Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez has taken victory and the championship lead in today’s Sachsenring clash but was pushed hard for almost the entire race by rookie Jonas Folger who was able to stick with the Spaniard until there were only two laps left.
Marquez and the Monster Yamaha man were the only two able to lap consistently in the 1’21s and it was only a final push with a 1’21.619s lap that broke the German hometown hero, who takes his first-ever premier class podium.
Dani Pedrosa had a lonely ride to the final podium spot after initally going with the front pairing but just didn’t have the pace and finished 11s in arrears. Maverick Vinales came from 11th on the grid to take fourth with Valentino Rossi in fifth.
With all the front runners opting for a medium/medium tyre combination bar the works Ducatis on a soft rear and Zarco, who was way down, opting for the hard, Marquez and Pedrosa led into turn one with Lorenzo, Danilo Petrucci and Folger in pursuit.
Folger was quickly past Petrucci as Rossi made his way to sixth place inside two laps but Vinales was unable to make any initial progress, only making up one place in the early skirmishes.
Lorenzo fell victim to the charging Folger on lap three and he set off after the Repsol Hondas who had opened a half-second gap. It took him only one lap to start making a nuisance of himself as Petrucci found a way past Lorenzo for fourth and a queue began to form behind the former champion.
On lap five, Folger pushed past Pedrosa for second and the fight for the win was set as Pedrosa quickly fell away. The Monster Yamaha man made short work of Marquez, getting awesome drive through turn 11 and down the hill, he passed Marquez on the brakes into turn 12.
Rossi went under auld enemy Lorenzo at turn 12 and Doviziso followed him through after making up places quickly from tenth as Vinales started to also make progress, moving past Britain’s Cal Crutchlow.
Petrucci had asked a great deal from his rear tyre in the opening lap and, once he was passed by Rossi, the Pramac Ducati man slipped through the field as his rear grip got less and less.
Folger made an error at turn one - which he would later repeat twice - and left the door open for Marquez to take the lead as Vinales pushed past Lorenzo to take eighth place after lapping as fast as the men chasing for fourth.
With 15 left, Vinales moved into the 1’21s laptimes and was soon on the rear wheel of Dovizioso and Rossi. In just two laps, he was past both at turn 13 as Alvaro Bautista also staked his claim for a top-five spot, moving past Dovizioso for sixth.
The Italian’s rear tyre had all but given up with eight left to run and he fell victim to Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro in the closing stages.
Rossi had nothing for Vinales but finished in fifth and less than a second behind his younger team-mate with Baustisa and Espargaro next along. Zarco made use of the hard rear but probably not early enough, pushing past Crutchlow for ninth as Lorenzo came home in 11th place. Petrucci slipped to 12th, just ahead of Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith on the KTMs.
Scott Redding ended a lowly 20th place and now must be wondering where next to turn as will Sam Lowes, who crashed at turn seven for the second time this weekend.
In the championship chase, Marquez now has a five-point lead over Vinales with Dovizoso dropping from the lead to fourth. Rossi is ten points behind Marquez on 119 with Pedrosa now on 103 in fifth place and a full race win in arrears.
