It was another weekend full of stories both on and off track in MotoGP™ at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, so let’s delve into some as we now get set for the 2024 summer break.
Fabio Quartararo - “He can be a really good rider for the project”
With Prima Pramac Racing confirmed to be switching to Yamaha machinery in 2025, plenty of focus is on who will be filling the two spots in the Iwata factory’s Independent Team. A rider who has been linked in Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP™), and at the Sachsenring, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was asked about the potential of the Portuguese rider coming to Yamaha.
“Yeah, he’s one of my best mates in MotoGP. He's doing a really great job, especially today. And I think he's a really experienced rider. He won quite a lot of races already, so he can be also a really good rider for the project.”
Jorge Martin – “Something is there that is making me crash”
A penultimate lap crash while leading by just under a second saw Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) relinquish the Championship lead to Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in Germany. Here’s some of what he had to say about the Turn 1 mistake.
“I think it's a really important day in my career because it's time to learn from this. I think Jerez crash, Mugello crash and here crash are completely the same, so there is something - I don't know if my style. I don't know in my head. I don't know what.
“But something is there that is making me crash. So I need to take my time and analyse, learn and get back up.”
An extremely costly mistake from @88jorgemartin as @PeccoBagnaia was piling the pressure! 💥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 7, 2024
The Spaniard lost the race and the Championship lead at T1! 🤯#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/YRFHsfZ4RG
Marc Marquez – “Today I can ride in Marquez mode”
A huge crash at Turn 11 nearly put an end to Marc Marquez’s (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) weekend at his beloved Sachsenring. Saturday was a tough day at the office, but the #93 felt a lot better physically on Sunday as he marched to an impressive P2 finish.
“Incredible race. I mean, I didn't expect to finish on the podium but first thing and the most important is that today I got up and I feel better with the body. I arrived to the box and I said to the team, ‘Today I feel better. Today I can ride aggressively. I can ride in Marquez mode’. Yesterday I was super smooth.”
Marc Marquez – “It’s a day I will never forget”
For the first time since Nobuatsu and Takuma Aoki in Imola in 1997, two brothers shared a premier class podium as Alex Marquez joined Marc on the rostrum.
“I feel like I won the race. I mean, this is the real feeling. I'm super happy and to share the podium with my brother, we will enjoy it a lot. It's a day that I will never forget because it will be difficult to repeat in the future.
“I know that for my dad and my mom, it was a very good day for them and for all the Marquez Alenta family. I hope that they enjoy it because maybe it’s the last time that we share a podium. You never know. So we will enjoy it like it’s the last time.”
There’s something very special in the Marquez DNA! 🧬 @marcmarquez93 and @alexmarquez73 were on cloud 9 after sharing a #MotoGP podium for the first time! 🥈 🥉#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/QhPxw02CCj
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 7, 2024
Pedro Acosta – “Not happy enough”
After Sunday’s race, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was asked whether he was happy with his results in the first half of his rookie MotoGP™ campaign.
“Not happy enough… We know how many things we can achieve, and seeing that I could maybe make everything better, or in another way, make everything worse, we need to think that it was an average first part of the season, because everything can be better. I know that sometimes I sound quite arrogant, but that is what I think.
“At the end if we start to improve many things and I don't make a crash in Barcelona and another in Assen, for sure it could be much better. But this mistake, we have to have it, and also learn from that.”
Three weekends off now face us, with Silverstone at the beginning of August acting as our next destination for the start of the run to Valencia’s finale.