The long summer break is over and Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders, Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez, return to action this weekend at the Monster Energy Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in Brno.

Morbidelli, who won the final two races ahead of the summer break, heads to Brno with a 34-point lead over Tom Lüthi at the top of the Moto2 World Championship standings.

It's an advantage the 22-year-old Italian is keen to extend this weekend in the Czech Republic, as he looks to add to his tally of race wins, having stood on the top step of the podium six times already this season.

After a brief trip to Brazil for an event with Estrella Galicia 0,0 immediately after the German GP, Morbidelli spent the remainder of the four-week summer break recharging his batteries and training hard back home in Italy. The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider starts the second half of the season fully fit and fully motivated to continue the chase for his first World title.

Márquez also returns to action this weekend fully fit, after using the four-week summer lay off to recover from an injury sustained at the German Grand Prix back in July. The 21-year-old Spaniard crashed heavily in the race and was later diagnosed with spinous process fractures of the C5 and C6 vertebrae in his neck.

The crash saw Márquez drop from third to fourth in the Moto2 standings, just four points behind third placed Miguel Oliveira and 61 points adrift of his Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS teammate and current championship leader Morbidelli. It is a gap that the Jerez and Catalunya race winner is determined to close this weekend at Brno, a track he rates as his favourite on the calendar.

Franco Morbidelli:
“It was nice to kick back at home, recharge the batteries and spend time with friends and family during the summer break, especially after ending the first half of the season with four races in five weekends. But now the break is over and we head to Brno this weekend determined to start the second half of the season in the same way we finished the first half. We need to continue to work hard and not to lose sight of the fact that, in the fight for the championship, you need to be clever and push for the win when it's possible and pick up important points when it's not. It's been an enjoyable break, but now I'm ready to race again.”

Álex Márquez:
“It will be good to get back on the bike and back to racing, especially as we kick off the second half of the season at Brno, which is probably my favourite of all the circuits we race at. The injury from Sachsenring is not an issue. I've been training at home in Spain, both on the bicycle and on the Supermoto bike, with no problems and I feel fully fit heading into this weekend. We have some ground to make up in the championship standings; we have to continue to believe we can still fight for the title and we need to start strongly this weekend in the Czech Republic. That will be our goal.”