This year’s Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland marks the midway point of one of the closest seasons ever, with Marc Marquez, fresh from a podium finish in Assen three days ago, lying fourth in the Championship standings, just 11 points off the lead, and teammate Dani Pedrosa in fifth at -28.

The Sachsenring track, the shortest on the calendar at 3.67 km, has in the recent years proven to be one of the most successful rounds for both Marc and Dani, who have scored 13 victories between them and have stood together on the podium twice, in 2014 and 2015. The circuit was resurfaced after the 2016 race.

At the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

Marc Marquez has 7 wins: 1 x 125 (2010), 2 x Moto2 (2011, 2012), and 4 x MotoGP (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), plus 7 pole positions (he has been on pole for all seven wins).

Dani Pedrosa has 6 wins: 2 x 250 (2004, 2005) and 4 x MotoGP (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012), plus an additional 3 podiums and 1 pole position.

Marc Marquez

“I look forward to going to the Sachsenring, a circuit that has proven to be good for us in the past. Of course we’ll have to wait and see how things go, as the track has been resurfaced and we know it can be quite different, starting with the grip, which will probably be higher compared to recent years. We must remain concentrated in order to be able to manage every situation as well as possible, like we did in Assen. In any case, it’s a circuit that I like and where I’ll try to be stronger. We’re just 11 points from Dovizioso at the top, and that’s good. This Championship is really open, and we must keep calm and keep working hard to be better and better in the coming races.”

Dani Pedrosa

"Sachsenring is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar and we are going there ready to prepare for the race as best as possible. I honestly do not know what to expect from the resurfacing of the track as it’s difficult to make predictions before getting there but I hope to have a good feeling with the bike and the tyres. We know as a team we are working well together and doing things right so we will continue with this mentality and try to understand how to make the tyres work better in every situation. The Championship is still very close and I look forward to getting back on my bike on Friday and fighting for a good result on Sunday”.

Car and bike races have been held on closed public roads in the area around the town of Chemnitz, Germany since the 1920s and were still taking place until as recently as 1990. It was decided, however, that the five mile course through such a densely populated area was no longer suitable and a new circuit was built five miles west of Chemnitz in 1996. Although mainly used as a driver training centre and road transport safety station, Sachsenring first hosted MotoGP in 1998 and many improvements have taken place since then, including a drastic layout enhancement in 2001. Numerous tight corners make it one of the slower tracks on the calendar but there is never any shortage of close racing action.