Danilo Petrucci (Tech 3 KTM) and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) together in the gravel – instead of fourth place twice as in 2018 and 2019, the Italian had no chance of another good result in Hohenstein-Ernstthal after the collision with the Spaniard.

The winners and losers of the German GP – the first to be the winner

While his brother and Petrux finished his race in the gravel trap on the fifth of 30 laps, Marc Marquez managed an almost flawless race for the first time since his comeback. His action against Fabio Quartararo in the initial phase, as we have long known from the 6-time MotoGP world champion, was anything but squeamish, if not on the edge of fairness. In the end, as usual, he couldn’t care less, because almost all the media ran headlines about his alleged sensational victory in Saxony. However, the question may be asked what should be so surprising or even sensational on the eleventh after 10 successes in a row. On paper, the Catalan was the big favourite. After four falls in the last three races, however, even many experts doubted he would get through without a mistake, but he made it.

The forest of signs while driving through the start-finish of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) – from now on the 6-time world champion is more or less released to be shot because after his first victory since his comeback, all opponents want to compete with him.

From now on it is absolutely clear – there are no more excuses in the future
We have dealt in detail with the sunny side of Marquez’s first victory since November 2019, but now comes the hour of probation from Assen. After all, the Spaniard said that he would return stronger than ever when he renounced the second race in Jerez 2020. For this he needed exactly six attempts after his comeback and from now on there will be no more excuses. From now on there must be an end to excuses about the supposedly uncompetitive Honda RC213V and if you stay in front for 30 laps on the Sachsenring you will not have any physical problems. That’s why everyone, especially his most stubborn opponents, is looking forward to being able to fight him on so-called normal routes from Assen. Now what everyone had longed for after the announcement of his return has arrived, from now on only results count. Below are the current facts about the situation in the World Cup, with only three countable results of the Catalan in 6 races and the tenth intermediate place, the leader is exactly 90 points short before half-time.

Mister Constance 2021 – Fabio Quartararo

After Joan Mir almost won his title last year, the young man from Nice was warned. Without the help of his team-mate Alex Rins, the reigning world champion would almost have become the first titleholder since MotoGP was founded to not have won a single race. Fabio, on the other hand, won three races, just like Franco Morbidelli as vice world champion in 2020, but for the Frenchman, after many problems, it was only eighth in the end. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider learned from this, however, and he has shown himself to be the most consistent of all riders so far, with the only rider except Morbido, rookie Marini and team-mate Viñales who always saw the chequered flag this year. For him, however, there were 3 wins, two podium places, two top six places and only one missed top ten result. Without his arm-pumping problems, however, he would have been either the winner or the podium driver in Jerez. If he continues like this in the next races, Fabio Quartararo is the man to beat this season.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) behind Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia, front left in the picture), Johann Zarco, Jack Miller (both Ducati) and Miguel Oliveira (like Miller hidden behind Zarco) drove a very smart race and in the end came safely third at the Sachsenring.

Will KTM replace Suzuki as fourth force?

After Yamaha and Ducati were the dominant manufacturers in the first laps, Honda finally returned to the circle of the winning bikes after Nakagami’s P4 with Marquez’s victory at the Sachsenring. Since the Catalan GP, this has also included KTM, while Suzuki is still waiting for confirmation of the top results from last year. Already in Assen it would be possible for Miguel Oliveira to pass Suzuki hope Joan Mir and Brad Binder also confirmed his upward trend at the German GP and both KTM works drivers are already well ahead of Alex Rins on the second Suzuki. If the drivers from the Hamamatsu manufacturer don’t hurry up, the oranges will soon replace Suzuki as the fourth force. There is definitely a lot to be said for Assen and their home doubles race, and nice, they managed to confirm themselves without a competitive advantage as they did last year.

In keeping with the first photo on this report (see above), the discussion about the guilt between Alex Marquez and Petrux, who fell together, followed, but this did not change anything about their departure.

The calendar chaos of FIM and Dorna

As if there had been no pandemic, FIM and Dorna dared a plan for 2021, which simply couldn’t work out. First the Sepang test from January was cancelled, then the Grand Prix of Argentina and Texas, followed by a double race in Losail and a new edition of the Portugal GP. The KymiRing was later removed from the program in Finland, replaced by the double race in Spielberg, which is a double shame. Many drivers do not appreciate the route in Styria at all, which is no wonder given the barely 10 corners. But because Austria decided after Ischgl to continue to give the virus as many chances as possible, an attitude that is understandable for those familiar with the Alpine republic, albeit completely irresponsible and brainless. However, it will be interesting to see whether the continuation of the second half of the year can be realized, which should be very questionable in view of the corona pandemic, which is still rampant as expected. At least if you look closely at the various venues and locations in these countries. In red letters, the overlaps of MotoGP with WorldSBK in the combined current calendar.

>GP Assen preview: see separate report on this page.

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