German MotoGP Results | Marquez magic returns for first win since injury

Marc Marquez produced arguably the finest performance of his esteemed career to score the first win since his return from a lengthy injury time-out with an exemplary showing in the German MotoGP at the Sachsenring.

A wily effort from the Sachsenring master, Marquez's aggressive push to the front of the field in the early laps proved definitive as he resisted intense pressure from an advancing Miguel Oliveira to wrap up a remarkable 11th win on German soil aboard the Repsol Honda, his eighth consecutive success at the venue on MotoGP machinery.

The win is his first since returning to MotoGP action after being forced to miss the entire 2020 season through injury and comes almost 12 months after that very accident in Jerez, an incident that it was feared would bring a premature end to his career.

A ride that was as much to do with tactics as it was out-and-out speed, though rivals feared the Marquez-Honda package would come on strong around a circuit he has enjoyed significant success on in the past and that arguably masks some of the RC213V’s evident shortcomings, few predicted he’d be celebrating victory.

However, while he was certainly made to battle hard to maintain some scintillating pace by the in-form Oliveira, Marquez’s formidable start - which saw him up to second at the first corner from fifth on the grid - completed a lot of the hard work for him.

Taking the lead on lap three after a brief back-and-forth with Aleix Espargaro, Marquez maintained his rhythm in front of a busy lead pack before spots of rain - which amounted to nothing more than brief drizzle -  on lap seven presented the ideal opportunity for him to pull the pin.

Seemingly spooking Espargaro as he quickly dropped back, the chasing pack reshuffled with Oliveira - sixth after the first lap - emerging in second position with some confident overtakes in the dicey conditions as the only rider capable of living with Marquez’s lap times. 

However, by this stage the gap between the two was 1.8secs with half of the race still to run and while the Portuguese rider - a winner last time out in Spain - set about trying to get the gap down, Marquez's consistency refused to relent.

As such, though Oliveira would produce a herculean ride to claw the margin back to just 0.8secs, he'd eventually play it safe in the final laps to bring home what remains another hefty chunk of points for the Austrian team.

The result marks Honda’s first win since Valencia 2019 and is a big retort to those that believed the team and Marquez were facing a lengthier road back to the top after a dismal spell of form.

In second, Oliveira strengthened what is becoming a surprise long-range title challenge with his third podium on the bounce proving quite the turnaround from having scored just nine points after the first five races.

Though a distant third, Fabio Quartararo can be satisfied with his performance in a race that saw his closest rivals fail to shine. The Yamaha man was bullied down to sixth initially, but the youngster would hau himself back onto the podium podium for a result that at least allows him to increase his lead from 14 to 22 points over Johann Zarco.

Brad Binder made it another fantastic day for KTM with a superb ride from 13th on the grid. The South African made the most of a rocket start that had him up to seventh on lap one before picking his way up to fourth for his best result of the season.

Similarly, Pecco Bagnaia proved overtaking can be achieved at the Sachsenring with a spectacular ride to fifth. The Italian started 10th but dropped to 15th initially before demonstrating pace quicker than the leaders during the second-half of the race to catch the chasing pack and even pass Ducati team-mate Jack Miller for fifth on the final lap.

Behind Miller in sixth, Espargaro couldn’t make the most of a frisky opening few laps that had him overtaking Marquez for the lead at one stage, the Aprilia rider slipping back to seventh by the flag. That placed him ahead of pole man Zarco, the Frenchman never quite getting into the race en route to eighth.

Defending champion Joan Mir made up good ground early on from 16th on the grid but could only manage ninth at the flag, with Pol Espargaro rounding out the top ten from Alex Rins, Jorge Martin and Takaak Nakagami. Valentino Rossi and Luca Marini completed the points’ paying positions in 14th and 15th.

Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Danilo Petrucci and Alex Marquez after tangling early on at Turn 1, while there will be some questions to be answered in the Yamaha camp as Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Vinales finished plum last in 18th and 19th following their poor qualifying results.

2021 German MotoGP RACE Results | Sachsenring