Marquez reigns in Germany as podium contenders crash
With the threat of wet weather forcing its way into playing a leading role diminishing towards go time, we strapped ourselves in for a dry German GP and as the lights went out, it was Marc Marquez who collected the holeshot as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) made a blinder from P6 to grab an early P3. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) slotted into P2, as Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) slipped to P5 on the opening lap from the middle of the front row.
Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi exchanged P2 on the opening lap before the former made a move stick at Turn 12, as Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) engaged battle too. Marc Marquez, meanwhile, was blissfully unaware of the fight unfolding behind him as he stretched his advantage to 0.7s at the end of Lap 3.
Acosta's Grand Prix then ended with a crash at Turn 2 from P5, so that was KTM's main hopes of the Sachsenring podium over. That promoted Bagnaia to P5, with Alex Marquez swarming all over the tailpipes of Bezzecchi for P3. 0.6s up the road in P2, Di Giannantonio was losing around a tenth a lap to Marc Marquez at this stage of the Grand Prix.
It was more than that for the next few laps though. The #93 was the only rider capable of lapping in the 1:20s on a consistent basis, he hadn't dropped into the 1:21 bracket, and the gap on Lap 8 of 30 was up to 1.7s. And by Lap 16, just over half race distance, Marc Marquez's lead was north of three seconds.
Di Giannantonio was under a second ahead of Bezzecchi, with Alex Marquez and then Bagnaia all operating at equal distance behind each other. But then, we lost our second place rider from the Grand Prix. Di Giannantonio tucked the front at Turn 1 on Lap 18, and Zarco was out of the race at the same corner – albeit a little further around – as two of the top six had premature ends to their German GPs.
That meant Alex Marquez was lifted to a podium position in P3, and the rider second in the championship chase had 1.2s to play with to Pecco in P4. But then, Turn 1 caught out our P2 rider again. Bezzecchi's impressive race was over in similar fashion to Di Giannantonio, so that meant it was Marc Marquez leading Alex Marquez by 5.9s, with Bagnaia now P3.
Turn 1 was really proving tricky. In the fight for the top 10, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) took out the luckless Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), and while the yellow flags were waving, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) chucked it down the road at Turn 1 too.
UNI RKM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Divya Deshmukh: ‘Mind kept thinking ambitious (moves)… and I was like no, we don't want that today, chill'
IM Divya Deshmukh made it to the fourth round of the ongoing FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia after defeating Serbia's Teodora Injac. But not before she had to 'negotiate' with her mind. Having won the first game with black pieces on Saturday, Divya just needed a draw on Sunday with colours reversed to secure a spot in the next round. But, as Divya recounted after Sunday's game, getting a draw was harder than getting a win in the first game. 'Today actually was tougher than yesterday because I absolutely just wanted to draw and qualify. But my mind couldn't search for ways how to make a draw. All I kept thinking was ambitious (play) and then I was like 'no, we don't want that today,'' Divya told FIDE in a hilarious interview. Besides Divya, Koneru Humpy also made it through to the 4th round while Harika Dronavalli (vs Greece's Stavroula Tsolakidou), Vantika Agrawal (vs Kateryna Lagno) and Vaishali Rameshbabu (vs USA's Carissa Yip) will fight it out in the tiebreaks today after their two classical games could not yield a winner. Divya said that the last FIDE Women's World Cup was very important for her as it had given her a glimpse of what top-level chess looks like. Asked what that level looks like, Divya said: 'It's very stressful, but I wouldn't be anywhere else.' Divya did not have a bye in the first round, unlike other strong players. She admitted to being a bit nervous before the start of the tournament. 'I was a bit nervous before the first round because I hadn't played a super serious tournament since like Grand Prix. And after that, I played rapid, blitz, and open tournaments. So, I kind of lost my rhythm. But after the first game, I was like, 'Oh, okay. I still got it',' Divya said with a grin. Divya also said that she was happy winning all the games in classical format itself rather than needing tiebreaks (playoffs) to decide the winner. 'I hope I don't go there (in tiebreaks). I hope I just win or else, you know, playoffs are nerve-wracking. They they just kill you,' Divya smiled. She then said that she sometimes skips her prep to watch the other players fighting it out in the rapid and blitz tiebreaks. The FIDE World Cup sees head-to-head knockout battles across two games between two players in classical format with each player playing with white pieces once. If the two games cannot determine a winner, players play best-of-two-game tiebreaks. In the tiebreaks, players first play two games in the 15 minutes (+10 seconds increment per move, popularly called 15+10) format. If that also cannot separate the two players, from this point on, the time gets reduced at each two-game interval unless there's a winner. So, if after the 15+10 games, the scores are still level, players play two more games with 10 minutes (+10 seconds increment per move, called 10+10). Then the time trickles down to five minutes + three seconds (5+3). After this point, if players are still deadlocked, the game enters chess' equivalent of a sudden death: a winner-takes-all single game of three minutes + 2 seconds. This 3+2 game will be played until there's a winner.
