Just three rounds remain in the 2024 MotoGP world championship as the riders head to the Chang International Circuit for the Thailand Grand Prix this weekend.
Jorge Martin extended his advantage over Francesco Bagnaia in the title race to 20 points with a sprint race win and close second to Marc Marquez in the grand prix in Australia.
The Spanish star will love the fact that Thailand is next on the schedule after he dominated at the track last year, being fastest in practice and qualifying and winning both the sprint race and the grand prix.
The title protagonists each have only one win in the last six races, with Marquez winning three times and Bagnaia's team-mate Enea Bastianini successful in Emilia Romagna.
Jorge Martin to win - 13/8
Jorge Martin should be starting to believe that a first MotoGP world title is within his grasp with just three rounds of the championship left.
Martin has posted top-two finishes in seven of the last eight rounds and had another strong weekend in Australia last week, taking pole, winning the sprint race and finishing less than a second behind grand prix winner Marc Marquez.
If the title had been on the line on the final lap, Martin might have landed another victory, but he was perhaps content to not fight Marquez too hard at the end, knowing he was almost 10 seconds ahead of his main title rival.
Bagnaia, the world champion in each of the last two seasons, has never won a grand prix in Australia and that comment also applies to Thailand, although the Ducati star has a solid enough record at this week's track, winning there in Moto2 in 2018 and finishing third and second there in his two championship seasons.
He was not close to the pace of Martin at the Chang International Circuit until Sunday last season, though, qualifying sixth and finishing seventh in the sprint before being promoted to second in the main race after Brad Binder picked up a last-lap penalty.
Thailand represented the high point of Martin's title challenge last season as he failed to reach the podium in the final three races of the year, but as it was one of just four weekends when he scored a double victory, he should be relishing a return to the track.
Marquez is 79 points behind Martin in the championship, so effectively out of contention for a seventh world title, but he could again prove the biggest threat to Martin this weekend, having won at this circuit in 2018 and 2019. He was only fifth and sixth there in the last two seasons, but is now fully acclimatised with his new machinery after moving to Gresini Racing this season and riding a Ducati for the first time.
Brad Binder each-way - 22/1
Enea Bastianini has gone three races without a podium finish since his second victory of the season, while rookie sensation Pedro Acosta is not certain to take part this weekend after missing the Australian Grand Prix due to a shoulder injury.
South Africa's Brad Binder has not reached the podium since the opening race of the season but has moved up to fifth in the championship standings with a string of solid finishes, placing in the top eight in six of the last seven rounds.
Binder showcased his ability to make fast starts again in Australia and is capable of making a nuisance of himself if he can get into the leading group.
The KTM rider has gone well at this track previously, finishing fourth and second in two Moto2 races there and he had an extremely strong weekend in Thailand last year. He qualified fifth and finished a close second to Martin in the sprint race and the grand prix, although he was demoted one place on the Sunday for exceeding track limits on the last lap.
Marco Bezzecchi each-way - 40/1
Marco Bezzecchi had a tough time in Australia, finishing outside the top eight for the first time in nine races, but the bare facts are misleading as he had qualified in an impressive fourth place.
The Italian has made an impression in Thailand in each of the last two seasons, taking pole in the dry 2022 before his weekend unravelled in a wet race, while last year he qualified fourth before finishing sixth in the sprint and fourth in the main race.
He has only one podium finish this season but was fourth and fifth in the two rounds prior to Australia and could be in the hunt for a podium placing.
Jorge Martin - 13/8
Francesco Bagnaia - 2/1
Marc Marquez - 11/5
Enea Bastianini - 16/1
Brad Binder - 22/1
Pedro Acosta - 25/1
Marco Bezzecchi - 40/1
Fabio Di Giannantonio - 40/1
Franco Morbidelli - 40/1
Maverick Vinales - 40/1
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.