Marquez back in charge of Moto2™ after Sachsenring victory

EG 0,0 Marc VDS’ Alex Marquez has reassumed control of the Moto2™ World Championship after a Sachsenring masterclass at the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland that his brother would have been proud of. The Spaniard is now eight points clear of Dynavolt Intact GP’s Thomas Lüthi in the title chase after he broke clear of the Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) halfway through the race to ease to a fourth win of the season.

Marquez becomes the first rider to win a Moto2™ race from pole position since Francesco Bagnaia took victory in Japan last year, however, he didn’t take advantage of pole position. The number 73 got a poor start before then getting pushed wide by American Racing KTM’s Iker Lecuona at the first corner to end up down in fifth.

Luca Marini of SKY Racing Team VR46, meanwhile, got the perfect jump from second on the grid to take the holeshot. The Italian’s lead wouldn’t even last a lap though, with Dynavolt Intact GP’s Marcel Schrötter barging through into the final corner to make sure he leads a race at his home Grand Prix.

A mistake, however, from Schrötter through Ralf Waldmann Curve allowed Lecuona to hit the front as the Spanish teenager aimed for a first Moto2™ win of his young career. Marquez would recover from his opening lap antics though by battling his way back through to second place before then asserting his revenge on Lecuona by squeezing past into the first corner.

Behind the leading duo, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder was on a real charge after the South African recovered from 17th on the grid to then join the podium fight, all thanks to a fastest lap of the race, before fronting the podium fight with an aggressive move on EG 0,0 Marc VDS’ Xavi Vierge into the first corner.

Back at the front and Lecuona would squeeze his way back into the lead after a mistake from Marquez at Turn 3, but the three-time race winner put all that confidence to good use by biting back at the bottom of the Waterfall.

The leading duo’s scrap allowed Binder to move further into contention and continued his ride through the field with a move on Lecuona into Turn 1. Suddenly the South African looked favourite having claimed fifteen places by half race distance but moments later he ran wide at Turn 3 and Lecuona pounced to retake second.

Schrötter having slipped slightly further back began battling back through, with a firm move on Vierge at Turn 1, before the German’s teammate, Tom Lüthi, followed suit but the Swiss rider was in too and took out the Spaniard; a move he would later get handed a long lap penalty for.

At the front, the fight between the factory KTM of Binder and the customer KTM of Lecuona allowed Marquez to edge half a second clear after Lecuona took full advantage of the smallest gaps left open by Binder at the Omega Curve. Their battled allowed Marquez to very quickly turn his lead into one second and then two, as the Kalex rider began to look certain he would continue the love affair between the Sachsenring circuit and the Marquez family.

Schrötter seeing Marquez escape quickly darted through to second place, with Binder now unable, it appeared, to make an apex as his tyre life started to fade following his monster effort to fight through from the sixth row of the grid. But Binder would somehow find a second breath and reclaimed second place, with the South African fortunate to be able to escape even further clear by Schrötter and Lecuona fighting behind.

As we entered the final laps, Lecuona took third at Turn 13 before Schrötter hit back just a corner later into Turn 1, meaning the pair would have to settle their fight for the final podium place on the last lap. Schrötter would hold strong with a podium at home up for grabs and there was heartache for Lecuona as he crashed out at the final corner, ending what would have been his best result of the finish.

The chequered flag came out, which Marquez would take for the fourth time this season to edge eight points clear in the title chase. Binder finished second, his best result of the year, ahead of the German Schrötter, to the delight of the home crowd.

MB Conveyors Speed Up’s Fabio Di Giannantonio took full advantage of Lüthi’s long lap penalty to edge past the former Championship leader to fourth, the best result of his rookie season, with Lüthi hanging on ahead of FlexBox HP40 teammates Augusto Fernandez and Lorenzo Baldassarri in sixth and seventh. Rounding out the top ten were Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up), Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46).

So, leaving the Sachsenring and heading into the summer break it’s Alex Marquez who sits pretty at the top of the table after he bounced back from Dutch disappointment in perfect style. A Marquez winning at the Sachsenring, now where have we heard that before?

Top 10:
1. Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) 
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 1.208
3. Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 1.630
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 4.116
5. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 5.191
6. Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) + 6.332
7. Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) + 6.526
8. Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 8.177
9. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 10.538
10. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 13.591

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