Jorge Martin returns to MotoGP racing at revamped Brno
Marc Marquez is threatening to run away with the title after four straight wins, which have allowed the Spaniard to open up a sizeable gap at the top.
The 32-year-old factory Ducati rider has 344 points after 11 of 22 races, and he has won both the sprint and the main race on seven occasions.
His younger brother Alex, on a Gresini Ducati, is second with 261 points, ahead of Marc's Italian teammate Francesco Bagnaia -- the 2022 and 2023 world champion -- with 197.
But it is Martin, who has yet to score his first point this season, that will likely steal the limelight on the circuit in the second Czech city of Brno.
Martin sat out the first three races following two pre-season crashes and when he returned at Qatar in April, he crashed heavily again and missed the next seven races.
"I feel prepared. In terms of the physical condition, I feel better than any time in my life for sure," the 27-year-old Martin said having recovered from 11 broken ribs.
"I took profit of this time off to work on my performance, and I feel I am a better and more prepared rider now," he added.
"I don't want to speculate on results... What I can say is that I'm here to compete, I'm not here to make laps. I'm here to do my best."
Martin also said on Thursday he would stay with Aprilia for the 2026 season, dispelling doubts about his future.
He had been at odds with the Italian manufacturer after initially saying he intended to activate a release clause in his contract at the end of the season.
Brno is returning to the MotoGP calendar for the first time since 2020 after years of financial woes.
- 'Two seconds faster' -
Marquez, who stretched his championship lead after a perfect weekend at the Sachsenring in Germany, hailed Martin's return.
"Good for MotoGP, good for the championship, good for Aprilia and especially good for him to be back on track," he told MotoGP.com.
"Of course it will take time. You never know with Martin, but he will be fast in the second part of the season."
Marquez has won three MotoGP races at Brno, in 2013, 2017 and 2019, but he sat out the last edition in 2020 with a broken arm as Brad Binder stunned the pack to take his maiden MotoGP win.
Marquez holds the fastest lap time of 1min 54.596sec from 2016 and will be looking to improve it on the resurfaced 5.4-kilometre track as forecasters promise a mostly sunny weekend.
"It looks like some manufacturers tested two or three weeks ago and yeah, it looks like they were already two seconds faster," Marquez said.
He is eyeing his seventh MotoGP world title -- and first since 2019 -- that would put him level with the legendary Valentino Rossi.
Maverick Vinales, recovering from a shoulder fracture, will be replaced by Pol Espargaro at Brno, while Franco Morbidelli is also out following a bone-crunching crash in Germany.
The MotoGP circus will take a summer break after this weekend and resume with the Austrian GP on August 15-17.
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