Marc Marquez 'back' in MotoGP championship title battle after Grand Prix Czechia win, says Neil Hodgson

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TNT Sports expert Neil Hodgson hailed reigning world champion Marc Marquez after he moved within 40 points of championship leader Marco Bezzecchi on Sunday, with a win at Grand Prix Czechia. Hodgson said that Marquez is indisputably back in contention for this season's title.

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Marquez overhauled Ai Ogura (Trackhouse), and then Sprint winner and his Ducati Lenovo team-mate, Francesco Bagnaia, to take the win.

The 25 points earned moved him within 40 of Aprilia’s Bezzecchi, with the Italian banned from Sunday’s race as a punishment for a physical confrontation with a marshal on Saturday.

Before the weekend’s racing, Marquez had played down his chances of succeeding in Brno, but Hodgson tipped him as a possible contender for the win in his TNT Sports column.

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However, speaking after the race, Hodgson admitted that he doubted he had what it took to displace Bagnaia.

”I didn't think that was possible today,” he began. ”I'll be honest. When Bagnaia was leading and Marc was second, I did not think that was possible.

”What a ride. He is absolutely destroyed, I promise you. We've known him long enough.

'We are there' - Marquez admits he is back in championship contention

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”What a win. I mean, there's been a few of them - that's his 101st. There's been quite a few. You'd put that up there.

”That's riding through the pain barrier. He's not 90% fit. I'm not having it. He's not. He had that massive crash.

”[Marquez was] 102 points behind the championship leader two rounds ago - it's down to 40.

”It’s Assen next week. Not much rest. It's going to be more physical than this place.

”We should have known better. I did not think it was possible.”

Reflecting on the early stages of the season when Aprilia looked to be running away with the championship, Hodgson explained what Ducati would have been going through.

He said: ”You end up working harder, for no endorphin release at the end of the day or the end of the weekend. Just long faces looking for excuses, trying to find reasons it's not working.”

Hodgson then added: ”I thought we’d got rid of him. I can’t believe this. He’s back.”

'A little slide' - Marquez almost loses control in final lap of Grand Prix Czechia victory

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'I cannot lie' - Marquez believes he is in title hunt

With Bezzecchi out of the event, Marquez had the chance to make major inroads into the Aprilia man's lead at the top of the standings.

Speaking to TNT Sports' Natalie Quirk after his victory in Brno, Marquez admitted that he is back in the mix.

"Now, I cannot say that I'm over," he said. "I mean, 40 points behind, and we [have not reached] the middle of the championship, so we are there. I cannot lie now. I cannot say another thing.

"It's true that when you are 103 points behind, I think, or more than 100 points, we were over, but now it looks like... we came back.

"We need to survive in a good way [in] Holland, Assen, because it's a circuit that, even when I'm fit, I'm struggling a lot there. This year we need to survive there, and then try to continue our championship."

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