This weekend’s race at Japan’s Motegi Circuit will be the first opportunity for Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez to clinch the 2014 MotoGP championship. Marquez is currently sitting in first at 292 points going into this round, with his Honda teammate Pedrosa in second with 217 points. If Marquez can finish first in this weekend’s race, and can hold Rossi and Lorenzo off, he will be crowned 2014 MotoGP champion.

After today’s last practice session, Marquez and Pedrosa both ended up outside the top three. Marquez claimed that their slower times were due to sub-par bike setups in this article from MotoGP.com, but was hopeful that they would get it right for the race this weekend. Could we be looking at a back to back champion this week?