Marc Marquez takes historic sprint victory at the German MotoGP
Marc Marquez won his 19th career sprint on Saturday at the German Grand Prix
Ducati’s Marc Marquez fended off Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio to claim an historic victory in the MotoGP German Grand Prix sprint.
Having qualified on pole with a new lap record for the ninth time at the Sachsenring, the reigning world champion was favourite to score a fourth sprint victory of the season.
Though he led from start to finish, it wasn’t a comfortable ride for Marc Marquez, who had intense pressure from Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio to contend with.
He took the chequered flag 0.368s clear of younger brother Alex Marquez on the Gresini Ducati to reduce his championship points deficit to 32.
Jorge Martin extended his championship lead to 11 points in the absence of Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, who suffered a collarbone fracture in a qualifying crash earlier on Saturday.
Marc Marquez converted pole to the holeshot, as MotoGP’s new grid layout made its debut, with Alex Marquez slotting into second behind him.
Di Giannantonio was shuffled down to fourth through Turn 2, as Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura leapt into third.
But the VR46 rider was quick to get back into the final podium position and overhauled Ogura at the end of the opening lap to resume the chase on his Ducati stablemates ahead.
The leading trio ran line astern in the early stages of the 15-lap sprint, but Marc Marquez didn’t crack under the pressure.
Save for a few looks into Turn 12 in the early laps, Marc Marquez ensured there was no route through to the lead for Alex Marquez.
Di Giannantonio faded away at mid-distance, but rallied in the closing stages to threaten Alex Marquez’s runner-up spot.
But the Italian ran out of time and was forced to settle for completing a Ducati 1-2-3 in the sprint.
Ogura’s podium challenge never really materialised and he took the chequered flag 2.2s from third on the leading Trackhouse Aprilia.
Team-mate Raul Fernandez - who battled pain from a compression shock in qualifying - was a further 0.7s behind, while Jorge Martin completed the top six on his factory team Aprilia.
Pecco Bagnaia came from 11th on the grid to seventh on the sister factory team Ducati, while Pedro Acosta was eighth on the KTM.
Fabio Quartararo scored the final point in ninth on the factory Yamaha, with LCR Honda’s Diogo Moreira 2.4s adrift in 10th.
VR46’s Franco Morbidelli crashed out on lap seven.
