– After Friday’s training, Marc Marquez was still modest and dismissed the favorite role at the Sachsenring. But on Saturday, he claimed pole position with a new lap record and secured his 19th victory in the sprint. This makes him the sole record holder in the statistics of Saturday races, ahead of Jorge Martin.
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Throughout the entire 15 laps, Marc Marquez kept his brother Alex and Fabio Di Giannantonio at bay. Especially his brother was close but ultimately could not launch an attack.
Therefore, Marc Marquez says: “For me, it was not a normal victory at the Sachsenring. That’s why I value this win very much, because I worked hard for it and suffered until the end.”
“There are two or three points where I sit on the bike and cannot do what I would like to.” However, he emphasizes that the three right-hand corners of the Sachsenring are not the decisive problem.
“No, no, no, in the right corners I lose exactly the right measure. It’s true that I lose time on the downhill, but that’s a point where I already lost time when I was feeling good. So that’s no excuse.”
Alex Marquez was behind for all 15 laps and saw exactly where his older brother lost time: “One of his weakest points is turn 11, right side, fast, with acceleration. He loses a bit there.”
“I caught up a little there, but in the last two corners he made the difference. He gave me a gap, and then I was too far away in turn 1 to be within striking distance. It was like a rubber band.”
“The only places where you can clearly overtake,” says Alex Marquez and lists, “are turns 12, 13, and 1. It’s true that Marc was not going so well. I tried.”
“My idea was to attack him at the start, but with the new rules we have now, with more distance between the starting rows, it’s quite difficult to gain a position,” the Gresini rider evaluates the new regulations.
“If the other doesn’t make a big mistake, it’s almost impossible to get on the same level at all. But otherwise, it’s a result I needed after the crash in Barcelona. It’s another step in my recovery.”
Marc Marquez: “Without the Barcelona crash, Alex would be leading the championship”
For Alex Marquez, second place was the first top-3 result since his serious accident in mid-May. But he could have even won, as after the sprint Marc Marquez admitted that he considered settling for second place.
“There was a moment when I thought: Well, if I get second and Alex first, that’s not so bad either. I thought it stays in the family.”
When asked whether the win or his brother’s second place means more to him, Marc Marquez answers: “Both, and even more, because I dare to say that if Alex hadn’t had that crash, he would be leading the championship today.”
“He won in Barcelona, in Holland you saw the race he rode, how he did it, in Mugello he did very well, so today he would be leading the championship.”
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The Sachsenring sprint could be the first indicator that both Marquez brothers are working their way back to the top after injuries. Marc Marquez also sees an overall picture and compares it with the successful last year.
“You see the level, from one year to the next we haven’t changed anything, neither in training nor in attitude, and last year we were first or second in every race.”
“This year we didn’t start in the best way, but we stick to our method, and the method eventually turns the situation around and works,” the nine-time motorcycle world champion is convinced.
Marc Marquez has Di Giannantonio on his radar
Above all, Marc Marquez is back in the championship fight. After the sprint win, he is still fifth in the championship but only 32 points behind leader Martin. With a win in the Grand Prix, he could further reduce the gap.
“Yes, I am 32 points behind Martin, but it’s not just Martin and Bezzecchi, there is also a Di Giannantonio who is very consistent and also one of the candidates for the championship,” Marc Marquez sees the VR46 rider as a serious opponent.
In the sprint, Fabio Di Giannantonio overtook Ai Ogura’s Aprilia in the first lap but then got stuck behind the two Marquez brothers and could never launch an attack on Alex Marquez ahead of him.
“Yes, we know this track is really, really difficult to overtake on,” says the Italian. “As soon as you ride directly behind another rider, the temperature in the front tire rises.”
“And since you take all corners leaning, it’s really difficult to keep the pace and then try to overtake. You can do it, but it’s quite risky. It was simply too risky to overtake Alex.”
Since he couldn’t get past, Di Giannantonio deliberately left a small gap during the race to avoid overheating the tires and risking a crash. Overtaking is almost impossible with the current MotoGP bikes at the Sachsenring.
The Italian believes he could have ridden faster: “I think I had the better pace to go faster. But it’s also 100 percent true that Marc didn’t push at 100 percent either.”
“I think Marc had a bit more pace, but he controlled it, which is normal. I was there and tried to keep up with them, but when you’re behind, it really becomes a nightmare just to keep the pace.”
In the twice as long Grand Prix, Di Giannantonio will have another chance. Then it will show whether, on the one hand, Alex Marquez is physically fit enough and, on the other hand, whether Marc Marquez can still eliminate his weaknesses.
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Because despite the sprint win, Marc Marquez clearly says: “Alex was very fast, Di Giannantonio too. For the 30 laps tomorrow, if I want to fight for the win, I’m saying it now: We have to change a little.”
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