Fabio Quartararo will be "aggressive but intelligent" when he attempts to snatch the MotoGP title from Francesco Bagnaia at the Valencia Grand Prix.
Defending champion Quartararo will start the decisive final race of the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in fourth place, with Bagnaia eighth on the grid.
Monster Energy Yamaha rider Quartararo must win and hope Bagnaia finishes 15th or lower to retain his crown, as he trails the Italian by 23 points.
Jorge Martin took a third consecutive pole position on Saturday courtesy of a lap of one minute, 29.621 seconds, with Marc Marquez second and Jack Miller third.
Quartararo will not be giving up his title without a fight in Spain.
Asked if he needs a miracle, the Frenchman replied: "I am not thinking about that. I am thinking about the race - if I win, maybe something will happen.
"My main objective will be to fight for victory. It is the only thing I can do by myself. We will start in a good position, the pace is good, so I am confident.
"Tomorrow is a day to do whatever I want! I am 23 points behind so it’s the only positive I can find. My situation is to go all-in.
"I don't need to prove anything. But I want to win. I need to be aggressive but intelligent. Of course, I have to go aggressively from the beginning."
Quartararo says he will not be giving any thought to where Bagnaia is positioned during the race.
He added: "I don't care. On TV it looks like it's only him and me. But I need to focus on myself.
"It's not like we have a five-point difference and are fighting closely. There is a massive difference. What he does is not my problem. When the plan is so clear, I give no energy to anything else."
CLASSIFICATION
1. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) 1:29.621
2. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.205
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) + 0.213
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) + 0.279
5. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.319
6. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.334
7. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.418
8. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.428
9. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.481
10. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.503
11. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing) + 0.522
12. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 0.620
Marquez to miss Spanish Grand Prix as former champion continues surgery recovery
Marc Marquez will miss his home MotoGP race after it was confirmed the eight-time world champion will sit out the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
The Respol Honda man underwent surgery last month on a right hand fracture, with his recovery keeping him out of both the Argentine Grand Prix and Grand Prix of the Americas.
There had been some hope the Spaniard could return in Jerez, but the decision has now been made to focus on next month's French Grand Prix.
"Yesterday, we did another CT scan, and it has been confirmed that, despite the fact that the injury is progressing favourably, the bone has not yet finished healing and racing in Jerez was risky," Marquez said on Wednesday.
"Together with the medical team, we decided not to take any risks, to wait two more weeks and return in Le Mans.
"I am very sorry to miss the Spanish Grand Prix because it is always special, because of the atmosphere, racing at home and above all, seeing and enjoying the fans.
"I will continue with the rehabilitation and work to be back as soon as possible. Thank you for your messages of support!"
Iker Lecuona will stand in for Marquez this weekend.
Rins delivers first LCR Honda win since 2018 as Bagnaia crashes out again
After an action-packed race at MotoGP's Grand Prix of the Americas it was Alex Rins emerging with a drought-breaking victory for LCR Honda.
Rins, who qualified second and finished second in Saturday's sprint race around the Circuit of the Americas, was the beneficiary after pole-winner Francesco Bagnaia crashed out for the second race in a row, this time while leading with 13 laps remaining.
Bagnaia, who could have taken over as the championship leader if he went all the way, was one of nine riders to not complete the race.
Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and Jorge Martin all went down on the first lap, before Jack Miller went down with 14 laps to go while in a podium position, and he was followed with an early finish by Raul Fernandez (14 to go), Bagnaia (13), Joan Mir (12), Takaaki Nakagami (nine) and Stefan Bradl (two).
The carnage left Rins as the leader for the final 12 laps, and he held his nerve the rest of the way, coming home to deliver LCR Honda's first race victory since Argentina back in 2018. It is the Spaniard's fifth MotoGP win, and his first since switching teams after spending the past six seasons with Team Suzuki Ecstar.
It was also the first win for a Honda bike in 539 days in what has been a dominant stretch by the Ducatis, as no Honda rider finished better than Marc Marquez's 13th in the 2022 season standings.
With the result, Rins catapulted himself up to third in the standings after a 34-point week in Texas, while championship leader Marco Bezzecchi extended his gap at the top to 11 points with his safe sixth-place outcome.
Grid Classification
1. Alex Rins (Honda) 41:14.649
2. Luca Marini (Ducati) +3.498 seconds
3. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) +4.936
4. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +8.318
5. Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) +9.989
6. Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) +12.049
7. Johann Zarco (Ducati) +12.242
8. Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) +20.399
9. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) +27.981
10. Augusto Fernandez (KTM) +28.217
Championship Standings
1. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) 64
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 53
3. Alex Rins (LCR Honda) 47
4. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) 45
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 44
Teams
1. Mooney VR46 102
2. Pramac Racing 73
3. Aprilia 63
4. Yamaha 63
5. Ducati 58
Bagnaia rejoices in 'one of the best days I ever had in MotoGP' ahead of Grand Prix of Americas
Reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia labeled Saturday's display as one of his best in MotoGP after setting a new lap record in qualifying and winning the Grand Prix of the Americas Sprint.
Ducati's Bagnaia claimed pole for Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin with a new course lap record, edging Honda's Alex Lins by 0.160 seconds.
Bagnaia backed that up with the maximum 12 points from the Sprint where he won by 2.545 seconds from Lins, moving within one point of championship leader Marco Bezzecchi in the early season standings.
"It was one of the best days I ever had in MotoGP considering the performance we had during the whole day," Bagnaia said.
"My feeling with the bike is growing and in this track, for the first time I’m feeling great. This morning with used tyres I was feeling okay, so already I understood where to improve.
"But today for the race it was very difficult because the conditions were very hot and it was difficult to stop the bike.
"I was having a lot of locking and sincerely, it was a bit of a problem at the start of the race. But then I was used to it. Tomorrow will be a different story."
Bagnaia's impressive Saturday came after a disappointing performance in Argentina where he finished sixth in the Sprint and down in 16th in the Grand Prix.
"I started well, and tried to push, do my pace, to build up a gap," Bagnaia said. "Now I've got to focus on tomorrow, that's going to be harder."
Bezzecchi, who finished sixth in the COTA Sprint, will start the Grand Prix from fifth on the grid. Lins, who will start from second, was hopeful of an improvement on his Honda on Sunday.
"Let's see, for sure. We have a good bike," Lins said. "The electronic side was not working at 100 per cent, so let's see if tomorrow it works like this.
"The race today was a little fast, so we need to take a little bit more care of the tyres to arrive with a better performance in the end of the race."
Bagnaia smashed the COTA lap record with a flying final effort of 2.01.892, which was the first-ever sub 2.02.00 lap at the course.
That time came after Bagnaia had attempted to shake off Alex Marquez in his outlap after both recorded identical times.
But Marquez crashed on his final attempt, with Bagnaia released to record his 12th MotoGP pole in style. Gresini's Marquez will start from fourth, with Moorey VR46's Luca Marini in third.
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