The Sachsenring played host to a thrilling Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, where Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) gave an exhibition in last lap battles as they literally went wheel-to-wheel. In the end, the Spaniard sneaked the win by a nose, but only after the two had made contact during the contest, and both riders reacted to the dramatic incident. Martin commented, “I felt some movement, but I was feeling the movement almost every lap, so I didn’t realize. When it was the last lap and I saw this two-tenths gap, I said it’s strange because I thought he was super close, so for sure something happened. Then I saw afterwards in the television.” Bagnaia added, “It was very difficult to have an overtake at Turn 1 because exiting from the last corner, we did all the race in 21 so the rear tire was almost destroyed. I was just trying to start the manoeuvre before the exit, with the corner speed at the last corner to be closer and then try to overtake in the braking. But I was maybe too close and then I touched. I tried a different strategy and it didn’t go well, but it’s okay.”
Marquez Withdraws from German GP After Suffering Fracture
Eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) withdrew from the German GP after suffering a fracture to his left thumb. Marquez pushed his RC213V to the absolute limit across the weekend, resulting in a couple of big scares during Practice, before eventually going down and hitting into Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) in a major collision on Friday afternoon. There was plenty of fallout from that incident, while the crashes continued through qualifying before a fifth fall of the weekend during Sunday’s Warm Up proved the last straw. Explaining his reasoning, Marquez stated, “After four or five crashes, above all the one this morning (Sunday), I don’t feel ready to race, so I’ve decided not to push because in the Netherlands there is more to come.”
Nakagami Offers Perspective on Marquez’s Crash
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) had a front row view of the crash which ruled Marquez out of contention. The Japanese rider offered up his perspective after the race and was at a loss to explain what went wrong in the incident. “I was behind him and his speed was good, he did nothing wrong. He lost the rear, the bike didn’t stop the spin and I saw he had a massive highside. I was scared because we use the same bike, and I had the same feeling, that corner was really tricky because we were going downhill, and I also lost it a couple of times in that session, and even in the race, I had the same feeling. So yeah, it was really difficult to manage because the bike is always moving, less grip, and we have to find a solution to have a safer bike.”
Binder Crashes Out of Podium Places in Germany
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was sitting pretty in third on Sunday, but a crucial mistake saw him take a trip through the gravel trap and dash hopes of a top three finish. “My guys did a great job with the bike and I felt amazing. I was riding very clean and saving my tire. I could not run the pace of the first two guys, but I was set in 3rd. Unfortunately, when I grabbed the front brake at the bottom of the hill, I locked the front wheel a little bit and my left foot slipped off the footpeg.