2017 Sachsenring MotoGP Results: Germany Grand Prix Recap

2017 Sachsenring MotoGP Results

Spoiler alert: 2017 Sachsenring MotoGP results from the Germany Grand Prix listed below.

Three-time MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez held nothing back during the ninth round of 2017 MotoGP at Sachsenring in Germany.

Marquez entered Germany after winning seven-straight races at Sachsenring from the pole, and claimed his eight-straight pole position at the track on Saturday. He followed this up Sunday with yet another win in Germany—his eight-consecutive victory on German soil.

It wasn’t a run away win; Marquez battled with rookie and home favorite Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3). The Spaniard Marquez would eventually take the win by 3.310 seconds ahead of Folger. Claiming the final podium position was Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa, who finished 11.546 seconds back.

“Honestly, it was a very difficult race, I knew before the weekend this was a circuit where I needed to attack and my target was 25 points. Before the race everything was under control and I had the right tires, and I thought my teammate would be the main rival,” Marc Marquez says.

“Then at the start I was just trying to concentrate and then Jonas passed me, I was thinking it was good to have another rider between me and the others but then on the pitboard it was +0.1, +0.1… I started thinking ‘ok, what are you doing here?!’ then I realized he was going to be there to the end. I was pushing myself, I’m happy. It’s amazing how before I was 37 points down! Everything is very tight and it’s almost starting from zero. We’ll try. Also, something special I promised to myself was that after Hayden’s accident, my first win would be for him and his family so this is for them.”

With his win ahead of the month-long summer break, Marquez now leads points race with 129, five ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales, who finished fourth in Germany, and six ahead of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who finished eight.

Following is from the official 2017 Sachsenring MotoGP report:

Marquez took the lead into Turn 1 from pole, with teammate Dani Pedrosa slotting into second as Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) sliced through from P6 on the grid to third, pushing Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and Jonas Folger back. The Repsol Hondas began to pull away in the lead as Folger charged through to get himself into third – and then started threatening the two men ahead of him. Choosing his moment, the German rookie then took Pedrosa and prepared to attack Marquez – pushing through soon after and below lap record pace.

Further back Petrucci was through on Lorenzo into fourth, and it was the ‘Doctor’ Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who struck next, with the number 46, Andrea Dovizioso and Petrucci then battling for P4 as Pedrosa began to drop back from the lead duo. Folger then headed wide and Marquez took the opportunity, but couldn’t shake the German.

That’s the way it stayed – with Marquez’ pitboard remaining +0.1 lap after lap, and the rookie not for giving up. Facing down the reigning Champion – chasing his eighth consecutive win at the track – Folger kept calm under incredible pressure, and even created some himself for the number 93. Finally it was a small mistake that saw Folger run deep, and Marquez pulled the pin to stretch the gap – eventually crossing the line for win number eight just over three seconds clear.

Folger kept it safe in the final laps to cross the line in second for his first premier class podium, sealing the deal on an incredible performance at his home race. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium after a more lonely ride in the latter stages, also bouncing back from a tough Dutch GP.

As the top ten battled it out further, Rossi had found his fourth under attack from Dovizioso, with Viñales then joining the fight and Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) soon on the scene. After some stunning wheel-to-wheel action, it was Viñales who took P4, with teammate Rossi for close company to complete the top five. Bautista took P6 after proving a formidable force in the fight, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) crossing the line in seventh for a good haul of points for the Noale factory ahead of the summer break.

Championship leader going into the race, Dovizioso crossed the line in P9 and remains third in the standings – ahead of a stunning comeback from Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) to move through from P19 on the grid. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) completed the top ten, with Jorge Lorenzo crossing the line in P11 after running at the front earlier in the race.

Danilo Petrucci was another who fell back, taking twelfth ahead of another double points finish for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith. Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completed the top fifteen.

The summer break now awaits, with MotoGP next at Brno in the beginning on August.

Photo by Luciano Bianchetto

2017 Sachsenring MotoGP Results