Qualifying
Pole went to the likeable Frenchman Johann Zarco who pipped his compatriot Fabio Quartararo who sat next to him on P2 with a welcome P3 for Aleix Espargaro on board his Aprilia, it’s been a long time for Aprilia since Jeremy McWilliams did the same, so long it was on a 500cc class machine. Significant for this race, Marc Marquez was P5, the king of Sachsenring, Marquez has won every race across all classes for ten consecutive years! A read it and weep moment for the MotoGP riders come Sunday morning.
The Race
It was a chaotic start to the premier class race but from chaos came order as Aleix Espargaro hit the front on the Aprilia with a very determined Marc Marquez putting the Honda on Aleix’s tail, Johann Zarco following close. Lap 2 and Marquez pulled a determined move on Espargaro, his body language very much that he is the king of the Saxony track, and that he wanted to stamp his authority on the race after last winning in Valencia in 2019, an age and many hurdles away.
Twenty-two laps to go and Marc Marquez was already holding a commanding lead, when nature came to play, with rain in the air, the white flags came out, leaving the decision to the riders if they were to come in for a tyre/bike change. None did, but notably, Marquez just took off, creating an instantly visible gap between him and second placed Espargaro, Jack Miller in third. When you have these conditions, it is almost like a mental rain, spots on the visor but no significant dampness on the track surface, it’s a time for the brave and confident, and Marquez does it better than anyone.
Deep into the race and with 10 laps to go Marc Marquez was holding station in the lead with a 1.141 second gap to P2 man Miguel Oliveira and Fabio Quartararo in P3, his fellow Yamaha riders of Rossi, Morbidelli and Vinales nowhere to be seen.
The Result
Last lap and Marquez managed to hold off Oliveira with a 1.540 second gap to take the win. So, it was P1 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team, P2 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and P3 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP. Fabio rode a brilliant race keeping a hoard of riders behind him and when you consider the other Yamaha riders were Rossi P14, Morbidelli P18 and Vinales in last place P19, it was even more of a class act.
The accolades must go to Marc Marquez, he has been through the wringer, first with the shoulder rotator cup injury, then the complications of the humerus fracture on his right elbow, and being out for so long. There was a time when what he was suffering could have been a career ending injury, he offered to pay back the 25 million Euros Honda pay him to put their bike at the front (they refused) and the start of his 2021 season was nothing short of a crash fest. Then Sachsenring, and the king once more, Marc’s emotions after the race showed how much it meant to him to be once more where a nine-time world champion should be. This race maybe a perfect storm for Marc, it has 10 left corners and just 2 right, which helps with his right arm injury, there was the mental rain, and the Honda was on form. However, confidence is a huge factor in any sport and this may just be the turning point of his comeback, we hope so, MotoGP is better with Marc. Welcome back!
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Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
