“Qatar MotoGP Award”: Marquez is approaching his eighth world championship title

Marc Marquez, a Ducati team rider, could win his eighth title in the World Motorcycle Championship category one in Qatar early next week, equaling the record, but the defending champion prefers not to be there amid a state of anxiety prevailing behind the scenes of the race.

Championship organizers informed the teams in Malaysia last Sunday that they had not received any information that would require changing the date of the Qatar Grand Prix.

The race, which was originally scheduled for April at the Losail International Circuit, was postponed to the period from November 6 to 8 due to the conflict in the region.

Marquez, a seven-time champion, was among those demanding more guarantees to enter the race.

“It's not the ideal place to be, but in the end, we have a contract to fulfill and we are ready to race here in Qatar,” said Marquez, who could equal Giacomo Agostini's record of eight titles in the first category.

He added: “I tried to arrive as late as possible, and I will leave as soon as possible after the race. “You can see that some people are more affected, others a little less.” He continued: “But in the end, we must be professionals.”

Marquez's statements contradicted the position taken by the Aprilia team, which openly expressed its desire to run the race in Qatar, in an attempt to save a season that it seemed like it would win months ago.

The MotoGP World Championship confirmed that independent risk assessments showed that the race was safe, while Qatar provided official assurances and guarantees that teams and racers would not be stranded in the country if the conflict escalated.

For his part, Massimo Rivola, CEO of the Aprilia team, told the Spanish newspaper AS: “If the organizers say the situation is safe, then we have to go. There's not much to discuss. "Honestly, I don't understand all this fuss."

He added: “I want to go.” "If you don't want to do this job, stay home."

But these assurances did not prevent the Yamaha team from withdrawing, after the Japanese team indicated “travel restrictions applied throughout the entire company.”

The MotoGP World Championship said the team could face “sporting sanctions” for not adhering to the contract, a decision resting with the International Motorcycling Federation, which did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

"I don't want to go," said Jack Miller, a Pramac Racing team racer in Sepang. "Like everyone else."

He added: “They can attack us from any angle. Both financially and sportingly regarding our licenses as well as the team. Do I want to hurt the team? Not at all. But at the same time, I don't feel like forcing myself to race.”

Raul Fernandez, a racer for the Trackhouse team, said that “the racing atmosphere has been strange” since his arrival in Qatar.

He added: “The tension resulting from an ongoing war and being at the center of events. “For the people who work there, it’s not exactly the ideal atmosphere.”

Marquez leads the overall standings with 399 points, 44 points ahead of Aprilia rider Jorge Martin, who was leading earlier in the season, and 67 points ahead of Marco Betsicki, who was the most prominent candidate in the early stage of the championship after winning four of the first seven races.

Btsiki said: “I am happy to go to Qatar. "It's a track I really like."

Martin, who announced on Friday that he was ready to race after withdrawing from the Malaysian race due to a broken wrist, is eager to return after seeing his hopes of winning the title gradually fading.

Martin, the 2024 champion, said: “I returned to Spain to receive the treatment I need to recover from the injury and arrive in Qatar in the best possible physical condition. "Now we will see how my body responds."

Russian Alexandra Shubladze continued her adventure in the Hong Kong Tennis Championship, after qualifying for the semi-finals of the competition, which was held on hard courts.

Shubladze, ranked 136th in the world, caused a major surprise, by defeating Romanian Sorana Cristea, the first seed in the tournament, with a score of 6/2, 6/3, on Friday, in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Shubladze (21 years old), who qualified for the main rounds of the tournament after winning two qualifying matches, started the match with tremendous strength. She decided the first four games in her favor, before ending the first set in the eighth game.

After failing to take advantage of any of the five break-point opportunities she had in the first set, Cristea wasted another opportunity to break her opponent’s serve in the second game of the second set, which made her pay a heavy price. Shubladze broke her serve in the next game, leading 3/1.

Cristea collapsed immediately after she was able to break her opponent's serve for the first time in the match. Despite falling behind by a set and a break of serve, the 36-year-old veteran Romanian regained her relative balance and won the next two games to tie the second set at 3/3.

But Chrystia suffered great disappointment by losing her serve twice in a row, which gave Shubladze victory in the next three games, so the Russian player continued her surprise and continued her dreamy career in the Hong Kong Championship.

After achieving the first victory in her career against one of the top 20 players in the world, Shubladze reached the semi-finals in her first participation in the main rounds in one of the competitions classified in the 250 points category.

In her quest to reach the final, Shubladze set up a match in the tournament's golden square against American player Claire Liu, who defeated Turkish Zeynep Sonmez with a score of 6/1, 6/4.