Saturday Sachsenring round up – MotoGP/2/3/E

MotoGP 2023

Round Seven – Sachsenring

Saturday

MotoGP Qualifying

Crashes, pitlane sprints and serious skills were on show as MotoGP qualifying threw up drama aplenty in Germany.

Bagnaia set the initial benchmark but his 1:24.285 wasn’t going to stay as the time to beat for long. Then, Turn 13 bit Marc Marquez hard – again. A highside saw the Repsol Honda rider unable to rejoin but after a few minutes, Marquez was back in pi-tlane. On the next lap, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) also highsided and became the second rider in qualifying to sprint up pitlane. Relentless drama.

On track, Bagnaia was leading the way from Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Marini, with KTM double act Miller and Binder in P4 and P5. With five minutes to go, Pecco hammered home his advantage – the gap to Martin was now 0.5s and the time to beat was 1:22.028.

But a lot can happen in five minutes. Especially when Marc Marquez is rumbling out of pitlane. The clock ticked down to three minutes remaining and now we had all 12 riders on track – it was time to throw caution to the wind. Miller pounced to P2 with Binder going P3 and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was up P4 before Zarco climbed to the summit.

This was going to change constantly. Miller was P1 before Marini bettered the Aussie, as Zarco crashed and for a third time, so did Marquez. This time it was Turn 1 that saw Marquez slide into the gravel and those yellow flags, coupled with the Zarco crash, meant plenty of laps were cancelled in the final minute.

Emerging from the drama, Pecco claimed pole from VR46 Academy stablemate Marini and former Ducati team-mate Miller, who continues to thrive on the KTM.

Despite a late tumble, Zarco launches from P4 ahead of Bezzecchi and Martin, with Marc Marquez P7 after those three qualifying crashes. The eight-time World Champion is joined on Row 3 by Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Binder, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Quartararo completing the Q2 order.

MotoGP Qualifying Results

MotoGP Sprint Race

Jack Miller launched the KTM RC16 out of the hole perfectly once again, the Aussie had the inside line for Turn 1 but Bagnaia hung it around the outside to hit the front at Turn 2. Miller tried to make a move stick at Turn 8 but that didn’t work, and Martin then made his way through on Miller down at Turn 12.

On Lap 2 at Turn 1 though, Bagnaia and Martin were wide and that allowed Miller to move back through to the lead. Then it tightened up again, with lead group of five formed as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) joined the party.

Meanwhile, a battered Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) wasn’t enjoying his early Sprint laps, the King of the Ring down to P9 on Lap 5, and that despite having made a good start.

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Back at the front, it had become a top seven as Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) joined the breathless action, and Martin was on the move back into the lead too as he grabbed P1 with a beautiful double overtake down the Waterfall as the two ahead shuffled.

Lap 6 ticked by and Martin was asking big questions – a 1:20.990 saw the Spaniard sit eight-tenths clear of Bagnaia, who had also now overtaken Miller. Another fastest lap of the Sprint came in from Martin with nine laps to go, and the gap was up to 1.1s. A lap later it was 1.3s. it seemed Bagnaia didn’t have an answer and barring any drama, the top three looked like they were set for the Sprint: Martin led Bagnaia by 1.4s, and the latter 0.8s clear of Miller.

Miller was, in turn, 1.4s ahead of Marini, but the battle for P4 was alive and kicking as Marini had Binder and Zarco right on his coattails. The three-way tussle was fascinating as twice Binder tried to find a way through on Marini at Turn 1, but both times the South African was slightly wide.

As Martin crossed the line for another stunning Sprint win and Bagnaia and Miller secured their visits to the rostrum, the battle behind was hotting up. At Turn 11, the rapid right-hander, Zarco pounced on Binder and the South African was sent wide, losing some ground as the Frenchman disappeared up the road to take that fifth place. It was investigated but no further action taken…

Marini held onto P4 ahead of Zarco and Binder as Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) completed the points scorers in P7, P8 and P9.

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) rounded out the top 10, with Marc Marquez dropping from P7 to P11 in a disappointing Sprint on a circuit he’s been unbeatable at. He said after the race that risk vs reward saw him roll off.

Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) crashed unhurt at Turn 1, with Jonas Folger (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) retiring from his home GP Sprint.

21 points split the top duo in the Championship ahead of Grand Prix Sunday at the Sachsenring – those two riders are now Bagnaia and Martin.

MotoGP Sprint Race Results

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P2

“I’m satisfied with the result but sincerely today I didn’t have the pace like Jorge, who was stronger than me. It wasn’t a surprise because he was strong all weekend so I was expecting him to be competitive. When I saw that it was difficult to close the gap, I just tried to control it from behind. The fight in the early laps was fun; I enjoyed it with Jack and enjoyed it with Jorge. I did a little mistake in corner 1 but apart from that, I’m happy because finishing second is always a good result and the performance was there. For sure to watch it must have been fun. Let’s continue like this because tomorrow will be an important race and I have to improve in sector 2 where I am losing a bit of time.”

Jack Miller – P3

The bike is a rocket off the line! It was good because I had a bit of a mind blank but she carried me into a decent start. I could battle with the boys for a while and was really fast in the first two sectors of the lap but I missed a bit down the hill. We’ve got some homework to do tonight but we hope to be back here [on the podium] tomorrow. We got some decent information and I think we were being kind to the tire today. Just another 15 laps to go tomorrow!”

Luca Marini – P4

“I was expecting this kind of race: I knew I didn’t have the pace, especially with the soft at the rear. Before the start, I was undecided between the medium and the soft, but then I saw the choices of the other riders and I too opted for the same tire. I put the hard at the front, the goal was to defend the position and therefore always be able to brake at the limit. We can be satisfied with this fourth place, for the long race we will change something also because Martin was solid and very fast today. Let’s analyse the data and work for a step forward even if tomorrow we’ll put another tire at the rear compared to today.”

Brad Binder – P6

“A bit of a tough race today. I had a lot of wheelspin when the bike was upright and that made life hard. Otherwise, everything was OK! I struggled to get past Marini. I tried everything I could but I was just smoking the tyre. We know what to fix and I think we’re in a great place for the race tomorrow.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P7

“Already yesterday I knew that I was missing something in terms of race pace. We made a step forward today, but it wasn’t enough. I have struggled, more than I could have expected. Perhaps, with the hard at the front, I could have turned better, especially in the second sector and been cleaner. Tomorrow with the medium at the rear maybe it will be another story: the goal is to recover positions.”

Alex Marquez – P8

“It was quite a stressful day especially due to the rain. We had a decent qualifying session: the second row would have been perfect, but eighth place wasn’t so bad if we consider the yellow flags. We had a few modifications in mind which we chose to avoid for today, but in hindsight I think they would have worked. That’s why we have a lot of work to do tomorrow in the warm up in order to finish in the full-race top five.”

Aleix Espargaro – P9

“It was not a good race and unfortunately that is mainly because of the qualifiers. I had two of my last attempts cancelled by yellow flags when I had the speed to go for a good position. We also need to improve our start when the lights go out. We are testing new settings, but right now we are unable to be as quick as the others. My pace during the sprint race wasn’t bad – in the top-5 range – but in the pack there is always the usual problem with the feeling at the front and the time I lose overtaking. I hope that tomorrow, with more laps available, my pace will allow me to recover a few positions.”

Enea Bastianini – P10

“The race went quite well, I got away from the grid quite strong but then I touched with Aleix at the start and lost a bit of time. Then I was coming up the field well, I had a good pace up to there but unfortunately after a few laps, I had a problem with the rear and I wasn’t able to do more. Too bad because I could have had a good race, tomorrow is another day, let’s try to do better. I’m starting to feel quite fit again, I have to say that here the pain was really minimal, what I have left to recover, certainly for the strength, that will take some time. I think I’m at a good level now, so let’s hope it’s all downhill from here on.”

Marc Marquez – P11

“In the morning I was able to ride well in the wet, I led the morning session. When the track started to dry, we found the same limits as yesterday. In Qualifying I was pushing a lot, I was really trying to give my maximum and pushing all the time. I want to say thank you to everyone in the team for their effort during Quali and after, they all worked a lot and did a great job. It was a lot of risk and for the race I had a calmer approach. I tried on the first lap but we didn’t have the feeling, so the priority was to avoid another crash and finish the race to prepare for tomorrow. I think we can be stronger on Sunday in the long race, today many people’s pace dropped towards the end, but we could keep the same pace.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P12

“It was an excellent race: we started off well and we managed to overtake and be aggressive on a track where passing isn’t an easy thing to do. Our pace was also good, as we kept the one set by the second group. We started the race from so far back, but we had a good encounter and likely my best performance. With double the number of laps tomorrow we could have a bit more of an opportunity to make a difference.”

