Honda pilot, Marc Marquez, claimed his ninth straight victory from his ninth consecutive pole at the German MotoGP in Sachsenring. This is also his fifth victory of the season after winning at Texas, Jerez, LeMans and Assen, as well as the 66th of his career and the 40th in MotoGP.

Both pilots from Yamaha, Rossi and Viñales, completed the podium; the former at 2.196 seconds from the champion and the latter 2.776 seconds after that. This victory widens the winning margin of the Spaniard in the standings to 46 points ahead of Rossi and 56 of Viñales. Next race will take place after a well-deserved summer break, in Brno, the Czech Republic from the 3rd to the 5th of August.

An uncontested dominance 

After a slow start which sent Marquez back to fourth place, the Spaniard adopted a conservative strategy and remained in that position until the right time came to attack. By doing this the champion saved energy and avoided putting any excess unnecessary pressure on his tyres. Lorenzo did the opposite, pushing his Ducati to the limit in order to lead the race from the start, which he did right until the second quarter. Valentino and Petrucci followed him in second and third position respectively. 

At 17 laps from the end, and just as Lorenzo started to show some signs of weakness, Marquez decided it was time to take the lead, and he did with ease, remaining there until the end. During the second half of the race Rossi managed to get to just 0.7 seconds of Márquez, but he never really put his victory at risk. Ten laps before the chequered flag, the Spaniard started to widen the gap with his Italian nemesis behind, displaying an uncontested dominance. Rossi remains second in the standings despite not having claimed any victory yet, and this second position is his best result of the season so far. 

Despite these small challenges, Marquez displayed a dominant and confident performance throughout the race. The Honda pilot, however, highlighted the difficulties he encountered as he spoke to the press at Sachsenring: «It was complicated, particularly at the beginning. My start was not perfect and I’ve had to push hard in order to overtake. When I got the lead I was able to keep the distance with Valentino Rossi but he was coming strong and I had to concentrate. I am very happy and the only thing I can say is: I love you Sachsenring!»

Classification 

1) M.Máquez – Honda – 165 points – 5 wins – 7 podiums

2) V.Rossi – Yamaha – 119 points – 0 wins – 5 podiums

3) M.Viñales – Yamaha – 105 points – 0 wins – 3 podiums

4) A.Dovizioso – Ducati – 88 points – 1 wins – 2 podiums

5) J.Zarco – Yamaha – 88 points – 0 wins – 2 podiums