Our second look at Motegi MotoGP 2016. Above Marc Marquez disappears into the Repsol Honda box. He would emerge on Sunday to claim his fifth world championship.

Still recovering from his recent leg surgery, Bradley Smith displayed his toughness by mounting up and riding hard.

Dani Pedrosa displayed his toughness by flying to Barcelona with his recently re-broken collarbone and having yet another surgery. Perhaps we will see him back at Valencia for the season finale, perhaps we won’t.

They say the camera never lies. So this Ducati mechanic is happy to see me, right? In fact he has just waved to a friend behind me and still has a lingering smile which disappeared a moment after this photograph was made.

Katsuyuki Nakasuga was riding hard.

So was Hiroshi Aoyama.

So was Marc Marquez.

For me it became well and truly the Japanese Grand Prix when this creature arrived and examined a motorcycle as if for the first time.

More from Motegi on the next page: