Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) has one target in mind for this weekend’s British Grand Prix: a second successive Silverstone victory at the sweeping circuit, as he works to regain ground in his quest to claim a fourth World Championship title in a row; the last two in the premier MotoGP class.

With two wins and two second places in the last four races, the 22-year-old Spaniard has made valuable progress, after a challenging start to the season, when three race crashes gave his main rivals a head start in the points table.

A mid-season switch to a different chassis/suspension combination meant the former 125 and Moto2 champion regained the form that swept him to overall victory in 2013 and 2014. He has gone from fifth in the standings to third, and with the points margin cut back to 52 points, his chances of further progress are very real.

His self-avowed strategy is simple: to go all-out for victories. In this way, by adding more wins to the three already racked up this year, the mathematics are clear… he has the chance of retaining his crown.

Marquez has three wins at Silverstone, one each in 125 and Moto2; and a fighting first last year, after finishing second in 2013.

Fellow-Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) is also on the comeback trail, after missing three early races for remedial surgery for arm-pump. While the points lost while riding hurt mean championship victory is not an option, the experienced 29-year-old former 125 and double 250 champion from outside Barcelona has also got back into the top ten, now in seventh overall after a brave ride at the last round at Brno.

Pedrosa was riding injured after a suspension glitch precipitated a heavy crash in free practice. Ignoring the pain from his left ankle, he moved through to a strong fifth place, two short of adding another podium finish to the two already scored since his return from surgery.

Pedrosa scored one of his 49 career GP victories at the previous British GP venue, Donington Park; and at Silverstone was third in 2012 and 2013, and fourth last year.

It is an important race for both satellite-team riders of the powerful Factory Option Honda RC213V – the home Grand Prix for Englishmen Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda RC213V) and Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V).

In his first season with Honda, Crutchlow is so far the more successful of the pair, scoring a podium finish in Argentina and finishing fourth at Jerez in Spain, as well as five other strong top-tens. He will be striving to improve on his sixth and seventh places in the last two years at Silverstone.

Redding has had more challenging time adapting from his Open Honda of 2014 to the higher-spec Factory Option bike, but has scored points at all but three of the races so far, with a best of seventh. A former Silverstone winner in Moto2, and championship runner-up in that class in 2013, Redding is determined that his home race should be the one where he conquers the difficulties that have kept him from top-scoring positions so far this year.

Four riders campaign the Open category Honda, ranging from the vastly experienced 34-year-old Nicky Hayden (Aspar Honda RC213V-RS) to class rookie Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda RC213V-RS). The 20-year-old Australian joined the premier class direct from Moto3, where he was close title runner-up last year, and is the top scorer of the RC213V-RS riders, with a best of 11th in Catalunya.

Honda’s 2006 World Champion Hayden is next, also with an 11th place, one point ahead of team-mate Eugene Laverty (Aspar Honda RC213V-RS). The fourth Open Honda is ridden by Czech Karel Abraham (AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS), who made his racing return at the last round at Brno after missing four races through injury.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

“Brno was a difficult weekend but we took important points in the championship and keep fighting! Silverstone isn’t one of my favourite tracks but I enjoy going there as you can feel the excitement and the history that surrounds the circuit and the area as a whole. I’ve been on the podium there the past three years including a win last year, so let’s hope the weather is good to us and we can fight for a similar result this year.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team

“It wasn’t our best weekend in the Czech Republic but we were able to fight our way up to fifth and we must learn from the experience. My ankle is feeling much better now - not 100 percent – but I’m not in as much pain as I was in Brno. Silverstone is a very fast track, it’s very flat – being an old airfield – and it has many changes of direction, so finding a set-up that suits both the fast and slow corners is the challenge. As always, the British weather is the unknown factor so it’s important to keep an eye on that!”

Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR

“I was really disappointed after Brno, but I didn’t feel comfortable with the package all weekend, and though we tried hard to improve that and my feeling with the bike I had difficulty in the race maintaining the pace I wanted. Then I made a mistake and crashed. Silverstone is a different track, one where I have had some experience, and of course it’s my home Grand Prix. So I go home to Silverstone with higher hopes that we can find a solution with the settings, and get back to better results.”

Scott Redding, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS

“Silverstone is a special race. I like the track, I’ve won there in the past in Moto2 and the support of the British fans is always incredible. This year we arrive in Great Britain off the back of a few difficult races and not really knowing what to expect. It could be that the bike works well, like at Austin and Sachsenring, but we could just as easily find ourselves in the same situation as Brno, where we had to work hard to find a good setting. Either way, my goal is to try and secure my best result of the season so far at Silverstone. My motivation is still strong, and the support of the home crowd only adds to that, so I hope we can pull everything together and put in a strong performance this weekend.”

Nicky Hayden, Aspar Team

“Silverstone is a great circuit and the British Grand Prix is one of the biggest and best events on the calendar. I love the track because it is huge, wide and you can really let a MotoGP bike stretch its legs and enjoy yourself. There are different sections linked up with long straights; it is fun to ride. I was disappointed to miss this one last year so that’s an extra source of motivation for this weekend. The only thing about Silverstone is that it is quite bumpy so you need to work out quickly where the bumps are and try to avoid them. The track temperature also varies from one session to the next so it can be difficult to maintain the optimum temperature in the tyre. We’ll have to work quickly to adapt to any situation but I am looking forward to it and being ready to fight on Sunday. Silverstone holds good memories for me and I set the fastest lap of the race there in 2011, so hopefully we can reach a high level of performance this time around.”

Eugene Laverty, Aspar Team

“I’m really excited about Silverstone, not just because it’s my home race but also the fact that it’s one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. Silverstone’s fast flowing nature makes it really enjoyable to ride and it suits my style well. We expect temperatures to be much cooler than at the previous rounds, so we’ll have to be wary of that, particularly during the morning practice sessions. We’ve been much stronger since returning from the summer break and yet the past two races have yielded disappointing results. My aim is to set that record straight on Sunday with a convincing race finish.”

Jack Miller, CWM LCR

“Silverstone needs a different plan from the other tracks. One problem we have on the Open bikes with the softer tyres is rear spin, but Silverstone is a faster track with longer gearing, so I hope it will be less there. I was having a lot of difficulty at Brno. We still have to fix our front-end feel. We made a big step in morning warm-up for the last race, so with a good direction for development, I’m looking forward to more at this race.”

Karel Abraham, AB Motoracing

“I was glad to return at Brno after a long time not being able to ride, and pleased that I could finish the race, although not able to go as fast as I know I could. My injured foot was painful, and got worse all weekend; but with a little more time to recover I hope it will be less of a drawback at Silverstone. I’m not at 100 percent, but I will again push myself as hard as I can, do my best and try to endure the whole race.”