These Are The Winners And The Losers From Round 8 Of MotoGP

After a two-year hiatus, the MotoGP field returned to the fast and flowing Sachsenring and it went exactly to plan for some, and not so much for the others. Here are the winners and losers from the German GP: 

Biggest Winner: Marc Marquez

He is back! The factory Honda rider has stepped onto the top of the podium after over 500 days and for the 11th consecutive time at the Sachsenring, proving why he’s called the ‘King of the Ring’. It didn’t come without risks, though. After a few determined manoeuvres on the opening lap, which can only be surmised as typical #93 moves, Marc quickly found himself leading the race. A few laps later, as a few water droplets trickled onto the track, Marc saw his window and eked out a crucial 1.5-second advantage over the field. Ultimately, it was this risk that helped the six-time world champion to home this very emotional win. Sachsenring, unlike other GP circuits, runs in an anti-clockwise direction and hence was easier on Marc’s injured-but-healing right hand. Would he be able to show similar levels of brilliance when the circus moves to the Cathedral of Speed, aka the Assen TT? Let’s hope so. 

 

Other Winners

KTMs 

Yet another astounding weekend for the Austrian bikemaker as both factory KTM riders finished in the top four places. Catalunya race-winner Miguel Oliveira was the only rider who could keep the pressure on Marquez, coming oh so close to stopping the Spaniard’s pursuit for victory. Sadly, in the chase to get to Marquez, he used up too much of his tyres and had to settle for the second spot. Nevertheless, it was an excellent performance from him. With three great results in as many races, Oliveira is slowly but surely climbing up the championship standings. He could really be the dark horse that no one saw coming. 

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Oliveira’s teammate, Brad Binder, continues to impress everyone in just his second year in MotoGP by finishing just off the podium. Even though the South African rider struggled in the initial phase of the race, he came on strong in the second half, indulging in a group battle with vastly experienced riders such as Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller, and Johann Zarco. By the looks of it, we could soon see two KTMs on the podium pretty soon. 

Fabio Quartararo 

The factory Yamaha rider rounded off the podium spots in P3, taking home crucial points and more importantly extending his championship lead. It seemed like a troublesome race initially for the French rider but once he got in his rhythm, he quickly made headway and ran comfortably in third for the latter half of the race.

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Francesco Bagnaia

Factory Ducati rider Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia, started the German GP from an unimpressive tenth and even dropped down to as low as 15th at one point in the race. Eventually, thanks to better tyre preservation, he came on strong in the last laps and brought it home in fifth, ahead of his teammate, Jack Miller. All in all, it was a good rescue job from Pecco but he, as well as his other Ducati challengers, desperately need to outperform Fabio in the next couple of races to take this thrilling championship fight down to the wire.

We’d also like to give a quick mention to factory Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro who finished the race at an impressive seventh place. The Spaniard started the race in third (a first for Aprilia since 2000) and was second on the opening couple of laps but got caught in the tricky rain-stricken conditions, losing many positions. After some hard overtaking, Aleix crossed the line just 9.3 seconds behind the race winner. An Aprilia podium surely doesn’t seem too far off! 

Biggest Losers: Maverick Vinales And Franco Morbidelli

After a dismal qualifying, factory Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales and Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Franco Morbidelli started the race from 17th and 20th, respectively. From the get-go, both riders struggled to make any headway and constantly kept tussling with each other, fighting for the last two places. Eventually, Morbidelli finished in P18 while Vinales finished dead last in P19. This is an extremely sorry sight for both riders, especially for Vinales who’s on the same spec bike as Quartararo, who’s rounding podiums with ease. 

Suzuki

It was a troublesome weekend for Suzuki. Both Joan Mir and Alex Rins failed to qualify in the top 10. Now, this is ‘normal’ for them to struggle on Saturday. What was troublesome was their Sunday performance which was far from their best. Both riders faltered to live up to the challenge, Mir finishing the race in ninth while Rins could only salvage eleventh. Both riders seemed to have good race pace during the practice sessions but thanks to a poor qualifying, Mir used up too much of his tyre while Rins struggled to maintain the pace as he’s still recovering from an injury. 

After Germany, now, the paddock heads to the legendary Cathedral of Speed, the Assen TT circuit, which has always brought us spectacular races. What curveball will the Dutch track throw at us this time round? We don’t have to wait much as it is only a week away.