HRC substitute and test rider Stefan Bradl on the Repsol Honda in front of Miguel Oliviera (Tech 3 KTM) in the last edition of the home race of the German from Bavaria, who stood in for the injured Jorge Lorenzo. The Portuguese behind him clearly missed the points in 2019 with P18, while Bradl was able to shine with the second top ten result of the year after Jerez de la Frontera (© MotoGP).

GP of Germany with the next ghost round

We had already been amazed when the ADAC, as the organizer of the German MotoGP Grand Prix, seriously looked for helpers for parking and grandstand briefing. At this point it was known for a long time that the majority of all events with a high number of spectators in Germany, even if they were only dated in autumn, had to be canceled early. In addition, Saxony was also a high-risk area. Nevertheless, ticket advertising was still carried out until shortly before the official announcement of the waiver, which consequently caused a real shit storm among fans who felt cheated. To a certain extent, this is also absolutely understandable, as there are still buyers of tickets for the 2020 event, which, like Assen and others, was canceled due to the pandemic.

In turn 6, one of the countless left-hand curves at the Sachsenring, we photographed it on site on race Sunday in mid-July 2018. The atmosphere in Hohenstein-Ernstthal is absolutely unique, and we don’t know of any other event at which the majority of the spectators, out of respect and interest in their performance, remain present even after the performances of the top stars for the subsequent races of smaller series. This would certainly have been the same at the Rookies and Northern Talent Cups in 2021.

Understandable hope of the organizers for spectator permission
However, it can be said that the ADAC had long held on to the hope that there would be an exception for such an important international event, as was the case with the European Football Championship. But Ms. Merkel would never show herself at the Sachsenring, even if Stefan Bradl was fighting for the world title. Motorsport has a very dubious image in politics and the public. Too loud, too dangerous and also harmful to the environment with combustion engines. This is probably exactly why the German government drives more than 95 percent of its fleet of thousands and thousands of cars with gasoline and diesel engines. And at the G7 summit on climate and the environment, most of the visitors fly to and from the airport by helicopter. We happen to know our way around, just starting such a machine costs around 5000 euros, extrapolated to the operating costs. In addition, there is fuel, pilots and, paradoxically, a great deal of climate-damaging emissions from the extremely high-speed turbines.

Unfortunately, Jonas Folger’s success at the Sachsenring in MotoGP remained a so-called one-day fly for various reasons. But at least the photo of the Bavarian at the Tech 3 Yamaha in 2018 graced the logo of the “Pramac Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland 2018”. Last weekend he missed the points in a total of 3 races in WorldSBK on a BMW M-1000RR for the second time in a row. Many disappointed fans are therefore already describing the blue and white machine as a faulty design.

The characteristics of the new Sachsenring

In contrast to the original course, which was then carried out on public roads, the new route was primarily designed as a traffic safety center. Nobody thought even remotely seriously about holding Grand Prix races, and yet this later came true. Due to numerous improvements after the reopening, however, it was possible to establish the Sachsenring, which is only 3.671 kilometers long, on the calendar. With 3 right and 10 left turns, it is a very narrow racetrack 12 meters wide. The longest straight is the start-finish, just 700 meters in length. The pit area was improved for the 2001 season. Thanks to the fact that the course in Hohenstein-Ernstthal is the shortest in MotoGP, the spectators see more racing laps than anywhere else. In the premier class there are over 30 laps, in Moto2 there are 28 and Moto3 still 27. The absolute Marc Marquez has held the lap record since 2018, with 1’20.270 minutes and an average speed of 164.6 kph. This makes the Sachsenring one of the slowest routes to Valencia with only 161.2 kph with Jorge Lorenzo’s lap record from 2016.

The new route with the characteristic omega (curves 3 to 5) and the most extreme relationship between left and right turns of all current GP courses.
The notorious Ankerberg with the campsite, definitely only recommended for die-hard fans, because sleep is seldom or never found there at night. We took this picture from the track on July 2nd, 2017, a year after the last rain race so far.

The balance sheet of the current MotoGP pilots and the winners statistics

Regarding the statistics, there can only be one winner or loser next weekend, and that is Marc Marquez. If he wins, his record has remained flawless since 2013, otherwise he will destroy his unique success rate on the track in Saxony. With a total of four falls in the last three races, only a few optimists would currently bet on the Catalans. More on the lap in which he will end up in the grass or gravel this time, but we didn’t see any such tip options on offer anywhere. So there will probably be a new winner, for the first time since 2012, when Dani Pedrosa won for the third time in a row. Only Valentino Rossi is still there from the previous winners except for Marquez, but he is also considered an absolute outsider for the German GP. In the following statistics, the observation of the last 5 years and including the complete with the winners and podium placements, as well as the winners of the middle and smallest class.

Of course, the history of the races in Saxony goes back to the years before World War II and for more information see our route presentation and our constantly growing history.

What riders and fans can expect from the race in Saxony

To anticipate, Stefan Bradl is not to be expected in MotoGP. The German is not expected to play a wildcard again until autumn. Unless one of the Honda riders should seriously injure himself, which nobody hopes. Marcel Schrötter is therefore the man on whom all eyes are on from a German point of view in Moto2. After finishing third two years ago, the Bavarian, like his fans, is of course hoping for another podium. The route that awaits the drivers is one of the most extreme on the calendar. No other course is shorter and none has such an unequal ratio with only 3 right turns versus ten left corners. In addition, it is one of the few routes that are driven counter-clockwise, which was also the case on the old Sachsenring, with which the new circuit only has the target curve and start-finish straight in common. There is almost no breather for the drivers and, of course, more laps than anywhere else. Four of the current MotoGP riders hadn’t finished their last race there due to a crash. There is definitely more than enough excitement and the weather should play along at least on the weekend according to the current forecast, while it could still be damp on Friday.

A poster from the darker years of German history about the race at the Sachsenring, a year before the outbreak of war and a long pause that followed, after which nothing was as it was before. Before the war the Germans were one of the most successful nations of all and with DKW (the bike with the man in the foreground of this graphic) and BMW their factories were also at the forefront.
Fabio Quartararo 2019 on Petronas Yamaha SRT, like his compatriot Johann Zarco, did not finish the race due to a fall. This time the two arrive as world championship leader and second in the intermediate ranking (© MotoGP).

World Championship stand in all classes after the 7th round at Barcelona

Schedule for the German Grand Prix

After the incidents at the WSBK in Misano, there will no longer be a live blog on the subject of track limits until further notice, for which we ask our readers for their understanding. As long as the sporting idea is trampled on by arbitrarily acting functionaries of the FIM, we will forego this effort. We were always the first to show the results live on our site, but in Italy we were wrong twice, whereby in the case of the WorldSBK winner from the 2nd race there was no punishment against the one at the WSSP 600 at the end.