MotoGP: Marquez unstoppable at the Sachsenring
The Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring produced another Marc Márquez masterclass in changing conditions, with Ducati Lenovo Team's Spaniard harvesting pole-position and both race-wins. The grip and constancy of Michelin's Power slicks and rain tires at Round 11 of the MotoGPTM World Championship enabled the riders to push hard across a particularly wide spectrum of conditions. Read on for more about what happened at the #GermanGP.
After qualifying at the front of the grid in the wet, Márquez went on to enjoy another grand-slam weekend, including the 69th victory of his MotoGPTM career (and ninth at the Sachsenring) to celebrate his 200th appearance in motorcycle racing's premier class.
The grand prix itself turned out to be an all-dry affair which the championship leader started on a front/rear pairing of hard and medium MICHELIN Power Slicks. The combination helped him to a comfortable lights-out-to-checkered flag success, more than six seconds clear of his brother Alex (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) who was back after sustaining a fractured hand a fortnight ago in the Netherlands.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was the third man on the podium after starting from 10th on the grid, while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) rounded out the day's top five.
Earlier, Marc Márquez had won Saturday's sprint for the 10th time out of 11 races this season following a memorable last-lap maneuver to pass Aprilia Racing's Marco Bezzecchi.
The meeting's mixed conditions allowed the MICHELIN Power Slick/Power Rain range to showcase its versatility, grip and consistency over the three days, starting on Friday afternoon when Fabio Di Giannantonio (1m19.071s, Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) shaved three-tenths off the previous track record, posted by Jorge Martin in 2024.
The circuit was wet for Saturday's qualifying and sprint race when all the starters benefited from the wet-weather efficiency and grip of the MICHELIN Power Rain. Like the winner Márquez, the entire grid then chose the hard front and medium rear MICHELIN Power Slick for the weekend's star event.
The results means that Marc Márquez (344 points) now sits respectively 83 and 147 points clear of his brother and Bagnaia in the provisional championship standings.
Next round: Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia, Brno, Czech Republic (July 18-20).