MotoGP: Five things to watch during the Aragon GP

By foxsports
Published

Here are five things to watch during Sunday's Aragon GP:

VALENTINO ROSSI - Six Year Losing Streak in Spain

Losing streaks are unfamiliar territory for Valentino Rossi but the stark reality is that the great Italian has not won a race in Spain for six years. Ending that unwanted record would be a huge boost to his dream of winning an eighth MotoGP title. But it won't be easy as Rossi will start from sixth on the second row of the grid and is concerned about his ability to conserve rear tire performance at Aragon. Rossi's last win in Spain was his epic final corner victory over Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo at the Catalunya Grand Prix in 2009.

MIND THE GAP

Sunday's Aragon GP will start the countdown to a gripping all-Yamaha title fight between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo - five races in seven weeks. And despite the breathtaking late season pace of Honda star Marc Marquez, all eyes will be on the points gap between Yamaha protagonists Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi leads by 23 points going into this race but he believes he needs a bigger margin to gain a safety net against Lorenzo's unrelenting pace and motivation. Rossi observes "that anything can still happen."

BRADLEY SMITH - 19 and Counting

Twenty-four-year-old British rider Bradley Smith is aiming to extend his remarkable sequence of 19 consecutive point scoring races in MotoGP. Smith will make it 20 if he adds to his impressive points tally at Motorland coming off his impressive second place finish in last week's rain hit Misano race. Smith has answered his critics with fast and consistent season and is fifth in the championship and the leading satellite team on the Tech3 Yamaha.

MARQUEZ - Chasing 50 Wins

Marc Marquez has a simple plan for the rest of the season - to win the five remaining races and at least salvage some pride from his failed bid for a third consecutive world title. After a record smashing pole qualifying lap Marquez says "I am ready to fight for the victory." Marquez is a hot favorite to start that streak with a win in Aragon. And that would take him to 50 career GP victories across the three grand prix classes at just 22 years of age.

LORENZO - MAKE OR BREAK

In advance of this race Jorge Lorenzo has raised the stakes in the mind games with Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi. Lorenzo says that Rossi now has the pressure of defending the title lead knowing that earlier in the season he closed down a bigger margin on his title rival. "Now the gap is 23 points but previously I recovered 29 points in four races," Lorenzo said. "For sure Valentino now has some pressure because he has more to lose than to win and I have much less to lose. My goal is to go for the maximum 25 points and win."