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Rins finds a way past Petrucci for eighth, while Rossi clears Pol Espargaro for 11th. Far from an ideal race for either so far.
Miller is falling back into the clutches of Morbidelli, Dovizioso and Vinales. You'd suspect the last one in that group might be the one with the best pace, but neither Yamaha, nor Vinales have particularly excelled at overtaking this year.
Quartararo gains a couple of tenths back on the sixth lap of 24. Still a long way to go in this one.
Stopwatch
Marquez responded to Quartararo that time by, firing in a 1m45.766s that was nearly half a second quicker than the Frenchman's effort.
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Quartararo is starting to make inroads on Marquez's lead, which is now down to nine tenths.
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Current order: 1 Marquez, 2 Quartararo, 3 Miller, 4 Morbidelli, 5 Dovizioso, 6 Vinales, 7 Crutchlow, 8 Petrucci, 9 Mir, 10 Rins, 11 A Espargaro, 12 P Espargaro, 13 Rossi, 14 Kallio, 15 Bagnaia, 16 Nakagami, 17 Iannone, 18 Oliveira, 19 Lorenzo, 20 Syahrin, 21 Guintoli, 22 Abraham.
Marquez's lead over Quartararo has currently stabilised around a second and a tenth, and third-placed Miller is likewise a second off in third.
Miller is through on Morbidelli, but a very heated scrap between the pair for third place continues. This is allowing Quartararo to break away and set off after Marquez.
Somewhat unexpectedly Marquez is now making a run for it. He's escaped to the tune of a second from Quartararo during the second lap!
Morbidelli has now recovered to third place, heading Miller, Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Vinales, who's seemingly having another one of his familiar sluggish opening stints.
But it's worse still for his team-mate Rossi, who is all the way down in 14th place.
But it's worse still for his team-mate Rossi, who is all the way down in 14th place.
But Marquez retakes the spot at Turn 10, and Quartararo nearly falls off his Yamaha as he avoids the lunging Honda.
Quartararo immediately all over Marquez, and he makes a move down the inside of the Turn 7 left-hander!
Lights green
Lights out! Marquez will lead into Turn 1, Quartararo picks off Morbidelli for second and forces the Italian wide.
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Some big tyre choice deviations - Marquez, Crutchlow and Rossi are among those picking mediums for both front and rear, whereas Morbidelli, Vinales and Quartararo are on medium front, soft rear.
It's soft front, medium rear for Dovizioso, and soft-soft for Miller and Petrucci.
It's soft front, medium rear for Dovizioso, and soft-soft for Miller and Petrucci.
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Lorenzo Dalla Porta took a huge step towards securing the 2019 Moto3 crown earlier today, winning the race while his title rivals Aron Canet and Tony Arbolino both crashed. He now heads Canet by 49 points with three races to go.
Moto2 championship leader Alex Marquez had a less convincing outing, but is likewise finely poised to come out on top in the title race. Luca Marini beat Tom Luthi for victory, with Luthi now stood as Marquez's nearest rival with a deficit of 36 points.
Also, obviously not a MotoGP support event, but British Superbike will have its 2019 title decided this weekend. Ex-MotoGP rider Scott Redding heads team-mate Josh Brookes with two races left.
Moto2 championship leader Alex Marquez had a less convincing outing, but is likewise finely poised to come out on top in the title race. Luca Marini beat Tom Luthi for victory, with Luthi now stood as Marquez's nearest rival with a deficit of 36 points.
Also, obviously not a MotoGP support event, but British Superbike will have its 2019 title decided this weekend. Ex-MotoGP rider Scott Redding heads team-mate Josh Brookes with two races left.
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Riders' standings: 1 Marquez, 325; 2 Dovizioso, 215; 3 Rins, 167; 4 Vinales, 163; 5 Petrucci, 162; 6 Rossi, 145; 7 Quartararo, 143; 8 Miller, 119; 9 Crutchlow, 102; 10 Morbidelli, 90.
Crash
We'll be one full-time entrant short in this race, with Avintia rider Tito Rabat electing to forgo competing due to a combination of a "right hand inflammation" and a delayed pitlane start penalty that was a result of him exceeding his engine allowance for the year.
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Grid: 1 Marquez, 2 Morbidelli, 3 Quartararo
4 Vinales, 5 Crutchlow, 6 Miller
7 Dovizioso, 8 Petrucci, 9 A Espargaro
10 Rosssi, 11 Rins, 12 Mir
13 Nakagami, 14 Bagnaia, 15 P Espargaro
16 Oliveira, 17 Kallio, 18 Abraham
19 Lorenzo, 20 Syahrin, 21 Guintoli
22 Iannone
4 Vinales, 5 Crutchlow, 6 Miller
7 Dovizioso, 8 Petrucci, 9 A Espargaro
10 Rosssi, 11 Rins, 12 Mir
13 Nakagami, 14 Bagnaia, 15 P Espargaro
16 Oliveira, 17 Kallio, 18 Abraham
19 Lorenzo, 20 Syahrin, 21 Guintoli
22 Iannone
Marc Marquez wrapped up his sixth premier-class title in seven attempts last time out at Thailand, but seems to be sufficiently motivated by the teams' championship/the manufacturers' championship/personal stat-padding here anyway.
The Honda man will line up on pole, joined on the front row by the two Petronas Yamaha bikes.
The Honda man will line up on pole, joined on the front row by the two Petronas Yamaha bikes.
Good morning - or the time of day of your preference - and welcome to our live coverage of the second Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks. This time it's the MotoGP race at Motegi.
By: Matt Beer
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