2021 MotoGP Round Eight Sachsenring

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Taking over at the front early on and then putting the hammer down even as rain threatened, Marc Marquez withstood ever-increasing pressure from Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to take his 11th win in a row at the Sachsenring, which is also his eighth in a row at the venue in the premier class.

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Sachsenring Rider Quotes

Marc Marquez – P1

“This is one of the most important, and hardest, moments of my career. Today I knew there was a great opportunity to do something. When I crossed the line I just enjoyed it and then arriving with my whole team there, emotional, it helps a lot after such a difficult situation.

“It’s impossible to come back alone, you need people, you need a good team, a good team of doctors, a physio, Honda, Honda respect me a lot. Alberto Puig, Emilio Alzamora, my family, they helped me a lot. Now it’s time to enjoy this weekend, we were looking for a petrol station but now we found one and the fuel tank is full again. It’s extra motivation for me, for Honda, for the engineers, for the team and let’s see what the future brings.

“When I saw some drops of rain on lap four of five, I said; it’s my race. I started pushing at this point and then when it started to rain harder, I pushed even more and then the second race with Oliveira began. He pushed so hard and was very fast, it was hard to keep concentrated because all the memories, everything I have lived over the last year, came into my mind. But we did it. We will do it again.”

Miguel Oliveira – P2

“It was a little bit cat-and-mouse today. Marc was faster in some sectors and I was faster in the last part of the track. Visually though. I felt like I was gaining nothing! It was an interesting race and we battled at a distance. I will take a second any day at the Sachsenring to him. I’m happy to continue this run of podiums. I hope we can carry on this way. Thanks to the team, and everyone at home for their support.”

Fabio Quartararo – P3

“I‘m happy with this podium. Honestly, it’s like gold. We‘ve been struggling all week. We were quite clear about this in our team. This morning we saw that our pace was good, but not good enough for the victory. That’s why I feel that this podium is really like gold, because I fought until the very end. I gave it my all, and I think that‘s so important for the team because we have been struggling so much. This GP was so tough for us. Now I‘m just looking forward to Assen, one of my favourite tracks. The bike will be fantastic there, so I can‘t wait for Friday because we will enjoy it a lot.”

Brad Binder – P4

“I’m really happy with 4th in the end because we started the Grand Prix by being stone-last in FP1! I slowly worked my way forward through the weekend. It wasn’t easy for me to adapt to this place on the bigger bike. I gave it my absolute ‘all’ out there today. I tried as hard as I could. I wanted the podium – and I could see Fabio – but ran out of time to get close enough. In general, I’m happy with the job we did and the team worked fantastically because when I was struggling they continued to make the bike better and better and that brought my level up. We made a big step. Thanks guys, let’s see what we can do in Assen.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P5

“Despite the comeback, I’m not happy with today’s result because I know I could have fought for the podium. Unfortunately, during the first few laps, I had a different feeling than the last few days and I struggled to find my rhythm. However, in the second half of the race, I felt more comfortable, and I started to push. I managed the tyres well and was consistent right to the end, moving up to fifth place. Now we have to stay focused as in a few days we’ll be in Assen for another race weekend.”

Jack Miller – P6

“I expected more from Germany, I’ll be honest – I felt I had the pace to be right there in contention for the podium, so to finish sixth and fade near the end was a bit disappointing. But saying that, I’m still third in the championship, and in general I felt I rode a smart race, I don’t feel like I made any mistakes, and I was there or thereabouts the whole time. But anyway, today was not my day – and it was most definitely the day of Marc Marquez.

“You have to hand it to him – 11 wins in a row here, eight in a row in MotoGP – it’s pretty crazy really. But this one, with everything he’s gone through – I’m sure days like today, to feel like that again, would have kept him going last year when times were really hard for him with his injuries and surgeries, recovering the whole time. We’ve been seeing Marc get stronger and stronger each week and we came to ‘his house’ here in Sachsenring, and he did a fantastic job and managed the race really well. So full credit to him.

“That’s the sort of race that shows why Marc is a multiple-time world champion – the races like that where he sees a few spots of rain and just goes, puts a big gap out front and then manages it from there. He completely deserves it, so hats off to him.

