#GermanGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Martin beats Bagnaia for Sachsenring Sprint glory
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) is becoming a Tissot Sprint master in 2023 after making it two wins in the last three on a Saturday afternoon at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. The Spaniard beat World Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) by 2.4s as Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed the rostrum.
A barnstorming start
As expected Miller got a rocket ship launch on the KTM RC16 machine and had the inside line for Turn 1, but Bagnaia hung it around the outside to grab P1 at Turn 2. Miller tried to make a move stick at Turn 8 but that didn’t work, as Martin made his way through on Miller down at Turn 12. On Lap 2 at Turn 1, Bagnaia and Martin were wide and that allowed Miller to move on through into the lead, as a lead group of five formed with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) joining Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and the aforementioned trio.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) wasn’t enjoying his early Sprint laps, the King of the Ring was down to P9 on Lap 5 as a top seven formed at the front. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) joined the breathless action, as Martin grabbed P1 with a beautiful double overtake down the Waterfall. Lap 6 ticked by and Martin was asking big questions – a 1:20.990 saw the Spaniard sit eight tenths clear of Bagnaia, who had also now overtaken Miller.
Pin pulled
Another fastest lap of the Sprint came in for Martin with nine laps to go. The gap was up to 1.1s. A lap later it was 1.3s. At this stage of the Sprint, Bagnaia didn’t have an answer for Martin. Baring any drama, the top three looked like they were set for the Sprint with Martin leading Bagnaia by 1.4s, the latter 0.8s clear of Miller who in turn was 1.4s ahead of Marini. The battle for P4 was alive and kicking though, Marini had Binder and Zarco right on his coattails.
Marini vs Binder vs Zarco was fascinating. Twice Binder tried to find a way through on Marini at Turn 1, but both times the South African was slightly wide. Heading onto the last lap, Martin was 2.4s clear of Bagnaia with Miller a further 0.8s down the road.
At Turn 11, the rapid right-hander, Zarco slammed his GP23 up the inside of Binder’s RC16 to make a harsh but fair move stick on the #33. Further up the road though, Martin crossed the line to claim another Sprint victory. 2.4s was the winning margin over Bagnaia, with Miller crossing the line third.
Marini held onto P4, Zarco’s last lap pass demoted Binder to P6, as Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) completed the points scorers in P7, P8 and P9. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) rounded out the top 10, with Marc Marquez dropping from P7 to P11 in a very disappointing Sprint on a circuit he’s been unbeatable at.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) crashed unhurt at Turn 1, with Jonas Folger (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) retiring from his home GP Sprint.
Top 10:
1. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing)
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 2.468
3. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 3.287
4. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 5.487
5. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 5.538
6. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 6.289
7. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 6.956
8. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 9.261
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 9.691
10. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 9.715
MOTOGP – RACE: 0.064s: Martin defeats Bagnaia in epic Sachsenring scrap
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) vs Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), 2023 Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland – that’s a battle that will be remembered for years to come as the Ducati duo treat us to a spell-binding scrap for victory, with Tissot Sprint winner Martin coming out on top by the barest of margins: 0.064s. Johann Zarco made it two Prima Pramac Racing riders on the rostrum as the Frenchman notched up his fourth podium of the year.
A battle for the ages
With Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) withdrawing from the race following his fifth crash of the weekend in Warm Up, the King of the Ring crown was up for grabs. Just as he did in the Tissot Sprint Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1 as Bagnaia and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) slotted into P2 and P3. Miller led but at Turn 11 the Australian had a huge moment on the rear as they flicked it onto the cold side of the tyre. That allowed Bagnaia, Martin and Marini to carve past.
Lap 3, Turn 12 – a change of the lead. Martin pounced on Pecco and with it, the Sprint victor set the fastest lap of the race. Miller was holding teammate Brad Binder at bay, with the latter enjoying a mini battle with the fast-starting, soft rear tyre-running Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). Binder grabbed P4 off Miller at the end of Lap 4 and set his sights on the top three, with Martin quickly building a 0.7s lead.
