2017 German MotoGP - Ringmaster Marquez

Marc Marquez’s dominating run of pole positions continued at Sachsenring as the reigning champion took pole position from Danilo Petrucci by a whisker in the closing stages of qualifying. Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was third on the grid followed by Cal Crutchlow and Jonas Folger. Factory Yamaha riders were struggling with the wet conditions as Valentino Rossi qualified 9th, while Maverick Vinales was down in 11th place. Marquez made a good start to safeguard his lead, while Pedrosa rose to second place. Jorge Lorenzo stormed through the field to take third place relegating Petrucci to 4th at the end of lap 1.

Rossi also made a blistering start that saw him climb three places to sixth position. Marquez was trying his best to breakaway from the trailing pack of riders, but Pedrosa was hunting him down with hardly any gap between them. Folger almost ran wide off the track entering the first corner, but the rookie rider regained his composure quickly as he passed Lorenzo and Petrucci within the first two laps and was slowly closing down on the Repsol Honda duo. Lorenzo, who had made a great start, was struggling with his Ducati as he was passed by Petrucci, while Rossi was sizing him up to make a pass. Folger was flying as he passed Pedrosa with 26 laps remaining in the race and such was the pace of the Tech 3 Yamaha rider that he out braked Marquez easily to take the race lead.

With a German rider leading the German Grand Prix, crowds at Sachsenring erupted as it was the first occasion in the modern era of première class racing series that a German rider was leading the home race. Such was the race pace of the leading trio that they had gained a two second gap from the following pack of riders. Rossi was coming under heavy pressure from Crutchlow, but the witty rider was using his experience to block the British rider beautifully. Rossi soon passed his former team-mate Lorenzo to take fifth place, while Vinales was struggling in 10th place. Petrucci, who was flying in the wet, was finding the dry conditions at Sachsenring not to his liking as his lap times dropped. 

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Rossi, being the opportunist, didn’t require a second invitation as he dived his Yamaha M1 under the Ducati to take 4th place. 10 laps into the race, Folger who was being chased hard by Marquez, buckled under pressure as he missed his braking point coming into Turn 1 and ran wide, thereby handing over the race lead to Marquez. Pedrosa was riding a lonely third as he wasn’t able to keep up with his teammate and Folger. With 19 laps remaining, there was an interesting four-way battle between Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro and Petrucci for fourth place. Down the grid, Vinales was making swift progress as the Spanish rider was gaining confidence on his Yamaha bike and was now in sixth place as he passed both Espargaro and Petrucci in a matter of two corners. Rossi was coming under pressure from Dovizioso, but the MotoGP legend was trying his best to keep the Ducati rider at bay.

With 12 laps remaining, Dovi managed to pass Rossi, but the Yamaha rider was quick to respond as he regained his position within the next two corners. This battle for 4th place helped Vinales to close down on the Italian duo and in the following lap, he overtook Dovi for 5th and was chasing Rossi. Marquez was able to etch out a half second lead on the German rider but an error on his behalf allowed Folger to narrow down the lead. Rossi was struggling for pace with his M1 and Vinales passed him rather easily to take 4th place with 7 laps remaining. At one point, it seemed that Folger would fight it out with Marquez for the race lead in the final stages of the race, but the tyres on his Yamaha had degraded badly and one could see the bike sliding out of the track struggling to find grip. Marquez, on the other hand, put the hammer down and cruised his way past the chequered flag to take his 7th consecutive win at Sachsenring and his 5th consecutive in MotoGP!

This win also allowed the Honda rider to lead the championship from Vinales by 5 points, with Dovi trailing behind in second with 6 points and Rossi trailing him by 10 points. The riders now head for a month-long summer break, which also includes few days of testing. Given the current scenario of the championship being split by just 10 points among the top 4 riders, the 2017 season has all the ingredients of being one of the best season in the history of the sport. MotoGP please come back soon, we are already missing you!