“For me, it was a frustrating one. I was managing my tyre well from the beginning of the race, but about a quarter of the way into the race I was switching the maps, I could feel a lot of lateral sliding off-gas and that was something we didn’t really have all weekend. From there I was trying to manage it, but by the end I had nothing left on the left-hand side of the tyre. I never really pushed incredibly hard in the race, but I didn’t have anything to fight with at the end.

“There’s nothing to regret, I feel like most of my issues today were out of my control. I was doing everything I could to manage the tyre and it just wouldn’t stay under me today – it can happen sometimes, and today was one of those times unfortunately.

“When the rain came I tried to pass Aleix (Espargaro) but then he passed me back and was really slow, and I could see Marc really pull out a big gap. There’s really only one place you can pass here, so I had to wait until the next lap to try to go. It was a shame to get held up by someone who wasn’t willing to push. I felt I had the speed to go with Marc at that point, but when I passed Aleix I had a bit of a moment when it was raining at Turn 1 and almost had a high-side. And that was kind of that.

“Germany is a special track for me because it’s where I made my world championship debut way back in 2011 in the 125s – only lasted three laps that day, but this was where it all started. On a Moto3 bike it’s a fantastic track, but on these MotoGP bikes she’s a bit tight. But Sachsenring is fun because it has its own unique character, and it’s nice to have it because a lot of the tracks we go to are pretty similar. You wouldn’t want 18 tracks like this one, but as a one-off it’s nice to have something that’s so left-field.

“Sachsenring is definitely not, let’s say, a ‘Ducati track’ because you only have to look at the records, only one win here and very few other podiums, and there’s always going to be tracks that suit one bike or another. This isn’t usually one that suits for us so it’s more how you can adapt your bike to the track over the weekend. Here’s you’re not changing directions all that much because it’s basically all one way, going left the whole time. But this year we’ve already shown we can keep progressing and turn a couple more of these tracks that aren’t considered to be Ducati tracks into ones that aren’t too bad, like we did in Jerez with me and Pecco (Bagnaia) going 1-2.

“Anyway, that’s three races in four weeks and we’re not done yet, because we’re back at Assen for the first time in two years next Sunday. It’s a very, very different track to here, lots of high-speed changes of direction, and of course there’s some good memories for me every time I go back to that place because of 2016. We’ll focus on Assen and see what we can do there. And then it’ll be time for a well-earned break, I reckon!”

Aleix Espargaro – P7

“I am pleased with the level we have reached but I am also angry because I expected to be able to achieve something more today. The reality of the situation is that we are undoubtedly in the leading group, both in qualifying and in the race, on tracks that are vastly different from one another, but we need to keep working to find that final step. I was extremely strong at the start today and then I was able to maintain the pace rather well behind Marc. In the stage of the race when a few drops of rain fell, he managed to pull away. He began building his victory at that moment. Compared to the others, I had some limitations mid corner, a question of a few tenths per lap, but that’s all it takes in this MotoGP championship.”

Johann Zarco – P8

“It was a very difficult race and I gave it my all, but the eighth place will do, we took home important points. I didn’t push more than I did because I wasn’t feeling secure; I preferred to not risk and not make any mistakes.”

Joan Mir – P9

“It was a difficult race weekend, I felt a bit better with the bike today and I recovered a lot of positions despite the fact that it’s so hard to overtake here. I got behind the lead group but it was really tough to make more places. I was pushing but I had nothing left. Today they were faster than us, and it’s like this sometimes. We’ll take good info from today and try to learn from it. Riding was quite a struggle this weekend, but I gave my best as always and the team tried to make things easier for me. The important thing is I brought home a 9th place and some points which means I hold onto 5th in the Championship. I’m going to work hard to improve myself as a rider, and the team are also working hard to improve the bike. I’m looking forward to next weekend.”

Pol Espargaro – P10

“Honestly, today was not good. I did not get a good start and we struggled a lot, I got overtaken a lot and here is not the easiest place to pass. Then when the rain came, I was stuck behind too many people and I couldn’t get past them fast enough. If you can’t overtake quickly at the Sachsenring this is what happens. My race isn’t what I wanted, it’s not what I expected. But we have seen what Marc has done, I am really happy for him and the whole Repsol Honda Team. It shows that the bike is working well here but also highlights that we could have done more since I have been close to Marc all weekend. It’s a boost to improve, to work harder and better.”

