MotoGP hits Germany this weekend – Preview – Schedule

MotoGP 2023

Round Seven – Sacshenring

Located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, in the Saxony region bordering Czechia, the Sacshenring is just 3.671km, making it not only the shortest, but also the slowest circuit of the season. It has the particularity of running in an anti-clockwise direction, with ten turns to the left, three to the right, and a short straight of 700 metres. Logically, this layout is very demanding on the left side of the tyres, and the riders will spend a lot of time at high lean angles and at various speeds.

Last year, despite the extreme heat which reduced grip, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) set a new all-rime circuit lap record of 1min19s765, beating the 2019 time (1min20s195) of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).In 2022, the race was won by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), ahead of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team).

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has 11 wins at the track across all classes, but arrives in Germany after a disappointing front end lose at Mugello.

Marc Marquez

“When you have a difficult weekend the best thing that can happen is to go racing straight away – and this is exactly what we get to do. We arrive in Sachsenring, a track I have always enjoyed a lot and had a lot of success at. Of course, I arrive wanting to do well, my focus and determination is at 100% like always. There will be many challengers this year and we need to work well from the start of the weekend to prepare for Saturday and Sunday and keep working with Honda to improve.”

Marc’s Repsol Honda team-mate Joan Mir crashed at Mugello andwill not participate in the German GP. He will travel to Palma to visit his trusted traumatologist, Dr. Juan Garcias, to evaluate the best treatment and recovery plan of the injury to his right hand, in order to return as soon as possible. Mir will not be replaced for the German GP.

Pecco Bagnaia arrives in Germany with a 21-point lead in 2023 but his memories from Sachsenring last year are not all good.

Francesco Bagnaia

“The weekend at Mugello was really perfect and gave me the right energy to face this race weekend in Germany as well. I know the Tuscan track very well; I’ve lapped there a lot, and that helped me, but the feeling with my Desmosedici allowed me to make a difference. I hope to be able to find these feelings again right away at Sachsenring: the goal will always be the same. To work well from the first sessions and arrive as ready as possible for the Sprint and Sunday’s race.”

Sachsenring was the scene of Fabio Quartararo’s most recent victory.

Fabio Quartararo

“Mugello was tough, but we‘ve learned from the mistakes. Last year I won at the Sachsenring, but the thing about this track is that it‘s quite narrow. That makes overtaking more difficult, so we need to do well on the Friday. We need to start as far towards the front of the grid as possible.”

Marco Bezzecchi was second in the Sprint last weekend but Sunday was an expensive one in the standings as he’s now 20 points further back on Bagnaia.

Marco Bezzecchi

“I’m happy to get back on track: despite the placement, Sunday’s race left a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected more, we were very strong and consistent throughout the weekend and I wanted to repeat myself on the long race too. Unfortunately something didn’t work, which is another reason to get back to the data immediately and give my best on the track. This track is decidedly unusual, particular, but I’ve always managed to be fast. The goal is to be solid from the and aim to fight with the strongest riders in all the distances.”

At KTM it was a mixed bag at Mugello but the Austrian factory left with some solid points. Brad Binder is fourth in the championship standings while new team-mate Jack Miller continues to show some serious speed only six rounds in on the RC16. KTM have a podium at the track and Miller has too on different machinery.

Some big winners at Mugello, even if they might not have quite made it to the top step, were Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco. Both on the GP podium and Martin also visiting the Sprint rostrum, it was a good haul of points and an impressive show of speed. Having also previously been a tough track for Martin, the turnaround is notable – and it’s bumped him up to third in the standings.

Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) also impressed at Mugello. Despite his injured hand, he held on for a solid Sprint result and fought Zarco nearly to the end of the GP race for that podium on Sunday.

Luca Marini

“Considering my current physical condition, Sachsenring track is fantastic! Irony aside, there is only one right-hand braking section on the entire track. Great for the wrist because it means having many spots to recover during a lap. I made the most of these days to recover, the goal is to get to Friday at 100% with therapy and physio. The real problem isn’t so much the pain as not having the strength to handle the bike properly. Of course, the moment is very positive and this will give me extra motivation to hold on and give my best to get closer to the podium.”

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) also rode through the pain barrier to a more than solid sixth place, and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) returned from injury but is still not back full fitness. Still, he was straight back into the top ten.

Enea Bastianiani

“I’m glad to be able to get right back on track. The weekend at Mugello turned out to be positive, and even though I struggled a lot in the race, I managed to get a result that I never expected at first. It still takes time to be 100 per cent, but Sachsenring will be less physically demanding than the circuit we raced on last weekend, so I hope to do even better in the German GP.”

The story of Alex Marquez’s year so far is serious pace, a couple of mistakes and a large dash of bad luck, but the latter two don’t cancel out the first and he can’t be counted out of the fight at the front.

Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) just missed out on Q2 on Friday in Italy and it didn’t get better from there, but it most definitely has the potential to.

Then there’s Miguel Oliveira (CryptoData RNF MotoGP Team), who crashed out in Mugello and will want some solid points despite that shoulder still bothering him, and teammate Raul Fernandez wants to find that Friday form after a tougher time once the lights went out.

Miguel Oliveira

“Obviously after the result we had in Mugello, we are looking forward and are happy that this week we already have a chance to redeem ourselves to get a nice result for the team. Sachsenring is a track that I like. I saw the Aprilia’s were competitive there last year, so I want to do well there and see if we can get a little step closer to my full recovery to 100 per cent.”

Raul Fernandez

“I love this track! Last year, I had one of my best races in Sachsenring and I’m looking forward to come back there. Mugello was a good ‘training’ for us. I felt my arm was improving a lot, which is very important now. We come to Germany with a very good mentality. We did a good job in Italy, although I had some physical problems there. But I am very enthusiastic and I believe in us. I think Sachsenring will be a good track for us.”

Rookie Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) retains his record of points every Sunday alongside only Quartararo and Morbidelli, but after that fourth in France, P15 wasn’t the aim in Mugello so he’ll want more. So too will Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP), who slipped backwards a little last time out.

Augusto Fernandez

“I am looking forward to starting the race week at the Sachsenring, it is a track where I have really good memories from. I won last season in Moto2, and it was one of my best races of the year. For these reasons, I hope that we will have a better time than in Mugello, because it was not an easy weekend. I can’t wait to go there, and continue working with the team.“

Meanwhile, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) took some points on Sunday but only had Marquez as a reference at Honda, and that will continue in Germany – no mean benchmark.

Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) will sit the race weekend out and won’t be replaced, and Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) willalso  be sidelined for some time after breaking his leg. LCR also won’t replace him.

Jonas Folger, meanwhile, will continue on duty for GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 at the venue where he took his premier class podium.

Previously, Marc Marquez’s longest win drought was the 581 days between Valencia in 2019 and the 2021 German Grand Prix. Since his most recent win in Emilia-Romagna in 2021, it will now be 602. Germany will perhaps provide the Spaniard with a good chance at a place that has proved such a happy hunting ground.

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2

If France was one twist, Mugello was another as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) hit back in style to dominate the Italian GP. But Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), despite a difficult weekend, found more than just a step on race day to take second and a valuable 20 points. That leaves him with a healthy gap at the top of the Championship in tact.

Behind that duo, Jake Dixon (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) was back on the podium and says it’s that first part of the race where he’s got to focus on taking a step forward, and that was true in a different way of another perennial threat at the front: Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp). He had a coming together with Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), went off on his first Long Lap attempt and then had to do another… but managed quite a comeback thereafter.

Moto2 Championship Points

Moto3

Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) put in a convincing performance at Mugello. After a five-way fight for the win, Holgado came out on top once again.

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) missed out on that win at Mugello by almost nothing and was out-dragged on the straight, a challenge that should be a little smaller for the now-taller rider in Germany.

Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), is now on a consistent run at the front and on the podium in Italy, will also want to threaten, as will Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing).

Rookie sensation David Alonso (Valresa GASGAS Aspar) will want to keep impressing too, and those who had back of the grid penalties in Germany will be back in the mix, including Joel Kelso.

Moto3 Championship Points

MotoE

Round 2 couldn’t really have been better for the 2023 FIM Enel MotoE World Championship, with two more different winners, a dry weather spectacular and then a close showdown in the wet. And with the electric series breaking the 280kph barrier!

It’s closed everything up on the way into Round 3, with Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) now only two points clear of Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) and Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) just four off the top.

How did that happen? Torres took some solid points at Mugello but, having not ridden at the track in any class since 2014, had a tougher weekend of it and couldn’t quite fight for the podium. Ferrari, meanwhile, took two more rostrum finishes after fighting for both wins.

Garzo had a good weekend overall though, taking two top sixes and gaining very slightly on Torres. And now, we have another contender back in action: Eric Granado (LCR E-Team). The Brazilian’s first race back from injury was solid but his second was a stunner. Mastering torrential conditions he took his 11th MotoE win and made his haul from Round 2 a substantial 35 points – just one less than Ferrari as the two were the top scorers. Granado is now 28 points off the top, which is an awful lot closer than the 45 it was before the weekend.

Sachsenring, however, is a whole new challenge. It hosted the very first MotoE race in 2019, but a lot has changed since then – not least of all the Ducati V21L breaking lap records at every venue so far. No one who returns to the venue in 2023 has been on the podium either, although Garzo got closest as he came home fourth.

MotoE Championship Points

2023 Sacshenring MotoGP Weekend Schedule
Times in AEST

2023 MotoGP Calendar