MotoGP: Repsol Honda Strikes Back In Germany

Repsol Honda made their comeback in Germany, dominating Sachsenring with a 1-2 victory.

MotoGP Germany Race Report

Repsol Honda, while not exactly the underdogs, were looking a bit hopeless this season. With Marquez crashing out regularly and Dani Pedrosa battling his way back from arm pump surgery, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were sitting pretty at the top of the table. It looked like Yamaha had nothing to fear… until this weekend’s action in Germany. The race ended with Marquez in first, his teammate Dani Pedrosa in second, and Rossi hanging on to the podium in third place.

Marc Marquez was looking much better in Assen, after a thrilling battle with the Doctor that took us back to the heady days of this season’s first races. In Germany, he showed that his impressive winning streak at Sachsenring was not about to be broken, making it six consecutive wins from pole position. Make no mistake, the young champion is back on form – he won every qualifying session and soundly put our doubts to rest.

Now that Marquez is back to his winning ways, he looks ready to ruffle Rossi’s feathers and remind the veteran champion that he’s never safe at the top. Marquez’s ambition has not been dampened by setbacks this season – far from it. He said: I’m happy because this weekend we’ve been always first and it has been a long time since I had that. It’s a good result to go on holidays with, but I want to keep getting better.” If Marquez does keep improving, it just might be possible that he could threaten Rossi’s supremacy.

Dani Pedrosa proved himself to be a dark horse as he took to the podium in second place, completing the 1-2 finish for Repsol Honda. He said: “I’m so happy – above all with how we finished the race as I rode very strongly. I was under a lot of pressure from Valentino…I gave my all and was able to finish ahead of him.”

It could be said that the track was kind to the Repsol Honda bikes this weekend, with the Yamaha machines struggling for rear grip. With this result, though, it’s clear that Pedrosa and Marquez have regained their winning mentality – whatever the track throws at them, they won’t go down without a fight.

Valentino Rossi needed this podium to stay ahead, his third place finish meaning that he has opened up the gap between him and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo by a small but significant 3 points. There are a lot of former champions in the fight for the championship this year, and Jorge Lorenzo is still a palpable threat despite finishing in fourth place.

The Doctor battled with Dani Pedrosa for almost the entire race, and he commented afterwards: “The perfect way to describe the race is that ‘I tried to beat Dani’.” Pedrosa’s advantage on the Honda-friendly Sachsenring circuit was a tough challenge for Rossi, but he still has his eye on the dangerous Lorenzo. He said: “The important thing was to arrive in front of Jorge for the championship…I extended the lead a little bit.” It’s looking precarious at the top, even for the legendary Rossi!

Bradley Smith came sixth in Germany, another solid finish for him and his Monster Yamaha Tech3 team. He achieved the title of top satellite rider once again, with fellow Brit Cal Crutchlow failing to catch him up and having to settle for seventh place.

Smith commented: “I am pleased with today’s performance…We are the top satellite bike again and at the end of the 30 lap race, we had a strong advantage over both Cal and my teammate which is really positive.” The young Brit has certainly got a lot to be proud of, as he now stands joint fifth in the championship with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso.

Scott Redding‘s fortunes were the complete opposite of Bradley Smith’s. Redding looked strong in warm up, finishing in eighth place and hoping for another top ten finish. Sadly, this wasn’t to be as Redding crashed out on turn 13 of the very first lap. This devastating result means that for a top ten finish in the championship, Redding has to make up 27 points to match the tenth place rider, Maverick Vinales. Hopefully, Scott and his team EG 0,0 Marc VDS can regroup over the break and come back swinging for the next race, in Indianapolis on August 9th.

Now’s the perfect time to look back on the action so far…

If you’re looking to fill the MotoGP shaped hole in your life over the summer break, we’ve got just what you need. Read our race reports for Assen, Catalunya, Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, The Americas and Qatar.

We’ll see you after the summer break with more MotoGP action from Indianapolis. Until then, comment away below and let us know what you made of this incredible, unpredictable championship so far.

Photo courtesy of www.motogp.com