The German GP was one of the events that were marked in red on the calendar for Marc Márquez and for all the fans. And the Sachsenring was going to be the thermometer where we could see if Marc was going to face the second part of the season with realistic title options, or it was going to be an almost impossible mission.
But races are races and until the checkered flag falls, points are not distributed. And exactly the same thing happens with the general: if there are mathematical options anything can happen. And after what has been experienced not only in Germany but since the Italian GP, it is clear that there is a world championship ahead and that it is not going to be an exclusive matter of Martín and Bezzecchi. At the very least, Marc Márquez, Ai Ogura and Fabio Di Giannantonio have a lot to say.
The perfect weekend began to take shape before the Sprint
Since his return after the last operation, Marc Márquez has had to slow down, but upon arriving at Sachsenring the Ducati rider already issued a warning to sailors by setting the best time in FP1 on Friday. If he was fast from the start, there were many chances that he would be like that all weekend, and that was exactly what happened on Saturday both in Q2 to take pole and, a few hours later, in the Sprint Race.
WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM OF MARC MÁRQUEZ 🏰
✅ Pole with circuit record
✅ Victory in the sprint
✅ 32 points in the World CupIt’s only Saturday. The love affair with Sachsenring continues 🌟#GermanGP 🇩🇪 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/4O9mM8cHnP
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 11, 2026
Of course, on this occasion and perhaps dosing for Sunday, Marc was the one who imposed the pace, but not high enough for Álex Márquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio to stay behind. At times it seemed that Marc could pull away from the other two Ducati riders, but then they reacted and hooked back up. Even so, on a track that has become tremendously small for the current MotoGP, they had no real opportunity to overtake a Márquez who was winning again on Saturday.
With Álex second and Fabio third, Ai Ogura was in charge of being the fastest of the Aprilias just ahead of Raúl Fernández, and Jorge Martín who at no time this weekend has felt comfortable but in which he has known how to manage and, most importantly, add points that can be very valuable at the end of the year.
Bagnaia, Acosta and Quartararo completed the top9 that gave the right to points, and which did not include Marco Bezzecchi who on Saturday during Q2 suffered a very hard fall that left him out of combat after breaking his left collarbone.
Hard fall for Marco Bezzecchi in qualifying! 😰
Tremendous high-side. He was thrown from his Aprilia #GermanGP 🇩🇪 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/dsMfwgFja1
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 11, 2026
Marc takes pole, fastest lap and the two victories of the German GP: there is a game
Despite the speed of the entire weekend, it remained to be seen how Marc Márquez reacted physically, on a track that had to be completed a total of 30 laps. But once the red light went out the sensations, at least from the outside, were one of absolute control.
If on Saturday he was in charge of setting the pace, on Sunday he repeated it but raising the level, stretching the race and forcing his brother Álex and Fabio Di Giannantonio to make mistakes. And they were the only ones capable of following them until, first Fabio and then Álex, they ended up going to the ground after losing the front axle. Perhaps going flat and losing downforce worked against him, especially in the case of Di Giannantonio, but what is evident is that these two falls meant that Marc was able to manage the rest of the race in a different way.
Fall of Álex Márquez! 😱
He goes wide at turn 13 in full pursuit of his brother Marc #GermanGP 🇩🇪 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/OGeY48z4cI
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 12, 2026
So with the fastest lap in his pocket and Raúl Fernández behind him, but at a safe distance for both of them, Marc was reducing laps. And while that was happening, Fernández’s concern was not so much about catching up with his compatriot as about not falling to Ogura who, once again, brought out his best feelings in the final part of the race to end up surpassing the Madrid native.
A new double podium for the two Trackhouse riders, who this weekend have once again been faster and more consistent than the officials, with the Aprilias being more competitive on the track. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta was left riding in no man’s land to reach a positive fourth position, and even more so if you take into account that he has just undergone surgery, and that he was well ahead of the rest of the KTM riders.
If there was no more movement ahead than the falls of Di Giannantonio and Álex Márquez in addition to Ogura overtaking Fernández, where there was more excitement was in the battle for fifth place. Martín, who seemed to be in more trouble than Bagnaia, gave everything to reach fifth place just ahead of the Italian. Assuming, on the one hand, risks that may seem unnecessary due to a point difference, but showing that he has the desire, that he is prepared to fight and remembering that every point counts at the end of the year and even more so in such a close season.
Ai Ogura’s pass to Raúl Fernández to finish 2nd and place SECOND IN THE WORLD CUP 🤯
Tremendous battle and tremendous year for the Trackhouse riders 👏#GermanGP 🇩🇪 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/KSyPQEg0jf
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 12, 2026
Quartararo was the best Yamaha with a seventh place ahead of Marini, the best Honda. Bastianini and Binder completed the top 10, but almost 20 seconds behind the lead in the case of the Italian and more than 22 in the case of Binder.
After the German GP it is time for the summer holidays. A break that will be good to recharge batteries and finish recovering in the case of Márquez or Bezzecchi. More so if you take into account that there will now be four weeks until the British GP, and then another three until the Aragon GP. That will be when the madness breaks loose, because from September 11 to November 29, 9 GPs await us, chained in pairs and with the Australia-Malaysia-Qatar triplet as the high point.
And right now, after the German GP, Martín is the leader with 14 points ahead of Ogura, 18 over Márquez, 22 over Bezzecchi and 24 over Di Giannantonio. But Fernández at 49, Acosta at 60 and Bagnaia at 65 are lurking and, although they may not be equally “candidates”, the mathematics is more than enough. We’ll see how far they are able to go.
