After a dramatic Saturday at the Liqui Molo Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, all eyes have turned to Sunday’s Grand Prix. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) claimed a stunning victory in Germany in the Tissot Sprint ahead of World Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). With the Sprint action in the history books, it’s time to take a look at some of the things to look out for on Sunday in Germany.
1. Championship leader Bagnaia has qualified on pole for the 15th time in MotoGP™ and 22nd overall in GP racing. It’s his second successive pole at the Sachsenring, and his third pole in a row in 2023. On his 14 previous poles, he went on to finish on the podium on nine occasions (including six wins).
2. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) has qualified second for his best qualifying since he stepped up to MotoGP™ in 2021. He finished fourth in the Sprint and will be aiming to take his second GP podium in MotoGP™ along with Americas this year.
3. This is the third successive pole for Ducati at the Sachsenring following Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) (2021) and Bagnaia (2022 and 2023), and their fifth overall at the track in MotoGP™. With Bagnaia and Marini, this is also the 47th successive race where there is at least one Ducati rider in the top three in qualifying.
4. Miller is in the running to make MotoGP™ history on Sunday by taking Grand Prix wins with three different factories after already winning with Honda and Ducati. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), who qualified 13th and crashed out in the Sprint, could also achieve that feat after winning with Suzuki and Yamaha.
5. If Zarco finishes on the podium, it would be for the first time in three successive MotoGP™ races.
6. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) qualified fifth despite a crash in Q2, equalling his second-best qualifying this season from COTA. He finished P7 in the Sprint and will be aiming for his third Grand Prix win on Sunday, along with Argentina and France this year.
7. Now second in the Championship, Martin took his second Sprint win and will now be aiming to win a MotoGP™ Grand Prix race for the second time along with Styria 2021. As with teammate Zarco, if he finishes on the podium, it would be for the first time in three successive MotoGP™ races.
8. After passing through Q1, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) qualified seventh despite crashing once in Q1 and twice in Q2. It’s his worst qualifying result in MotoGP™ at the track. He finished 11th in the Sprint, his worst Sprint result so far, but could now be aiming to win his first Grand Prix race since Emilia-Romagna 2021, 602 days ago. It would be his ninth premier class win over his nine visits to the track in the class.
9. Alex Marquez qualified eighth which is the fourth time so far this year he failed to qualify within the top six. He also finished P8 in the Sprint, but could take his maiden premier class win.
10. After passing through Q1, Binder has qualified ninth for his second-best qualifying so far this season after Spain when he qualified fourth and finished second in the race (his most recent podium). He finished P6 in the Sprint and will now be aiming to take his third MotoGP™ win along with Czech in 2020 and Austria in 2021.