MotoGP: What Marquez needs to do to win the title

Despite an incredible 2017 MotoGP world championship battle that saw four riders in the fight until well after the half way point, Marc Marquez has now just about eked out a small lead in the race to the crown after a disastrous weekend last time out for Andrea Dovizioso at the Australian Grand Prix.

With that in mind, it is now possible for the Spaniard to win his sixth world championship and fourth in the premier class this weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix – but his chances of doing that depend almost as much on how the weekend goes for 2016 winner Dovizioso as it does for the reigning champion.

Here’s what Marquez needs to do to lift the crown on Sunday – and what Dovizioso needs to do to stop him:

• If Dovizioso wins the race, then Marquez needs to finish second to become world champion.
• If Dovizioso finishes second, then Marquez needs to finish fourth or better to become world champion.
• If Dovizioso finishes third, then Marquez needs to finish eighth or better to become world champion.
• If Dovizioso finishes fourth, then Marquez needs to finish 11th or better to become world champion.
• If Dovizioso finishes fifth to seventh, then Marquez needs to finish no more than eight places further back to become world champion.
• If Dovizioso finishes lower than seventh, then Marquez will be the 2017 world champion.