Spanish rookie Marc Marquez earned his second win of the season with victory at the German MotoGP at Sachsenring yesterday to go top of the championship standings.
The 20-year-old hit the front early and built up his lead to claim victory, with Britain’s Cal Crutchlow second and six-time world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi third.
Marquez’s winning time was 41 minutes, 14.653 seconds over the 30 laps, with Crutchlow 1.559 seconds back and Rossi coming home more than nine seconds further back.
Photo: Reuters
With title leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both absent after collarbone injuries, pole sitter Marquez lost ground at the start to find himself racing in fourth by the first bend.
However, he hit back, taking the lead from home hero Stefan Bradl along the main straight on the third lap.
Marquez, in his first MotoGP campaign, was following up his Grand Prix of the Americas victory in Texas in April. He has now finished on the podium in all seven races he has finished this year, his retirement at the Italian MotoGP the only blot.
Victory allowed Marquez to overtake compatriot and Honda teammate Pedrosa, who was forced out after fracturing his collarbone in Saturday’s practice, to go top of the world standings with 138 points, two points clear of Pedrosa.
Reigning world champion Lorenzo was ruled out of the race on Friday, when he injured the same left collarbone he broke two weeks ago and underwent surgery on Saturday in Barcelona to reinsert a plate to support the plate.
“I’m happy, it’s great to win, but you shouldn’t forget that both Pedrosa and Lorenzo weren’t here,” Marquez said.
“I hadn’t expected to control the race like that,” he added.
Both Yahama Tech 3’s Crutchlow and Rossi on the Yahama factory bike complained about losing grip on their rear tires, but the British rider produced a brave performance after twice crashing in Friday’s practice session.
“I was trying to catch him [Marquez], I had a good start, even though it might not have looked like it, I struggled a bit with the rear tire,” said Crutchlow, who raced with an injured hand. “I am pleased with the finish position we had here.”
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