German MotoGP all category preview and AEST weekend schedule

MotoGP 2022 – Round Ten
Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

After all the early season European races having taken place in southern Europe, MotoGP now heads north to Saxony in Germany for the tenth round of the 2022 MotoGP world championship – the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, at the iconic Sachsenring circuit.

Located near to Chemnitz, Sachsenring is a 3.671 km (2.281 miles) circuit, which makes it not only the shortest track, but one of the slowest on the calendar. However, running in an anti-clockwise direction with 10 left and only 3 right turns, and a short 700m (0.435 miles) straight, it is also one which places a lot of stress on the left-hand-side of the tyres.  With these demands in mind, the Michelin slicks will be asymmetric, with all front and rear tyres having a harder left side, and the right side being a much softer compound to help it warm up quickly and provide grip when the riders need it in one of the three right-hand turns.

Being in the eastern part of the country, not far from the cities of Dresden and Leipzig, and despite the race being staged in early summer, there is always the possibility of cool and damp conditions.

Last year it seemed a long shot for King of the Sachsenring Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to retain his crown, but retain it he did to make some more history. Now, Marquez is back on the sidelines after yet more surgery on his arm/shoulder, but that offers a huge opportunity for those on the chase, and most likely Quartararo.  All of the Sachsenring MotoGP lap records are currently held by Marquez and were set in 2019, with the all-time circuit lap record time standing at 1’20.195 and his race lap record time of 1’21.228.

The Frenchman’s form in the Catalan GP was amazing, and he surely leads the list of candidates to take to the Sachsenring throne. With the tight and twisty track offering some respite from the long straights and horsepower measuring contests of some recent venues, Yamaha should be in a stronger position too. Can Quartararo extend that lead further this weekend?

Last year, the resistance was led by KTM. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was within 1.7 seconds of Marquez to take second, no mean feat, and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came home fourth to put Quartararo in an Austrian sandwich. Overall, the Mattighofen marque were the best performing factory. And Remy Gardner won the Moto2 race here last year. Can Germany mark a return to form for the orange bikes?

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“After a constructive weekend in Catalunya and a very positive test on Monday, the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team is heading to Germany full of confidence. We all remember last year the great race from Miguel Oliveira who finished second. Both Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez had a strong race at the last Grand Prix and it was the first race at the end of which we got points from both riders, which is our best result of the season so far. Our rookies are not really rookies anymore and this result came at the right time because the transfer market is booming right now. We really believe that both will be able to start the action on Friday in the same positive dynamic as in Catalunya, and I am hoping that we will be competitive and score points again. There are always plenty of KTM fans in Sachsenring, and we intend to carry the KTM flag high as we know that this race is important for the whole family. As usual, we will push and do our best to put on a great show.”

For Ducati, despite the huge leaps forward towards arguably the best bike on the grid, the Sachsenring still proved a challenge in 2021. The venue may be the only one left that still merits talking about a track suiting a factory, or not as the case may be.  Can Jack Miller or Pecco Bagnaia make a breakthrough for Ducati on German territory?

Prima Pramac Racing may have a fair bit to say in deciding the upper echelons of the time-sheets too, with both riders on the podium in Barcelona. Johann Zarco is back in that consistent groove and Jorge Martin was back in the fight at the front with a bang, and add to that the Spaniard also has now had the surgery he needed to fix that niggling issue with his hand.  Rookie Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) will also be looking to do the same after he crashed out on he coat tails of that incredible ride at Mugello.

Marco Bezzecchi

“I’m curious to try the Ducati on this type of track: really complicated, very short, small, without a real straight and with violent changes in ups and downs. Also from the riding point of view, most of the corners are on the left and I hope that won’t be a problem. After the last two races in a row between Mugello and Barcelona, I was struggling with my left arm. I attended in the test in Barcelona and then I fully exploit the week to recover. I feel good and can’t wait to get back at work on a track that has given me great satisfaction in the past and where I hope to confirm myself in the Top 10.”

