Neil Hodgson Column: Marc Marquez is favourite at Grand Prix Hungary and could still win MotoGP title

Marc Marquez has started the weekend at Balaton Park by playing down his chances. Before his surgery, I think he was telling the truth. He was injured, and he couldn’t race at his best.

Now, though, I think he’s being a little bit more tactical, and this is a real chance for him to bag his first win of the year.

He absolutely dominated last year. It’s a weird track, and that’s where Marc has traditionally excelled in a way other riders haven’t. It’s counter-clockwise, too, which is ideal for him. 

It’s the polar opposite of Mugello, which is a very physical track. This is not so demanding. Slow corners are easier to change direction through, and this track has basically got four first-gear chicanes.

Mugello, on the other hand, is draining. It takes the kind of strength that Marc probably doesn’t have quite yet.

We’ve come from a hilly, Tuscan valley to a flat, almost featureless circuit, but that difference is what makes it compelling. It doesn’t play to the traditional strengths of riders.

It’s heavy braking, and with Moto2 and Moto3 last year, they showed some really good racing. It might not be a rider favourite, but it makes for an interesting race.

Marc also commented on the ”interesting” battle emerging between Aprilia riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, and while I think he is unlikely to win the title this year, there are still plenty of races left to go.

All he needs to do is start chipping away at their lead, and put himself in the right place to pick up the pieces if the two team-mates start wobbling.

If he does the double here, that gives him a chance, and so much confidence. Then he gets a weekend off for his fitness, and we go to Brno.

All he can control is his own performance, but I think this is a potentially decisive weekend.

If he doesn’t do the double this weekend, that could be it. If he does, it’s an entirely different championship ahead of us.

For now, though, I see Jorge Martin as the favourite for the championship. I think Martin is still only now working on how to get the best from his bike. I think Bezzecchi is riding at the absolute limit right now, but Martin has more to give. 

Marco is leading the championship, so you can hardly say he’s doing much wrong, but I do worry he does not have the balance right.

He appears to pour all his energy into getting things set up to dominate on Sundays, which means he’s leaving points on the table in the Saturday Sprints. 

The problem is, he’s not an explosive rider. Martin, in Sprints, even if he hasn’t qualified well, he goes hell for leather from the off. Bezzecchi just isn’t that character, so I don’t know just how much change will come naturally for him, if it comes at all.

Now we’re back for the second year, the intrigue is to see which of the riders have learned the lessons and can adapt to the track’s demands. It should be a cracking race.

I’m going to stick my neck out. I think Marquez is the favourite for the win this weekend. More than that, I think he will do the double for the weekend.

Martin is also in the mix, and Pedro Acosta could impress. But this could be the start of another Marquez comeback.

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