Alex Rins – P11

“It was a bit hard today because my arm still isn’t 100%, but this track has more left-handed corners than right-handed, and I think that helped me quite a lot, it meant the pain was manageable. But I didn’t feel very comfortable when the rain arrived, I lost my feeling. After the rain went away I felt better but then I was losing grip on the rear, it dropped off more than I thought compared to the practices. But I kept trying and I was able to make some overtakings at the end of the race and I’m happy about that. It won’t be easy to ride again in just a few days, but I will rest and focus on Assen.”

Jorge Martín – P12

“I am satisfied, I had a good race and I was able to remain in the top ten for almost all of the 30 laps. Naturally, still not being completely fit meant that towards the end I struggled a lot. I now can see the improvements being made day after day, and I feel confident for Assen.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“It was a tough race for me, starting from P9 on the third row, I didn’t have a good start. But at the beginning of the race I had good pace, felt good on the bike and tried to overtake some riders and catch up with the top group. But after 8 or 9 laps I felt a drop off in the rear grip and then lap by lap it was really difficult to manage the bike. Towards the end of the race, the last ten laps, it was so difficult to keep the lap time. I finished P13 and I’m not happy about the result, but let’s stay positive and focus on the next race at Assen.”

Valentino Rossi – P14

“I had a good feeling this morning and Warm Up was good. I was riding well, enjoying it, and I had a good lap time right up until the end of the session. The problem is that everything in the race is more difficult. I needed a good start but I didn’t have one and so I was stuck in traffic. It was not easy. When I had clear air ahead, I was able to do some good lap times. In fact my pace was not too bad, but it was not enough. I also had to slow down in the final laps because I started to suffer with lack of rear grip. We took some points but we did expect better today.”

Luca Marini – P15

“I am satisfied with the weekend, we had a good race where I was fast and consistent. I had a good feeling, the result of the work done here and in the Barcelona test. I can show my potential better, but we still need to work on how to manage the start and the first laps.”

Enea Bastianini – P16

“I am not happy with my race because unfortunately I had some problems that made me lose a lot of time and we will try to understand why. At some points of the circuit, I was fast and I was able to make a little bit of a difference, but it wasn’t enough. Overall, it was a difficult weekend. We leave here with experience because we did a lot of laps with left-hand turns, and I think it will help for the future. I’m sure we’ll do better at Assen.”

Iker Lecuona – P17

“I was inside the points scoring positions but in the middle of the race, I felt sick. I don’t know if I maybe ate something bad yesterday but I definitely had problems with my stomach. It was difficult to keep the pace and I didn’t have any power anymore. I was pushing a lot with the knees and elbows but I still tried to finish the race in a decent position. Honestly, it was very hard. I want to say sorry to my team because I know that we could have been fighting for the points. But we will come back stronger in Assen.”

Franco Morbidelli – P18

“We already knew yesterday that starting so far behind, on such a narrow track and with a lack of speed, that it was going to be a difficult race today. We tried something with our setup to try to make the bike more stable in braking, to see if we could outbrake somebody on track in the race. Unfortunately we were reaching the corners with too much of a gap to the rider in front to be able to do this. The turning was not as good either so our speed was a little less than in FP4. I’m feeling more confident about Assen though, as it is a flowing track and I’m looking forward to it.”

Maverick Vinales – P19

“I don‘t really know what happened with the bike at the beginning. I had a highside going into the corner. I looked to see if the tyre was flat or not, because I didn‘t understand what happened. But then I did two or three good laps, 22-highs and 23-lows on my dashboard. After that I got stuck behind the Ducatis, and it was impossible to pass them. I didn‘t know what more I could do, and that was it, my race was over. I had a good rhythm but couldn‘t do more than this.”

Lorenzo Savadori – DNF

“I am obviously not satisfied with the way the weekend ended. I started rather well and I was in the group that would have made a play for the points zone, with a good pace. Unfortunately, I crashed. We still need to figure out what happened, but the end result is a lost opportunity to do well. On a positive note, despite the incredible level of this championship, I continue to improve and get closer to some rather respectable adversaries.”

Álex Márquez – DNF

“Today we started from P12 and in the warm-up we did a really good job with the used tyres and I was feeling really prepared for the race. I made a bad start and did not have a good first two laps. I was in the middle of a group, tried to overtake and had a contact with another guy and I crashed. I’m sorry for the team because today, and all weekend, I enjoyed being on the bike and in the warm-up we were really, really good. It’s a shame because today I was thinking that the top eight was a real possibility, so I feel sorry for that. But we have shown that our bike can be good in some places and at some tracks, so we need to keep focused and keep improving.”