United News of India
2 days ago
- United News of India
Marquez reigns in Germany as podium contenders crash
Saxony(Germany) July 13 (UNI) Simply put, different class. On his 200th start, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) moved into second place on the MotoGP victory tally charts – surpassing Legend Giacomo Agostini – in a display of perfection at the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany. It's 69 wins now for the King of the Sachsenring, as Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), on his 100th start, strung together an impressive ride to finish P2 while injured. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) bounced back with a podium finish in P3 in a battle that saw rostrum contenders crash out at the Sachsenring. With the threat of wet weather forcing its way into playing a leading role diminishing towards go time, we strapped ourselves in for a dry German GP and as the lights went out, it was Marc Marquez who collected the holeshot as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) made a blinder from P6 to grab an early P3. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) slotted into P2, as Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) slipped to P5 on the opening lap from the middle of the front row. Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi exchanged P2 on the opening lap before the former made a move stick at Turn 12, as Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) engaged battle too. Marc Marquez, meanwhile, was blissfully unaware of the fight unfolding behind him as he stretched his advantage to 0.7s at the end of Lap 3. Acosta's Grand Prix then ended with a crash at Turn 2 from P5, so that was KTM's main hopes of the Sachsenring podium over. That promoted Bagnaia to P5, with Alex Marquez swarming all over the tailpipes of Bezzecchi for P3. 0.6s up the road in P2, Di Giannantonio was losing around a tenth a lap to Marc Marquez at this stage of the Grand Prix. It was more than that for the next few laps though. The #93 was the only rider capable of lapping in the 1:20s on a consistent basis, he hadn't dropped into the 1:21 bracket, and the gap on Lap 8 of 30 was up to 1.7s. And by Lap 16, just over half race distance, Marc Marquez's lead was north of three seconds. Di Giannantonio was under a second ahead of Bezzecchi, with Alex Marquez and then Bagnaia all operating at equal distance behind each other. But then, we lost our second place rider from the Grand Prix. Di Giannantonio tucked the front at Turn 1 on Lap 18, and Zarco was out of the race at the same corner – albeit a little further around – as two of the top six had premature ends to their German GPs. That meant Alex Marquez was lifted to a podium position in P3, and the rider second in the championship chase had 1.2s to play with to Pecco in P4. But then, Turn 1 caught out our P2 rider again. Bezzecchi's impressive race was over in similar fashion to Di Giannantonio, so that meant it was Marc Marquez leading Alex Marquez by 5.9s, with Bagnaia now P3. Turn 1 was really proving tricky. In the fight for the top 10, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) took out the luckless Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), and while the yellow flags were waving, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) chucked it down the road at Turn 1 too. UNI RKM
NDTV
2 days ago
- NDTV
6-Time Moto GP Champion Marc Marquez Pulls Off Viral 'Aura Farming' Celebration
Germany: Marc Marquez won a bruising German MotoGP on Sunday to mark his 200th premier class start in style and stretch his lead in the world championship. His brother Alex Marquez took second with Francesco Bagnaia third as only 10 riders finished, the lowest number completing a MotoGP since 2011. While the rest of the grid struggled to remain on their bikes at this notoriously tricky Sachsenring track, Marc Marquez enjoyed a dream afternoon. Setting off from pole he was never challenged, crossing the line over six seconds clear for his seventh perfect weekend of 2025 having also won Saturday's sprint. At the midway stage of the 22-race campaign Marquez leads brother Alex by 83 points in the riders' standings, with his Ducati factory teammate Bagnaia a yawning 147 off the lead. "My confidence is super high now coming here with three wins in a row and now it's four," beamed Marquez. "I have to be really concentrated for the second half of the season," he added. — Enzo (@Aperta) July 13, 2025 His younger sibling was competing despite fracturing his left hand at the Dutch MotoGP a fortnight ago. "It's unbelievable, thanks to the doctors and everyone that I'm here," he said after his 100th MotoGP start. For Marquez this was his seventh race win of the year and fourth on the trot as he tightens his grip on a seventh MotoGP world title - and first since 2019 - to draw level with the legendary Valentino Rossi. Despite sunshine taking over from Saturday's rain, the race proved one of the most attritional in years with eight riders crashing and two unable to take part after coming a cropper on Saturday. The last time only 10 riders completed a MotoGP was in Australia, 14 years ago. Pole-sitter Marquez enjoyed an electric getaway from the front of the grid, in contrast to 24 hours earlier. Then, a first turn mistake had dropped him down the pack, and it wasn't until his last lap overtake of Marco Bezzecchi that he wrapped up his 10th sprint out of 11. On a dry track, Marquez quickly pulled clear of the chasing pack led by Fabio Di Giannantonio, who had set a new lap record in practice on Friday. With Marquez set fair for another demolition job - he'd pulled almost two seconds clear by lap 10 of 30 - his main danger was maintaining focus and concentration around the ultra-demanding circuit with its short straights and tight bends in the former East Germany. Others were not enjoying their afternoon at one of the toughest venues on the calendar quite so much - notably Pedro Acosta and Miguel Oliveira who both crashed out. On lap 18 Di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco also hit the deck independently at turn one. That left Bezzecchi's Aprilia chasing Marquez, a distant four-and-a-half seconds up the road. But that situation only lasted until the following lap when Bezzecchi became the latest victim of turn one. The DNF tally swelled even further with the exits of Lorenzo Savadori, Ai Ogura and former champion Joan Mir. Two riders unable to line up on Sunday were KTM-Tech 3 duo Maverick Vinales, out with a fractured shoulder after a heavy fall in qualifying, and his appendicitics-hit teammate Enea Bastianini. Also missing was Franco Morbidelli after his bone-crunching crash in Saturday's sprint. The MotoGP season moves on to Czechia next Sunday where all eyes will be on defending champion Jorge Martin. The luckless Spaniard has not finished a race this season after a series of heavy crashes, but has set his sights on Brno for his return to action.
