Sachsenring GP 2019: Race Report
The ninth race of the championship was truly dominated by Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), having led all the 30 laps at Sachsenring, Germany. Marc won the Sachsenring GP for the 10th time in a row, followed by Maverick Vinales (Yamaha Movistar) and Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda).
The qualifying on Saturday saw Marquez on pole, followed by the rookie, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Vinales. Suzuki’s Alex Rins, Primac Ducati rider Jack Miller and Cal Crutchlow followed in the second row. Rossi was in the 11th position while factory Ducati boys Petrucci and Dovizioso stood at 12th and 13th.
The Repsol Honda RC213V piloted by Marquez already had nine victories on its ledger under different classes. The reigning champion dominated the race right from the moment the lights went off. He had a poor start, which the Petronas rookie took advantage of but Marquez quickly took back the charge by braking late at turn one. Thereafter, there was no looking back for the Spaniard. With each lap, Marc was pacing ahead, facing no threat from either Vinales or Rins throughout the 30 laps. Marc took his seventh consecutive win with the Repsol Honda at Sachsenring. The German GP was Marc’s fifth victory of the 2019 season and he now enjoys a 58-point lead over Andrea Dovizioso, who stands second in the championship.
The 2019 Moto GP season hasn’t been too kind on Movistar Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales. The Dutch GP was his first victory of the season. Vinales was right behind Marc from the very first corner, until Alex Rins snatched the second spot from him. But after the Suzuki Ecstar rider’s crash, Vinales was busy fending off Cal Crutchlow, who was hungry for the podium before finally finishing second, more than four seconds after Marquez crossed the line.
Cal Crutchlow started the race on sixth but managed to grab the final spot on the podium on Sunday. After Alex Rins’ crash, the British racer was at the third spot, continuously hunting Vinales’ Yamaha. While Marc was comfortably ahead of the pack, Vinales and Cal were pulling away from the rest of the pack. Right until the last two laps, it was difficult for Vinales to shake off Cal.
The factory Ducati riders Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso were at the fourth and fifth spot respectively at the German GP. Danilo had a nasty crash on Saturday. injuring his right hand. Despite that, he was racing and boy did he race well! Right from his first lap, he climbed six positions, and through the race, he kept Miller as well as Joan Mir at bay. After his first MotoGP victory at Mugello, Ducati has signed the Italian racer for the 2020 season as well. However, Dovi had a forgettable Saturday, having qualified at 13th position on the grid. He still stands second in the championship trailing by 58 points. Despite his lousy performance in the qualifying, he managed to salvage a few points for himself. Throughout the race, both Dovi and Petrucci were fighting against each other but always with respect.
After taking on Vinales, Alex was aiming for the top spot. However, Marc was pacing ahead of Rins right from the third lap. Despite Rins’ brilliant race pace, he could not close the gap to Marquez. However, a wrong move made Rins lose the front and he crashed, ending his run for the podium. This was Rins’ consecutive crash after his Dutch GP incident the previous weekend.
After two consecutive podiums at Catalunya and Dutch GP, Petronas Yamaha SRT rookie Fabio Quartararo was aiming for his third podium in this race. He had a great start, but low-sided at C3 in the second lap, having leaned it too much without warming up the tyres enough. This put an end to his podium aspirations at the German GP.
MotoGP will now be heading into a three-week summer break and will be back on August 4 at the Masaryk Circuit, Czech Republic.
