MotoGP Recap - Return of the Sachsenking! Marc Marquez dominates in Germany
17 July 2026MotoGP’s last race weekend before the summer break saw teams and riders travel to Sachsenring for the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany, with polesitters taking victories across all three classes, and Marc Marquez proving once again that he is the King of the Ring.
Changes to the MotoGP grid continued as British rider Cal Crutchlow was once again fulfilling his duties as stand-in rider for Johann Zarco at Honda LCR. An update from the team has revealed that Zarco is aiming for a return to the paddock in September, with a non-surgical approach now deemed a viable option for his recovery. Honda LCR have also confirmed Crutchlow will continue his duties as a replacement rider for the injured Johann Zarco at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Great Britain in a few weeks time.
Meanwhile, BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP chose to not use a replacement rider whilst Fermin Aldeguer continues to recover from his crash during Friday’s Practice session last time out.
Marco Bezzecchi’s weekend was brought to a premature end after a highside at Turn 7 during Q2 resulted in a broken collarbone. The Aprilia Racing rider has since undergone surgery, with the aim of recovering in time for the British Grand Prix in August.
Perfect Saturday for Marc Marquez with pole and Sprint win
Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez took pole position in Saturday’s Q2 session, with a stunning lap time of 1:19.041, a new all-time lap record at Sachsenring. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider beat Alex Marquez by 0.061 seconds, seeing the sole representative of BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP line up 2nd on the grid, with Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Fabio Di Giannantonio rounding out the front row.
Saturday afternoon then saw Marc Marquez lead every lap of Saturday’s 15 lap Sprint to take his fourth Sprint victory of the 2026 season, finishing 0.368s ahead of Alex Marquez, giving the brothers another 1-2 finish to celebrate. The Marquez brothers were joined on the podium by Di Giannantonio, making it an all-Ducati podium - somewhat of a rarity in 2026 so far.
Marc Marquez secures tenth MotoGP Grand Prix victory at Sachsenring
Marc Marquez stormed to victory in the Grand Prix on Sunday, spending all 30 laps leading the race, with no real challenge from his opponents. The win marks Marquez’s tenth MotoGP Grand Prix victory at Sachsenring, matching Giacomo Agostini’s record for the number of premier-class wins at the same circuit, and has solidified his status as a Championship contender, with his perfect point scoring across the weekend moving Marquez up to 3rd in the Standings.
With strong pace across the weekend, Di Giannantonio looked to be a potential threat to Marquez’s dominance, but crashing out from 5th on Lap 4 of Sunday’s race, meant Di Giannantonio was faced with his first DNF of 2026. Podium hopeful Alex Marquez also ended his race early, after he crashed out of 2nd on Lap 9, which opened up a gap between race leader Marc Marquez and the SuperFile Trackhouse Racing duo of Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura. A smooth overtake on Lap 25 saw Ogura pass his teammate, eventually finishing 2nd, with Fernandez crossing the line to take 3rd, giving SuperFile Trackhouse Racing their second Grand Prix double podium in a row.
Polesitter Ortola takes Moto2 win
Ivan Ortola successfully defended against a late charge from Daniel Holgado to convert his maiden Moto2 pole position to his second win in the intermediate class. Ortola led from lights to flag, finishing 0.614s ahead of Holgado, who showed excellent late race pace, but couldn't find an opportunity to pass in the final laps. Izan Guevara took the final podium spot, securing important Championship points, as he sits 2nd in the Moto2 Championship standings, now 51.5 points behind leader Manuel Gonzalez, who could only manage a 6th place finish.
Uriarte claims second Moto3 victory
Brian Uriarte took his second win of 2026 with an impressive ride from pole position in Sunday’s Moto3 race. Championship leader Maximo Quiles was hoping to take his seventh victory of the season, following Uriarte for much of the race, with the riders exchanging positions on Lap 15. Quiles took the lead with 4 laps to go, but a moment on the final lap saw Uriarte back out in front, taking the chequered flag 0.063s ahead of Quiles. Behind them, it was a drag race to the line, with Matteo Bertelle taking 3rd by just 0.007s ahead of Marco Morelli, denying the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team a double podium.
Further 2027 MotoGP rider lineups confirmed
The 2027 MotoGP grid continues taking shape, as three more teams confirmed their rider lineups for the first season of new regulations next year.
Days after securing his maiden MotoGP Grand Prix victory, it was announced that Ai Ogura would be leaving the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team and Aprilia, to join Yamaha’s Factory team for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, alongside current MotoGP Championship Leader, Jorge Martin.
The following day, BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP confirmed that Daniel Holgado would be moving up from Moto2 to join their team from 2027. A MotoGP rookie, Holgado will be joined by 2020 MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir, who follows in the footsteps of Marc Marquez in leaving Honda’s Factory team to join Ducati at Gresini.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing was next to announce their lineup for 2027, which sees both Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio leave their Ducati teams to start a new chapter with KTM, in their full Factory team.
The paddock now gets to enjoy their summer break before they head to Silverstone for the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Great Britain. With eleven different winners in the last eleven Grands Prix at Silverstone, will Round Twelve of the 2026 MotoGP season see that record extended?
