MotoGP wrap-up – Sachsenring

The MotoGP season continued last weekend, with round 9 of the 2019 calendar taking place at Germany’s Sachsenring. Lap records were broken in both qualifying and the premier race, as Repsol Honda rider and reigning World Champion Marc Marquez etched up another record for the history books.

Marquez’s intentions were clear as Q2 got underway, the Honda rider setting an impressive 1m 20.5s lap-time early in the session. As qualifying continued, he further improved that time with a 1m 20.195s lap, convincingly taking pole position, ahead of Fabio Quartararo on the Petronas Yamaha SRT bike, 0.205s back. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales rounded out the top three, only 0.211s from the leader.

Starting the race from third, Vinales gained a spot straight away off the start-line, moving into second place in the first corner. Behind Marc Marquez, his focus shifted to managing his tyres, and when Alex Rins passed him on lap four, instead of fighting back he tucked in behind the Suzuki to keep his lap-times consistent. With Cal Crutchlow in fourth, Vinales struggled to keep up with the low 1m 21s lap pace of Rins, and so it became a fight to maintain his position. When Rins crashed out on lap 19, it became a battle for second place. For 15 laps Vinales held off the British rider, and when Crutchlow made a small mistake on the final lap, Vinales finally had some breathing space to cross the finish line in second place, 4.587s from first.

Maverick Viñales

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team

“We discovered quite early this weekend that second place might be the best we could do here, so with that in mind we achieved the objective. For us it’s really good, second is my best result here. I started well, I did a good first few laps. This result means a lot, it prepares me for Brno. I’m really happy, we understand the way to go. Yamaha is working in a good way, and I know our strong and weak points. It’s good that we have a summer break to improve the bike and improve myself. The tyre choice was very difficult, I took a gamble with the hard because I worked most of the time with this tyre. It was on the limit if I could or could not finish the race, and I said to myself ‘If I need to slow down in the last ten laps, I will, but I will be at the front’. I’m very pleased for Yamaha, it’s very important to get a consecutive first and second place. I saw Cal on my pit board the whole time and for about fifteen laps I closed every door. I worked very hard on making sure he couldn’t overtake me, because I knew if he did, he would go. Luckily I was second, so I’m very pleased and happy. I can’t wait for Brno to try out the new things and see if we take a step.”

Marc Marquez utilised his pole position perfectly, holding the lead into the first turn of the 30-lap race. There indeed was no stopping the Repsol Honda Team rider, as he stormed to a new race lap record on lap four, then an even faster 1m 21.228s on lap five. The new lap record helped to stretch his lead over Alex Rins’ Suzuki to half a second, and there was no looking back for the reigning World Champion. For the remainder of the race, Marquez continued to increase his lead, and after 30 laps crossed the finish line first, over 4.5 seconds ahead of second-place Vinales. Cal Crutchlow brought his Honda RC213V home in third place, a well earned podium finish for the British rider. The win increases Marquez’s lead in the World Championship to 58 points, over Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso. The win also increases Honda’s lead in the Constructor Championship to 34 points over Ducati.

The victory is Marquez’s tenth consecutive win at the Sachsenring, a feat that no other rider has ever achieved in the modern era. The victory is also Marquez’s seventh straight win in the premier class at the German track, equalling Valentino Rossi’s record of straight wins at Mugello.

Marc Marquez 

Repsol Honda Team

“It was a perfect strategy. But I didn’t have a perfect start as I ran a little deep at Turn One. After that my plan was two slow laps to warm the front tyre well and then push, and it’s exactly what I did. Step by step I opened the gap and followed the plan as I needed to. Once the gap was at three seconds I stayed there and saved the tyre and enjoyed riding. It’s a great feeling to win here again and to enter the summer break in this way. Congratulations also to my brother for his win today, it’s always really nice to win together! I want to say thank you to the Repsol Honda Team for their work in this race and the first half of the season.”

Rider Standings 

The next round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship starts on August 4th, at Automotodrom Brno, in the Czech Republic.