Rimini, Italy - MotoGP sensation Marc Marquez heads to this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix intent on making it 12 out of 13 wins in a remarkable season.
The only blip on the 21-year-old Honda ace's year came in the penultimate leg of the MotoGP calendar in the Czech Republic.
But he put his world to rights last time out at Silverstone, a win that pushed him up to 288 points in the title race, with Dani Pedrosa placed second on 199 and Italian veteran Valentino Rossi third, 10 points further adrift.
The runaway series leader climbed the steps to the podium summit at Silverstone faster than it takes to say the official name of Sunday's 13th race of 2014 - the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.
Marquez said: “It was nice to be back on the top step of the podium in Silverstone, the team did a great job the whole weekend.
“Now we head to Misano which is a smaller and slower track compared to others on the calendar.”
“We will have to work hard from Friday to get the setup on the bike just right, to suit the demands on braking at this twisty track and let's hope the weather is also nice.”
Pedrosa is hoping to emulate his winning performance here in 2010.
“It's a short lap,” he said, “but intense with many overtaking points and it's quite bumpy, so set up is most important.”
Nine-times world champion Rossi meanwhile is buzzing being back with Yamaha after a disappointing spell with Ducati and even enjoying sparring with Jorge Lorenzo, who is fourth in the overall standings.
“It was a mistake to go to Ducati,” he admitted, “because I was angry with Yamaha.
“After having won the title for Yamaha in 2004 and 2005, after so many years in which they had been struggling, Yamaha decided to bring a very strong team-mate, and I got really annoyed.
“But now I understand I was wrong. Also because the treatment in the Yamaha garage has always been very equal.”
“This year Yamaha has made a big effort for me, to create the conditions for me in which I can give my best, but they also do their best for Lorenzo, and I can say we are 50/50 in terms of importance in the team.”
AFP