Explained: Why eight riders crashed, and only 10 finished, the German MotoGP

An expert explanation has been provided for the scarcity of riders who were able to finish the German MotoGP.

Only 10 riders completed the distance at the Sachsenring on Sunday, with Marc Marquez dominating once again.

Alarmingly, eight riders crashed, from only 18 starters.

Maverick Vinales and Franco Morbidelli withdrew with injuries sustained earlier in the weekend, Enea Bastianini was unwell, Somkiat Chantra recovering from surgery. Injured Jorge Martin was replaced by Lorenzo Savadori.

The crashers at the Sachsenring on Sunday were Joan Mir, Ai Ogura, Marco Bezzecchi, Savadori, Fabio di Giannantonio, Johann Zarco, Pedro Acosta and Miguel Oliveira.

“It was very attritional. We haven’t seen a race like that in quite some time,” TNT Sports’ Michael Laverty analysed.

“Pecco Bagnaia said how tricky it was at Turn 1. To have three riders crash there on one lap?

“It was obviously the tyre temperature creeping up, the front was easy to lock. And all the rain that we had yesterday meant that the grip was low, and the track was green.

“It’s a strange one with only 10 finishers in MotoGP.”

'Cursed' riders crash out of German MotoGP

Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi were both riding behind Marquez in second when they crashed, each at Turn 1.

“Both Diggia and Bezzecchi looked strong before they crashed out,” Laverty said. “That’s Marc’s strength - he can modulate the brake, control the front slides.

“Diggia and Bezzecchi were maybe having to ride over the limit to match Marc. “Then when you get the lock there is no ability to respond.

“It did seem cursed. Every time someone looked like they would take up the challenge it went to the wayside.”

VR46’s Di Giannantonio had impressed all weekend before he fell on Lap 17.

“It was the smallest of margins. He looked so good on Friday,” Laverty said.

“He had the setting to go with Marc. Even on the lefts, he was able to match him. He just got caught out on his brakes into Turn 1.

“You go over a little crest, the rear gets light, you get a transfer of weight to the front, and it just locks. He tries to decelerate, he will have been on the rear brake a little bit. It momentarily locks. While he is transitioning his weight, it just locked. “Down he went, before he knew he’d done anything wrong.”

Bezzecchi fell on Lap 20, and Laverty said: “Bezzecchi was not chasing Marc, he was just going for second.

“He is a bit deeper into the corner. As the road drops away, it is downhill into the apex. The front locks for him.”

Are eight crashes a big problem for the Sachsenring?

Is the quantity of crashes from the German MotoGP hinting at an unseen problem with the circuit which Marquez loves?

Laverty insists the issue was likelier just the challenging conditions.

“You have weekends like that. The weather threw a curveball, lowering the grip and catching riders out,” he said.

“You sometimes get a green track. The tyres were working, everything was correct.

“We heard from the engineers on the grid that it wasn’t hot enough for the hard front and the medium rear, but they knew they were the tyres to choose to go 30 laps around here, because it’s so hard on the left of the tyres.

“It’s one of those circumstances. It caught a few of the best riders in the world out.”

Laverty said about the Sachsenring: “It’s a unique track. It’s quirky. The bikes are 300 brake horsepower and the straights are too short for him.

“But they’re mapped in terms of torque, in terms of how much horsepower is there.

“It’s up to the riders to manage it.

“I do think it is circumstantial. The overnight rain more than the bike outgrowing [the track].

“They are still able to race here, you can get great racing across the board.”