Zarco was soon past Miller too – the same place he dispatched Binder at in the Sprint, Turn 11 – and on Lap 7 the Frenchman set the fastest lap of the race. Martin’s gap was down to 0.5s with the top five just two seconds apart. Lap 10 saw Binder pounce past Marini for P3, but the gap between Binder and Bagnaia was up to 1.7s. A few laps later, Zarco chose Turn 11 as his passing place again as Marini dropped to P5.
The top two looked like they were out of reach for the chasing pack. Binder was 2.9s adrift with 17 laps to go, with Bagnaia starting to put pressure on the shoulders of Martin. With 12 laps to go, it looked like Martin was starting to respond though. Bagnaia had been right on Martin’s coattails but the gap edged back to half a second. In the podium battle, drama then unfolded. Binder lost the rear heading into Turn 8 and that forced him to run wide and into the gravel, as the South African crashed out of third. That promoted Zarco to P3.
Did the decisive moment of the Grand Prix come with 10 laps to go?
Bagnaia decided it was time to take the lead at Turn 12, now how would Martin respond? After two laps, the #1 couldn’t shake off the #89. At the same corner, with six to go, Martin returned the favour. The top two in the title chase were embroiled in a fascinating fight in the Ring, now it was Bagnaia’s turn to show what punches he had left.
Two more laps passed us by and it was as you were – Martin leading Bagnaia by 0.2s. On Lap 27 of 30, it couldn’t get any closer between the pair. Martin defended well down the hill to not allow Bagnaia through into Turn 12, as they entered Lap 28 locked together.
Penultimate lap time. Martin vs Bagnaia. A King of the Ring crown up for grabs. Martin went defensive into Turn 1 as Bagnaia nearly runs into the back of Martin at Turn 3. This was so close. Millimetres in it.
As they came onto the last lap, CONTACT! Bagnaia was forced to sit up after hitting the rear wheel of Martin but did that cost him the chance of victory? 0.3s was in it halfway around the lap. The climb up the hill was crucial but Bagnaia wasn’t close enough into Turn 12. 80 seconds after the contact, Turn 13 reared its head. Martin went defensive. Bagnaia opted for a wider, sweeping line and up the hill for the final time, it was Martin vs Bagnaia on the run to the line.
Martin edged it by a slender 0.064s as a wonderful battle lights up the Sachsenring, with the Spaniard cutting Bagnaia’s title advantage to 16 points. 6.9s away from the victory scrap, Zarco claimed P3 for the third race in succession, as replays showed the #5 nearly crashed at Turn 1 on the final lap.
Important points secured
Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) picked his way through the pack to a solid P4 after a tricky weekend, the Italian finishes 3.4s ahead of teammate Marini. Miller was 0.2s off P5 to finish P6, as Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) rounded out the top 10.
P11 went the way of Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) who finished ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ duo Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo, as Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) picked up the final points in P14 and P15.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) was forced to retire after his RS-GP encountered an issue in the early stages of the Grand Prix.
The Cathedral awaits
A maximum 37 points means it’s a perfect weekend for Martin in Germany, and it also means the title picture changes ahead of a trip to The Cathedral of Speed: Assen. 16 points split leader Pecco to Martin as we head to the always fantastic Dutch TT.
Top 10:
1. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing)
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.064
3. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 7.013
4. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 8.430
5. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 11.679
6. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 11.904
7. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 14.040
8. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 14.859
9. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 17.061
10. Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) + 19.648
“Today’s race went well and I am happy. I am still not totally back to normal, but we are close. I didn’t expect to be able to do this performance after Mugello, but I feel good. This was a less demanding track, and while I had to take a day off after the Italian GP, now I feel ready to go back to training right away! Today’s race showed that ours is a really good package, but I think Jorge and Pecco also made the difference compared to the other Ducati riders. I still don’t know the GP23 that well, but I hope I can soon get to fight with them and for the top 5 after the summer break.”
Enea Bastianini P8
“Happy to finish in the points again and also because we had a strong pace all race. I think we could have been better than 11th- maybe top ten – but I paid the price for a bad start. Anyway, the bike worked well, we made steps again and every GP things are getting better and a bit easier for me. We’ll keep going.”
Augusto Fernández P11
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Germany.