Fabio Quartararo – P13

“At the start, Aleix went a bit sideways, and then Enea came toward me, so I had to go to 0%. From the start it was already tough, and my pace was not so great. I could catch the group in front of me, consisting of a few riders, but I couldn‘t do anything.”

Augusto Fernandez – P14

“It is a hard race here because it is so difficult to pass. It’s hard to advance much further forward than where you find yourself on the first laps. We had good pace and we were part of a strong group. We are there, and now we have an idea for the race tomorrow. I just need a better start – because I lost a couple of positions today – and then try to save the tyre.”

Franco Morbidelli – P15

“The Sprint was OK. I had a good start, and I could fight for the ’Yamaha Cup‘ with Fabio. He was able to overtake me and arrive in front of me, but anyway it’s good to be engaged in some fights and racing. It‘s a way to improve and to stay motivated.”

Miguel Oliveira – P16

“It was a difficult race, I didn’t expect to struggle so much to be honest. The wind picked up a little bit today and it seems like it took me a few laps to really understand the potential, but I had no grip and couldn’t turn on the front, so it was really tricky for me to manage the race. We have a few big changes in mind for tomorrow. My shoulder is hurting but I think it will be slightly better for the race tomorrow as I hope I can do some good treatments this evening and get back ready.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P17

“I felt a lack of grip and didn’t feel comfortable with the front side of the bike, and it was difficult to stay in the group and recover the tenths we were missing. Alongside the team, we’ll try to fix some details as we’d like to get a better result tomorrow. It will be a hard race, but we’ll give our best, as always”.

Raul Fernandez – P18

“It was a really difficult weekend so far. The weather during the practice sessions were surprising. Therefore, I wanted to use today’s Sprint Race more as a test to find out information for the main race tomorrow. It was not easy. At the end, we don’t have a lot of time to work on the bike and find a good compromise on each track and the crash yesterday for sure didn’t help. We had some difficulties to do some decent times on the wet today. I tried to do what I can, but when you qualify so far in the back, it’s really not easy to get further to the front as passing at this circuit is very tricky. Now we hope the best for tomorrow after collecting some important information today. I hope we can do better than in the Sprint.”

Maverick Vinales – DNF

“Today in Q1, the track was drying out but when I went out for the last time attack, the conditions still weren’t right to put on slicks. I was the fastest one among those with the same tyre, but Brad and Marc managed to take advantage of the drier slicks in the finale on slicks. In the sprint race, I never had a good level of grip (we’re analysing the reason) and in trying to maintain the pace, I crashed on turn 1. It is not turning out to be an easy weekend for us. We need to keep working because this is not the level we expect to maintain.”

Jonas Folger – DNF

“The race was going OK until we had a couple of issues but we know what we need to fix. Tomorrow I’d like to find some more mid-corner speed and try to fight with a couple of the other guys. I think we made good steps to get ready for the Sprint and we’ll look forward to tomorrow.”

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2 Qualifying

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) secured his first pole of 2023 at Sacshenring, and by 0.269s as the Spaniard heads title rival and points leader Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team. Jake Dixon (Polarcube GASGAS Aspar Team) completes the front row, taking third by thousandths as the Mugello podium finishers remained ahead of the game on Saturday at the Sachsenring.

Acosta’s best time was a 1:23.858 while he was directly behind Arbolino’s team-mate, Sam Lowes… and he was the only rider to set a time in the 1:23s. After the first run, the number 37 found himself down in 11th but pulled out some fast laps at the end of the session to sear back to the top for pole. Arbolino was 0.269s behind Acosta, but Dixon was only a further 0.031s off.

Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) went from Q1 to the second row as he took fourth, with the Spaniard missing out on a front row start by just 0.046s. Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) will line up alongside him, while Lowes completes the second row after posting a 1:24.269.

Another rider who shone in Q2 after coming through Q1 was Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as he grabbed seventh place, only 0.001s behind Lowes’ best time. Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) took eighth with Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the first three rows. Rookie Sergio Garcia (Pons Wegow Los40) completes the top ten.

