Marquez: If they gain 5 points a race, no problem

Even if Marc Marquez loses eleven points to Andrea Dovizioso in each of the remaining six rounds, he would still win the 2018 MotoGP title.

"Luckily for us Ducati [only] come very, very strong in the second part of the season. So we have 67 points advantage. If they gain 5 points every race, no problem," Marquez said after finishing runner-up to Dovizioso last time at Misano.

But is the Repsol Honda rider really prepared to show such patience? Especially with Turn 10 of the Aragon circuit being renamed in Marquez's honour on Thursday.

"This year will be special because it will be the first time that a circuit dedicates a corner to me, and I’m very excited about that," he said.

"Aragon is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar, a track where I normally feel at ease and I can ride very well. I look forward to racing in front of my home crowd."

Marquez hasn't won since July's German Grand Prix, with Dovizioso and Ducati team-mate Jorge Lorenzo taking victory in the three races since.

When Dovizioso said that Marquez would "for sure" push for victory in front of his home fans at Aragon, the Spaniard spotted a trap.

"He wants to push me to do a mistake!" Marquez smiled.

"I’m pushing every weekend. I pushed in Austria GP until the last lap. I pushed here in Misano, in Brno. I push but under control. I’m pushing and we are working. Every Thursday we thought that we will win the race. Then during the weekend we see, but the mentality is, 'attack to defend'.

"What I cannot do is just a stupid mistake. I need to manage. I tried to push here in Misano. In Austria I pushed a lot until the last lap. In Aragon I will push again, but we will see. If we cannot win, the way is to finish on the podium in all the races. This is my target."

But Marquez admitted the technical advantage now looks to be with Ducati:

"Always the garden of the neighbour looks better than yours. But from what I see on track, in the first four or five races I had the best bike. Now the best bike looks like it is the Ducati. But it is always a compromise between riders, between the team."

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi is three points behind Dovizioso, but yet to win a race this season, while Lorenzo has dropped 91-points from the top after falling from second place on the penultimate lap in Misano.

Marquez won at Aragon in 2013, 2016 and 2017, with team-mate Dani Pedrosa taking victory in 2012.

Pedrosa is currently only eleventh in the world championship and yet to finish higher than fifth in what is his final MotoGP season.

“I always enjoy going to Aragón like every time I race in front of my fan club and my home crowd," he said. "I also like the track; I’ve had good results there in the past and it would be good to achieve another one. Can’t wait to get there and enjoy one more Spanish GP!”