In the nick of time: Márquez sprints to victory in the rain at the Sachsenring

• Tenth sprint win this year for MotoGP championship leader
• Jake Dixon from Great Britain secures pole position in the Moto2 class
• Strong performance in Moto3 qualifying from German Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP team

Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Ducati works rider Marc Márquez lived up to his reputation as “King of the Ring”, claiming victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix of Germany. It proved to be a tumultuous race in the rain at the Sachsenring for the six-time MotoGP world champion. The pole-setter lost a handful of positions after the start but gradually battled his way back to the front, snatching the win with a decisive overtaking manoeuvre on the final lap.

A braking error saw Márquez drop back to sixth place shortly after the start. However, the 32-year-old turned on the power to start the chase a few minutes later. The last lap then turned into a showdown between Márquez and Italian rider Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Márquez pulled alongside his rival in turn one, moving into the lead and holding fast to claim victory. Bezzecchi, who had led the race for 14 out of 15 laps after Márquez’ braking mishap, crossed the line in second place. The podium was rounded off by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) from France in third position.

“I struggled at the start of the race and I made an unfortunate mistake. But then I started to get into a better rhythm. My rear wheel suddenly slid out during a duel with Fabio Quartararo, which was a bit of a shock. If it rains again on Sunday, I will have to stay a bit calmer when overtaking. I am delighted with the twelve championship points,” said Márquez.

The world championship leader had already prevailed in a morning qualifying session dominated by rain. He went round the Sachsenring in 1:27.811 minutes to fend off a late attack from Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR). The French rider finished just 0.151 seconds away from top spot. This was the 101st world championship pole position of Márquez’ career, and his 73rd in the top-level MotoGP. Bezzecchi finished third to secure a front-row start.

Double success for British riders in Moto2 and Moto3 class
Britain’s Jake Dixon from the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team secured the best grid position in the Moto2 class with a lap time of 1:33.487 minutes. He relegated Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) from Belgium and Italian racer Tony Arbolino (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) to second and third places. Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) from Australia held the lead for a long time during qualifying, only to take a tumble a few minutes from the end. His Spanish team-mate and world championship leader Manuel González was unable to improve on 16th position. The race will take place on Sunday at 12:15.

There was a first for the Moto3 class at the Grand Prix of Germany: Scott Ogden finished a sodden qualifying session in top spot to bag a career-first pole position for Sunday’s race, which will start at 11:00. The young British racer from the CIP Green Power team went round the Sachsenring in 1:35.001 minutes, just 0.042 seconds faster than David Almansa (Leopard Racing) from Spain. Third and fourth positions went to the riders from the German Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP team from Memmingen: Guido Pini from Italy and David Muñoz from Spain.

A limited number of tickets for the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix of Germany is still available online at adac.de/motogp, by telephone on 03723/8099111 or via e-mail to info@sachsenring-event.de. Children under the age of 14 enjoy free admission to standing areas when accompanied by a paying adult. A new feature this year is the souvenir ticket for children, which costs just five Euro and boasts an emergency contact function.