise he has been quite luckless, breaking a leg in preseason training and suffering back and wrist injuries in last month’s Austrian GP.

Last weekend MotoGP’s only rookie Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) finished in the points, for the eighth time this season. The 27-year-old Spaniard won the Misano Moto2 race in 2014, on his way to that year’s world title. On this visit he will be aiming to take the next step in his acclimatisation with his RC213V.

Misano was built in 1969 and hosted its first Grand Prix in 1980. The track, close to a string of popular Adriatic beach resorts, was a regular GP fixture until 1993, when three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey suffered serious injuries, after which the circuit was taken off the calendar.

The redesigned, reverse-direction Misano World Circuit re-joined the championship with the return of the San Marino GP in 2007. The new clockwise lap introduced a particular challenge at the end of the back straight, where a series of progressively slower right-hand corners require precise braking, and also test tyres and machine set-up. The overall layout is tight with a number of slow-speed corners, so low-gear acceleration is important.

The 2016 MotoGP season continues at Aragon on September 25th before the paddock flies east for the Japanese, Australian and Malaysian GPs on consecutive weekends in October. The championship finale takes place at Valencia, Spain, on November 13th.

Marc Marquez 93

“All in all we got an okay result in England, as even though we didn’t make the ideal choice with the front tyre, in the end we lost just three points. Now we head to Misano, which is quite a different track as it is twisty and slow. In San Marino I expect to fight again for the podium if we work well during the weekend. I’m happy to go racing in Italy, where I really hope the weather will be nice and give us the chance to make the most of every session.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

“We arrive in Misano from a race that helped us to gain a little bit more confidence and motivation. Lap by lap, I was better able to understand our strong points and weak points. We need to keep the same style in the next race weekend, focusing in the practices, not making too many changes on the bike and working to understand how to use the tyres better, choosing those that adapt better to the track. We must remain completely focused on the job.”

Cal Crutchlow 35

“I feel good on the bike and I know how to push to my limit, better than I did at the start of the year, so I feel in great shape and in good form. Hopefully Misano will be another good race, even though it’s a more difficult racetrack for the Honda and for myself. I’ve not had the best results there over the years, but that won’t stop me from trying. I hadn’t had such good results at Silverstone before last weekend and that didn’t stop me from trying there! We’ve worked hard over the last races to get where we are – in the last four races we’ve scored 66 points! I’m at a good point of my career and we’ll try again at Misano.”

Jack Miller 43

“I’m hoping that another few days or recovery and rehab will have me feeling fitter and stronger at Misano. Silverstone wasn’t an easy weekend because I had quite a bit of pain from my injuries and the painkillers wore off during the race. I’m looking forward to a better time at Misano. It’s a very different track from the last one but I go all right there – I got a podium in the 2014 Moto3 race and last year I finished just behind Cal in that wet-and-dry race.”

Tito Rabat 53

“Misano and Silverstone are very different tracks so it will be interesting switching from one to the other. Last Sunday I scored points for the third race in a row and we learned some things that I think could help us this weekend. As usual, my aim is to keep learning keep improving and try to reduce the gap to the front guys.”