Danilo Petrucci – DNF

“I’m really sorry because we were strong all the weekend. We made a good start and in this race it was all about managing the rear tyre. Unfortunately, Iker started to pass me and be very aggressive. He was braking very hard in one corner and Marquez followed his example and crashed and I crashed with Marquez. I have no words, we don’t have any points for the team. I’m very angry, but moreover very sorry.”

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MotoGP Team Managers

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Race Manager

“An incredible feeling to see some of the results today and it shows the potential of this project and the skill and hard work of everyone that has been working on it since 2015. It’s fantastic to get three podiums in a row and Miguel’s performance was amazing as well as Brad’s today, especially around a track that is so difficult for overtaking. Miguel’s race was conditioned a bit by that one lap where the rain showed up and he was stuck in some traffic. He was equal on lap-times to Marc. We are super-happy to be able to battle with someone like him here and with his special record at this circuit. I want to say a big thanks to the race team who have pushed and pushed since the start of the season. The group is very strong and to bring these two riders to this level has been a big and great effort.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

We knew that this race would be tricky. Honestly, the team did all they could to prepare for a tough race that would be really hard on the tyres. We were happy with the cloud cover cooling the track, that would help us a bit with trying to conserve the tyres as much as possible, but we couldn‘t have predicted the spots of rain. Fabio did a great job not letting it distract him. He pushed 100% and got the best possible result he could achieve today. Scoring third place at the track he struggles at the most underlines just how competitive he is this season. Maverick had the difficult task to try to make up places at a circuit that‘s incredibly narrow. He lost a bit of time in the opening stages, but then started moving up the order. However, a small mistake undid all his previous work. It was a weekend to forget for him. But we know our riders both really enjoy the Assen circuit, so we can‘t wait to get the Dutch GP started on Friday.

Razlan Razali – Petronas SRT Team Principal

“We can’t help but feel disappointed with the results this race weekend, across all three categories. However, we will take everything that we have learned from this weekend, absorb it, reflect on it and then look to come back stronger in the next round at Assen. Certainly, we have seen good pace and also improvement when we look across our squad but we will know we can all achieve better results and that is the target before we go into the summer break.”

Shinichi Sahara – Suzuki Project Leader and Team Director

“It was a difficult weekend for us, especially during qualifying. It was all quite messy yesterday with yellow flags and slow traffic and it forced us further down the grid. At a circuit like this it’s tough to start lower on the grid because it’s hard to overtake, but despite this both Alex Rins and Joan Mir gave 100% effort and worked very hard to recover positions. They did a really good job, and they both felt better with their bikes and also with the tyre management. Obviously we would like to do better next weekend in Assen. It’s a pretty good circuit for us and we’re feeling happy to go there.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“Today we were able to improve compared to yesterday, but not enough. The grid positions weren’t very good and that made it harder for the riders. The only positive point was that both riders finished their race and picked up useful points. We’re turning our focus towards Assen now and let’s see how we can perform there.”

Hervé Poncharal – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“It was a really tough weekend for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team here in Germany. We started really well on Friday with Danilo showing a big improvement and taking full advantage of the new chassis. Qualifying was difficult as we were not able to do the lap time we wanted to do and unfortunately, we were again very far on the grid.

“Danilo had a good start and we were targeting a top 10 result here. I think it was a possibility, when you see what both, Miguel and Brad did. But unfortunately, our two guys, Danilo and Iker have been fighting together and passing each other almost each corner, losing time and ground. In the end, there was a very unfortunate incident, once again with Alex Marquez and his race was over before it even really started.

“So, all the focus of the team was then on Iker, who was doing a quite good race, which means being in the points. But unfortunately, for some reasons, he was not feeling really well physically. He was exhausted and he couldn’t help everybody to pass him, which is a shame. I think here we clearly had the technical package from KTM to fight for a strong position and we were waiting for Sachsenring with high ambitions, but come out of here with zero points.

“Honestly, I’m not particularly happy. It’s just frustrating for the whole team and also disappointing not to give back to KTM what they deserve, supporting us the way they support us and showing the great pace they show in front with the two Factory guys. So, let’s hope Assen will be the turn of the first part of the season.”

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2021 Sachsenring MotoGP Race Results

2021 MotoGP Standings

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au