Moto2 Qualifying Results

Moto3 Qualifying

Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) smashed the Moto3 Sachsenring lap record with a 1:25.130 to beat second place Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by a staggering 1.092s. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) rounds out the front row, the Spaniard 1.1s adrift of polesitter Sasaki in qualifying at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

Young Aussie Joel Kelso will start from 19th on the grid after what has been a difficult start to his weekend in Germany that will see him looking for redemption come Sunday.

Moto3 Qualifying Results

MotoE Race One

Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) lost out at the start but a series of incredible overtakes and then late drama meant he took victory. Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) claimed his best MotoE result with second, while Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) was ultimately classified third after a penalty for rookie Nicholas Spinelli (HP Pons Los40).

Spinelli took the lead into Turn 1, but he soon relinquished that on Lap 2 when Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) came past in search of his first MotoE win. Garzo’s pace meant he was able to set a new race lap record on the second lap, with a 1:27.914, before the race pace across the field slowed down. The Spaniard was unable to pull away from the chasing pack as polesitter Torres kept the pressure on, although he found himself dropping down the order in the early stages.

Mugello Race 2 winner Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) moved into the podium places as he passed Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) with an unconventional but effective move at Turn 2 on Lap 5 before he set his sights on Torres up ahead. A lap later and Granado was through on the two-time World Cup winner at Turn 12; a move he repeated on Lap 7 on Garzo to move into the lead. Granado’s lead lasted just a couple of laps as Torres, who had battled back into the lead fight, came by on Lap 9 at Turn 12 to take the lead.

The drama continued at the start of the final lap. Both Granado and Garzo crashed at Turn 1, in separate incidents, with Granado attempting to re-take the lead when he lost the front of his Ducati machine while Garzo went down after contact with Spinelli. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM MotoGP Stewards with Spinelli given a three-second penalty, the equivalent of a Long Lap Penalty. The incident itself saw Krummenacher take over in second and Spinelli third initially, but the Italian dropped to sixth once the penalty was applied. That puts Ferrari into third, and given the Italian had started tenth after he was disqualified from Q2 for a technical infringement, it was a first job of the day well done.

Ferrari was three tenths clear of Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-racing) in fourth, the Italian back into the front echelons as he gains experience on the new Ducati and returns from Moto2. Zaccone had a two-second margin over Casadei in fifth. Spinelli was sixth with his penalty, finishing ahead of Tito Rabat (Prettl Pramac MotoE) in eighth as the Spaniard made gains. Mugello Race 1 victor Andrea Mantovani (RNF MotoE Team) was ninth with Hikari Okubo (Tech3 E-racing) rounding out the top ten.

MotoE Race One Results

MotoE Race Two

Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) secured his first MotoE win in dramatic circumstances in a shortened Race 2, the Spaniard making a sensational overtake on Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) and Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) on Lap 6 to claim victory before the red flag came out due to rain, with Casadei and Torres completing the podium.

Garzo got the holeshot as he looked to respond from his Race 1 disappointment, where he was taken out of the race while fighting in the podium places. On Lap 3 though, the tension was high as drops of rain were falling around the circuit and Race 1 winner Torres made his move for the lead on the same lap, up the inside of Garzo at Turn 12. His lead didn’t last long though as Casadei went from third to first at Turn 1 on Lap 4.

On Lap 5, the pair switched positions twice. Torres initially re-took the lead at Turn 12 before Casadei responded immediately at Turn 13. Just one lap later and Garzo had moved back into first as he pulled off the exact same move Casadei did at Turn 1 to overtake the Italian and Torres. It turned out to be the race-winning move as red flags were shown on Lap 7 due to weather conditions worsening. Garzo, Casadei and Torres therefore finish on the Race 2 podium in Germany with just 0.368s separating the trio.

Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) took fourth place, missing out on a podium by just 0.025s as the field bunched up while the rain came down, but it’s solid points for the Brazilian after his Rae 1 crash. Nicholas Spinelli (HP Pons Los40) finished fifth on take two, with Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) in sixth and Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) just behind the Swiss rider in seventh. Just 0.857s separated the top seven when the red flags were shown.

Japanese rider Hikari Okubo (Tech3 E-racing) secured eighth place with team-mate Alessandro Zaccone in ninth as Mugello Race 1 winner Andrea Mantovani (RNF MotoETeam) rounded out the top ten.

MotoE Race Two Results

MotoE Championship Points

2023 MotoGP Calendar