Can the 'King of the Ring' be dethroned in Germany
Marc Marquez heads to the iconic circuit of Sachsenring this weekend, hoping to secure his 10th MotoGP win at the East German venue.
The World Champion has never made a secret of his preference for left hand corners and Sachsenring has plenty of them. Ten of them, in fact, compared to only three right hand bends. Probably the reason he calls this one of his favourites, and the reason he has dominated this circuit in the last decade.
Of course, his Lenovo Ducati team will claim he is still not quite fully 'race fit' but that will convince nobody that he goes into the weekend as favourite.
Aprilia will be looking to confirm the popular opinion that it is still the best bike on the grid, following the impressive performances from the two satellite riders, Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura in Assen two weeks ago. The Trackhouse Aprilia team can only hope to match their Dutch success after achieving a 1,2 in both the Sprint and the main GP.
Early championship leader, Marco Bezzechi, has now been replaced at the top of the standings by his team-mate Jorge Martin, but only 7 points separates the factory riders. Both have recent experience of crashing out from potential winning positions at Sachsenring and only Martin has ever won here, on his Ducati in 2023.
Lurking a further 9 points behind the Aprilia pairing is the increasingly impressive Fabio DiGiannantonio, who will be hoping to celebrate his new Factory KTM contract for 2027, by challenging for a win.
Expect the Superfine Trackhouse Aprilia riders of Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura to go into this weekend full of confidence, following Assen victories, and be in the mix for podiums at least.
Of the rest, if Pecco Bagnaia is in the mood, he is capable of winning here, as he did in 2023, and, fitness permitting, Alex Marquez will remember his 2nd place finish here last year.
Interesting facts at Sachsenring;
The next Italian MotoGP winner will be the 300th winner from their country.
If Marco Bezzechi wins, it will be his 11th victory - all at different tracks. A feat only previously achieved by Freddie Spencer.
If Marc Marquez takes his 10th Sachsenring victory, this will equal Giacomo Agostini's record, which he achieved at Imatra.
Ai Ogura could become the first Japanese rider ever to secure consecutive victories in MotoGP
Aprilia and KTM have never tasted victory at this track.
