Honda's Marc Marquez says two more wins needed in MotoGP title push

Marquez was the standout rider of the first half of 2016, winning two races and finishing on the podium in all but one of the nine grands prix.

That gave him a commanding, 48-point lead over Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, and while Marquez finished fifth at the Red Bull Ring last Sunday, it was only two places behind Lorenzo - a loss of only five points.

The 23-year-old knows that maintaining his consistency is important, but equally knows he will have to win races as well, especially with the threat of Ducati taking victories.

"Of course the consistency will be important but in the end you must also be on the podium," he said.

"I know that in my case for example, if I want to win the championship, I need to win minimum two more races, because both Yamaha riders are pushing a lot.

"And Ducati, we will see here [at Brno] if they confirm the advantage of Austria.

"We will see if it's a big help for me or on the [Yamaha] side, they can take a lot of points.

"For example in Austria it was a big help because I lost less points, but here it could be the opposite.

"In the end, to be champion, you must be consistent and fast."

Marquez crashed heavily at the Red Bull Ring in practice last Saturday morning, dislocating his shoulder and making a trip to hospital for additional checks before returning to the track.

Five days on, he acknowledges that the "shoulder is not 100%" but is not expecting any problems this weekend, and is hoping he can avoid surgery on the joint, which he also dislocated at Silverstone in 2013.

"At the moment we will keep it like this," he said, when asked if he would need an operation.

"I think if we work well at the gym and with the masseurs, it will be fixed.

"We don't know in the future. I hope to continue like this, stable and I will try to work at home to try to fix this problem."