MotoGP: Four in a row for Bagnaia, plus more records for Michelin in Germany
Francesco Bagnaia notched up a fourth straight win at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, Round 9 of the 2024 MotoGPTM World Championship. The Ducati Lenovo Team star was joined on the podium by Marquez brothers Marc (2nd) and Alex (3rd) (both Gresini Racing MotoGPTM)). The Sachsenring is the shortest track on the calendar, but also the hardest on tires, yet the MICHELIN Power Slick range played a part in new track-lap, race lap and shortest race-duration records for the venue. Read on for more details about the German weekend...
- Bagnaia started from second on the grid and led briefly from Laps 2 to 6 before relinquishing top spot to Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Having chosen a combination of hard and medium tires front and rear (like the entire field), he kept the Spaniard under pressure and was able to clinch the win when Martin fell on the penultimate lap. The Italian's fourth victory in a row was his 24th at MotoGPTM level, making him the most successful Ducati rider in the championship's history. He also shaved more than 12 seconds off the race's previous shortest-race duration.
- Marc Marquez started from 13th but overcame a fractured left finger and chest bruising to produce a superb fightback to claim second overall after passing Alex Marquez last time around. It was the first time that the two Marquez brothers shared the same MotoGPTM podium.
- Saturday's sprint was won by Martin who qualified on pole with a new lap record for the Sachsenring. He was followed over the line by Miguel Oliveira (TrackHouse Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).
- The MICHELIN Power Slick range had to cope with mixed conditions over the weekend. Maverick Viñales posted a new track-lap record during Friday afternoon's cold and windy free practice session, before Martin bettered it again when the track temperature reached 36°C in qualifying. The track temperature for the sprint race was 42°C, prompting most of the riders to favor the hard and soft compounds front and rear. The exceptions were LCR's pair who chose the medium rear.
- All the riders combined the hard front with the medium rear for Sunday's grand prix (track temperature: 36°C). Martin established a new race-lap record on the sixth of the afternoon's 30 laps (1m20.667s, compared with 1m21.225s), while Bagnaia completed the distance 12 seconds faster than the previous reference time (Marc Marquez/2017).
- The German weekend also hosted two rounds of the MotoETM World Championship, both of which were won by Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™). Race 1 was dry but was halted after five of the initially scheduled 11 laps. The second was delayed by more than an hour due to a storm and only eight laps were run in the extremely wet conditions. The MICHELIN Power MotoETM - which incorporates 49 and 53 percent renewable/recycled raw materials front and rear - contributed to a new MotoETM lap record for the Sachsenring in qualifying.
- Bagnaia's win has taken his score for the season so far to 222 points. He is now 10 clear of Martin, with Marc Marquez provisionally third, a further 46 points adrift.