MOTO GP

Sachsenring: Marc Márquez extends his dominance

Ducati’s Marc Márquez led from start to finish to win the German MotoGP GP, with Trackhouse Aprilia duo Ai Ogura and Raúl Fernandez rounding out the Sachsenring podium. Brazilian rider Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) finished 11th after an impressive charge through the field.

Sunday brought sunny skies and a dry track for the German GP, ​​with an ambient temperature of 26°C and an asphalt temperature of 39°C at Sachsenring. Winds were blowing at 4 km/h, while relative humidity hovered around 45%.

Fermín Aldeguer, Johann Zarco, and Marco Bezzecchi were absent from the race. The Gresini rider had fractured a vertebra during practice for the Dutch GP and was not replaced by the team; meanwhile, Zarco continued recovering from injuries sustained in a severe crash at the Catalan GP, ​​with Cal Crutchlow remaining as his substitute at LCR. Bezzecchi, having fractured his left collarbone during qualifying, was forced to withdraw from the round.

All riders opted for hard front tires and medium rear tires for the 30-lap German GP. In the first start featuring the new, more spaced-out grid configuration introduced by the series, Marc Márquez got away well and held the lead, followed by Álex Márquez, while Ai Ogura gained two positions to move into third place.

Moreira also made a strong start, jumping from 18th to 14th; he entered the points-scoring positions and demonstrated the strength of his RC213V during the opening laps of the Sachsenring race.

Marc Márquez remained in the lead but was unable to pull out a significant gap during the early laps. The margin to his brother was just 0.3 seconds, while the Trackhouse pair kept pace with the Ducatis, with Fernández now in third and Ogura in fourth.

The race's first crash occurred on the fourth lap. Di Giannantonio lost control of his bike at Turn 10 and ended up in the gravel, paving the way for Acosta to take fifth place on the KTM in Germany.

Shortly after, Joan Mir suffered another crash on his Honda. Having already signed with Gresini for 2027, the Spaniard lost the front end at Turn 13, adding another accident to his tally with the Japanese manufacturer.

A few minutes later, Álex Márquez crashed at the same spot and also retired from the German GP, ​​leaving second place open for Fernández. From lap 11 onwards, Marc Márquez managed a 1.3-second gap over Fernández to secure the victory at the Sachsenring.

Moreira benefited from the crashes and climbed to 11th place, securing a strong position to score points while working to close the gap to Brad Binder and aim for a top-10 finish in the German race.

From the 20th lap, Marc Márquez opened up a 2.1-second lead over Fernández and cruised toward victory, but the battle for second place heated up. Ogura maintained a strong pace in the second half of the race, caught up to his teammate, and secured a Trackhouse one-two finish on the podium.

Acosta also pulled away from the mid-pack and secured fourth place for KTM, while Martín rounded out the top five.

At the start, Marc Márquez held the lead with Álex Márquez right behind, while Ai Ogura moved up to third. Moreira, who started 17th, climbed to 16th during the opening laps.

On lap 4, VR46's Fabio di Giannantonio crashed at Turn 10, triggering a yellow flag in the sector and ruining his chances of holding onto second place in the championship. Meanwhile, Raúl Fernández overtook his teammate Ogura to take third place, and Moreira moved up to 13th. At the front, the gap between the top three was less than half a second.

On lap 8, Honda's Joan Mir crashed at the tricky Turn 13, triggering a yellow flag in that sector. Two laps later, Turn 13 claimed another victim—Álex Márquez, who had been running in second place—causing another yellow flag. Thanks to these crashes, Moreira moved up to 11th.

By lap 13, Márquez was extending his lead over Fernández to 1.4 seconds; Fernández remained under pressure from his teammate Ogura and from Pedro Acosta, who was further back. In the battle between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín, the Aprilia rider held his ground and stayed in fifth place through the halfway point of the race.

On the 19th lap, Márquez continued to pull away at the front, holding a lead of over two seconds over Fernández, who was still being challenged by Ogura.

Two laps later, Bastianini overtook Moreira—dropping him to 12th—while Ogura closed to within three-tenths of a second of his Trackhouse teammate. Shortly after, LCR's Cal Crutchlow crashed at Turn 3, causing another yellow flag.

On lap 25, Ogura finally managed to attack and overtake Fernández, taking over second place in both the race and the riders' championship. A lap later, Bagnaia managed to pass Martín, but the Spaniard immediately fought back to reclaim fifth place.

Despite constant pressure from Álex, Marc capitalized on the narrowness of the track section where Álex was closest, gaining an advantage in the final sector—usually the best spot for overtaking—all while Di Giannantonio lurked nearby. Ogura fell decisively behind.

Capping off a masterclass in sprint race management, Marc Márquez claimed his fourth Sprint victory of the season, with Álex Márquez returning to the Saturday podium for the first time since his injury in Catalonia, and Fabio Di Giannantonio completing a Ducati 1-2-3.

Ai Ogura crossed the finish line completely alone, while Raúl Fernández held firm in fifth place against Jorge Martín. Pecco Bagnaia finished seventh after pulling away from Pedro Acosta, and Fabio Quartararo secured the final point up for grabs.

by Autonews