Win Without Racing: MotoGP Round 15 Motegi Preview

Work commitments mean this is a brief preview for the Japanese MotoGP. I'll hopefully have a full race recap on Sunday.

Congratulations to the newly-crowned Moto2 champion Johann Zarco. Tito Rabat misses Japan due to a broken radius in his left arm, meaning nobody can mathematically catch the Frenchman.

Another title can be decided this weekend. Danny Kent can take the Moto3 crown if he takes the race win, and Enea Bastianini finished 11th or lower. It's a tough task, but not out of the realms of possibility.

At the top of MotoGP, it looked like advantage Valentino Rossi when it was announced at the start of the week that Jorge Lorenzo had suffered a shoulder injury. The Spaniard soon put that to bed though, posting the fastest time in free practice. Marc Marquez also goes into the weekend with an injury, breaking his left arm in training to compound what has been a truly miserable season for him.

The circuit

Motegi is an interesting one. Something always happens - be that rain, a game-changing crash, or an entertaining race. It's worth watching, although it takes a special kind of obsessive to wake up for it. *points at self*

Predictions

Jorge Lorenzo (GP), Johann Zarco (M2), Niccolo Antonelli (M3)

Race times

Good luck.