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Enea Bastianini

“Last year in Germany I wasn’t as competitive ad I’d hoped. We’re coming from a disappointing race, so we are eager to improve and to recover that lost feeling with the front-end of the bike that would allow us to race at the front. Sachsenring is not among my favourite tracks, but if we manage to set the bike up right, we can have fun. Assen is clearly among my favourite tracks, as it is both difficult and technical at the same time: last year I struggled there, but this year I’m better prepared. It will be a very challenging trip.”

Then there’s Aprilia. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) took a solid finish in Germany last year for the Noale factory, but that was then and this is now – with Aprilia making huge leaps forward this season. It’s been an amazing podium run for Espargaro and he almost continued it in Barcelona before that heart breaking early celebration. Can Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), whose progress continues to show some good steps, make another one at the Sachsenring?

Aleix Espargaro

“In the last two races before the summer break, our goal must be to take home important points. This year we have shown that we can be consistently competitive on every track and in any conditions; consistency will be fundamental when the sums are drawn. I am highly motivated and confident that we’ll be able to do well on the Sachsenring.”

For Suzuki, the venue was a tougher one last year and the Hamamatsu factory will be looking to use their track time from the post-Catalan GP test to right that in 2022. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) put in a stunning charge on Sunday too as he took off from 17th on the grid to finish fourth in Barcelona, so he’ll be looking to build on that momentum. Alex Rins, meanwhile, was caught up in that Turn 1 incident with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and has a small fracture in his wrist… so he’ll likely be keen to try but will have to be passed fit.

At Honda, the weekend will be a big one for Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) as he arrives on home turf and with the biggest shoes possible to try and fill. The German had a tougher weekend in Barcelona and will want more at the Sachsenring, and so too will team-mate Pol Espargaro after a tough Sunday.

Pol Espargaro

“After a really busy test on Monday, it was good to have a week away from the races to focus on my physical training. We now arrive in Germany for the tenth race for the year, a circuit where Honda has had a lot of success in the past. Our situation this year is a little different but I am here to keep giving my maximum each time we go out on the bike. Let’s see what happens this weekend, the weather is looking quite warm and it looks like the stands will be full, which is of course always great.”

Stefan Bradl

“I’m looking forward to riding at the Sachsenring again, it’s always a pleasure to ride in front of the German fans. It has been a few years since I last rode there but the memories I have of 2019 are very good, we put together a strong race at short notice. Now everything is much closer in MotoGP and we have some other plans to focus on. No matter what, I want to put on a good show for all the fans who come out to see us.”

Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), meanwhile, arrives from a stunning comeback from last to tenth after that crash on Saturday saw him sit out qualifying, and the number 73 also did the most laps of anyone in the test on Monday after the race. He’ll be gunning for more progress, and we wait some more updates on Nakagami after the Japanese rider escaped injury but did stay in hospital for observation following the impact.

MotoGP Championship Points Standings

Moto2

In the latter stages of the Moto2 showdown in Barcelona, it looked like it was going to be bow tie day. But it wasn’t to be as Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was back on the top step after a stylish late attack to deny said bowtie wearer, Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40), and make the Spaniard wait. Last year though, Canet took second in Germany… so it looks like another shot at that maiden Moto2 win.

After a tougher run at times though, Vietti will be happy to have been back setting the pace and reasserting his authority in the standings. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), in turn, had a tougher race as the likes of Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) were in the battle to complete the podium… can the Japanese rider fight back?

Home hero Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), meanwhile, is on a solid run of speed with some consistent top fives in 2022, just missing that podium.

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Moto3

What was 28 points is now just 16 as Moto3 heads for Germany, with Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team) now within a third place of teammate Sergio Garcia as the latter continues to lead the fight for the crown. Now the tight and twisty Sachsenring awaits, where Garcia took some solid points last season in the front group and Guevara, then a rookie, headed the second group completing the top ten. What will await in 2022?

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) will likely be a key challenger, with a podium at the track last year and coming in from some great speed only dented by a technical issue on race day in Barcelona. Teammate Tatsuki Suzuki is also on a roll of form. Meanwhile Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will, like Foggia, want more from Germany, the Spaniard having only taken eighth last time out and losing some ground.

The track is such that the veterans and those who unlock the secrets of the Sachsenring have more chance to pull away than at many venues, so it could be a classic showdown for some seriously valuable points.

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

German GP Schedule (AEST)