Brave or smart? The early decision from Honda to put Marc Marquez on slicks early in the race at Sachsenring really paid off. Taking the gamble, Marquez came in first followed by Cal Crutchlow taking second and Andrea Dovizioso taking third.
The weather and making the right tyre choices played a massive part in the race, similar to the last race at Assen. Scott Redding took fourth just after losing out to Crutchlow in the last lap, returning to the podium for the first time since Argentina in 2015. Andrea Iannone finished fifth 22 seconds behind race winner Marquez, followed by Dani Pedrosa and Jack Miller who took sixth and seventh respectively.
Title contender Valentino Rossi finished a disappointing eight after starting and being in the top three for the most part. Jorge Lorenzo’s weekend didn’t get any better, the World Champion was inside the top 10 as the race got underway, but as in Assen he began to fade as the race went on and slowly dropped back. It was even worse than in Assen, Lorenzo taking a single point for 15th place.
Race Results:
1. Marc Marquez
2. Cal Crutchlow
3. Andrea Dovizioso
4. Scott Redding
5. Andrea Iannone
6. Dani Pedrosa
7. Jack Miller
8. Valentino Rossi
9. Hector Barbera
10. Alvaro Bautista
11. Eugene Laverty
12. Maverick Vinales
13. Bradley Smith
14. Aleix Espargaro, and
15. Jorge Lorenzo