JAKARTA - The German MotoGP Grand Prix on Sunday witnessed the biggest comeback in history as Marc Marquez grabbed his first win after missing nine months from the race due to injury.
Marquez is showing signs of returning to competitiveness after being fastest in the first free practice session and proving himself ready to challenge the premier class champions again with a win at the Sachsenring Circuit.
The eight-time world champion finished the 30-lap race dominant from the start to the finish line 1.610 seconds ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Miguel Oliveira.
While the leader of the standings Fabio Quartararo completes the podium after finishing P3 for Yamaha, 6.7 seconds adrift of Marquez, according to the official MotoGP website reported by Antara, Sunday, June 20.
Marquez is currently the most dominant rider at the Sachsenring with seven wins in the premier class since his MotoGP debut in 2013, as well as three wins in the 125cc and Moto2 classes as the Spaniard has not been unbeaten at the German circuit since 2010.
Marquez's winning record remained when the German GP was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The eight-time world champion faced a particular challenge upon arriving in Germany, where he found P7 to be his best finish of the season since returning to racing from a prolonged injury.
Overwhelmed with his right arm, injured since July last year, as well as his shoulder, Marquez had no problem battling the left-hand corner, which dominates the counter-clockwise circuit in Germany.
In Germany Johann Zarco might have stopped Quartararo's streak of five pole positions, but it was Marquez who took the lead from Aleix Espargaro at the end of the opening lap after darting from P5.
Rain began to fall on parts of the Sachsenring track after eight laps of the race and white flags were flown, signaling riders wishing to change bikes on a wet setting.
Marquez meanwhile led by nearly two seconds ahead of Miguel Oliveira, runner-up and champion two races before Germany, who moved into second place after 12 laps.
The riders defended on dry tires while Marquez and the KTM team rider number 33 took turns to score the fastest times in the 30-lap race.
The Repsol Honda rider kept him two seconds ahead in half the race, but Oliveira found the pace to leave the main group to slowly close the gap on the Spaniard.
KTM's rear tire grip did better than its rivals in the second half of the race and closed in on Marquez by less than a second with six laps to go.
However, there was not enough time and momentum for Oliveira to catch up to the Honda number 93 in front of him who was even faster at the end of the race to maintain his status as king of the Sachsenring Circuit, winning the last 11 races at the German circuit.
Marquez returns to racing this season in the third series in Portugal after a prolonged injury last season due to a fall in the Jerez series opener that left him out of racing for nine months.
Brad Binder added to the celebration of the KTM team after finishing P4 defeating the Ducati duo of Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller.
Aleix Espargaro again finished P7 for the third time this season on an Aprilia bike, beating Zarco who had to settle for P8.
After eight races, Quartararo widened his gap as the leader of the drivers' standings with a collection of 131 points, 22 points ahead of Zarco who looms in second place, and 31 points from Jack Miller.
Meanwhile, with 25 additional points, Marquez rose to tenth place with a collection of 41 points.
With three podium finishes in the last three races, Oliveira is now one point behind Maverick Vinales who is sixth on 75 points.
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