Honda’s Marc Marquez put on a sensational show in the German GP this weekend as he stormed to his 11th victory in succession at the Sachsenring. 

‘The King of the Ring’ was well and truly back as he dominated the 30-lap race from the outset, crossing the line just under two-seconds shy of second place man, Miguel Oliveira, with Fabio Quartararo recovering to claim the final podium position. 

Enea Bastianini began the German GP with a three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line in Saturday’s Q1 and disturbing another rider, namely Danilo Petrucci, placing the Avintia rider 18th. The rest of the grid lined up with further complications in mind as weather radars predicted incoming heavy rain 30kms away from the circuit. The thick cloud cover and 28℃ air temperatures creating over 50% humidity alongside the 40℃ track conditions. 

A pair of Frenchman headed the front row as Johann Zarco took charge of proceedings, Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro lining up alongside with Jack Miller, Marquez and Oliveira threatening behind. Takaaki Nakagami took a gamble on tyre choice due to the changeable conditions with the LCR rider opting for a medium front/soft rear combination. Pecco Bagnaia, Maverick Viñales and Jorge Martin joining the Japanese man on medium fronts with the entire rest of the field utilising the medium asymmetric rear. 

Quartararo claimed the hole-shot as the lights released, Espargaro sweeping through as the initial lap unfolded with Marquez storming to second and Zarco and Quartararo sat third and fourth. 

‘The King’ returned to ruling form as he took the lead as the first lap concluded, Miller and Oliveira battling Brad Binder for fifth place as Martin sat in eighth. Espargaro and Marquez continued to squabble as the second lap wound down, with the duo swapping places repeatedly as lap three got underway. 

Miller got the better of the Yamaha as he joined the Pramac Ducati on the fringes of podium contention, Alex Rins advancing on the second satellite Desmosedici for eighth, his teammate Joan Mir sandwiching Martin, in 10th moments later. 

Quartararo continued to struggle as he dropped another position, Petrucci and Alex Marquez crashing out in a tangle at turn one on lap five. 

Marquez carved out a three-tenth lead as the sixth lap began, the top-five covered by less than a second as Lorenzo Savadori became the next to crash out, this time at turn 10. 

Yamaha’s disappointing weekend continued with Valentino Rossi circulating in 14th as Franky Morbidelli joined Viñales at the back of the field. 

Miller advanced on Zarco on lap eight, taking third as Mir did likewise on Martin for ninth. The white flag beginning to wave as rain started to make its presence felt. 

The Ducati’s progress continued, taking Oliveira with him, as the pair leapfrogged Espargaro, the Aprilia’s concentration taken as the rain hit harder but the pace refused to drop. 

Quartararo dispatched his countryman for fifth with 20 to go, as Oliveira finally broke through on Miller for second. Rins dropping to 11th as his damaged wrist began to fade. 

Marquez held a near two-second lead as he crossed the line to start lap 13, the KTM creating a seventh-tenth gap of his own behind, as Espargaro looked to reel the Australian back in for the battle for third. 

The rain abated for the mid-race run. The eight-time world champion continuing to up the pace out front as his Portuguese rival matched him with impressive accuracy, so far unable, however, to bridge the gap.

With conditions improving, so did the lap times, as Quartararo regained his podium charge. Making a move on Miller at the exit of turn 11, the M1 secured third with 11 laps to go and 3.5 seconds now separating him from the KTM ahead. 

The second half saw Bagnaia finally mount a charge as he recovered to ninth with as many laps remaining, Mir the next in line, as he hunted down the group ahead. There were challenges building all through the field as Binder looked for a way past Espargaro and his teammate began to reel in Marquez. The South African proving successful as he joined the top-five with seven laps to go. 

Marquez was beginning to feel the pressure from the pursuing KTM out front as he made his first mistake running wide through turn three, Bagnaia up to seventh with six laps left to run. Viñales had looked to be making progress as he advanced to the edge of the points positions before fading back to the base of the field in the closing laps. 

Binder attempted a challenge on Miller with three laps to go, making it stick moments later as he claimed fourth to sit just over a second away from a double podium for his Austrian team.

Two to go and Marquez had pushed his advantage to sit two-seconds clear. Martin fading to 12th as the race neared its conclusion with Bagnaia claiming a further two places as he leapfrogged his team-mate for fifth. 

There was jubilation in pitlane for Repsol Honda as an emotional Marquez earned his 11th victory at the Sachsenring Circuit as eh chequered flag flew. The Spaniard securing an impressive comeback story after a year of rehab, repeated setbacks, struggle and determination. 

Oliveira claimed his third podium of 2021, in a hard-fought second, with Quartararo recovering to complete the celebrations. A best finish of the year so far saw Binder in fourth, with Bagnaia and Miller taking fifth and sixth. Espargaro settled for seventh ahead of a disappointed Zarco, Mir and Pol Espargaro. Rins sat 11th from Martin and Nakagami with Rossi and brother Luca Marini collecting the final championship points. Bastianini, Iker Lecuona, Morbidelli and Viñales completed the finishers.