MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany 2016 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Honda’s Marc Marquez produced a stunning recovery to win a thrilling German MotoGP Grand Prix on Sunday. 

A wet track made for a frantic start and a gripping race at the Sachsenring. But the Spaniard nailed his strategy on a drying track, recovering from well down the field to take the chequered flag from LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso.

Here’s the moment Marquez’s victory was confirmed, per the official MotoGP Twitter feed; it’s the fourth year in succession he has triumphed in MotoGP at the German Grand Prix:

In the race for the world title, the Spaniard now has 170 points. He’s 48 ahead of Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and 59 clear of Valentino Rossi, who struggled to 15th and eighth, respectively, on Sunday.

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Time/Gap
1	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	47:03.239
2	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	LCR Honda	+9.857
3	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	+11.613
4	Scott REDDING	GBR	OCTO Pramac Yakhnich	+11.992
5	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Ducati Team	+22.755
6	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	+25.920
7	Jack MILLER	AUS	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	+26.043
8	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	+26.449
9	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Avintia Racing	+26.614
10	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+31.274
11	Eugene LAVERTY	IRL	Pull & Bear Aspar Team	+41.208
12	Maverick VINALES	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	+42.158
13	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	+1'03.129
14	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	+1'06.091
15	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	+1'17.694
16	Tito RABAT	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	1 Lap
17	Loris BAZ	FRA	Avintia Racing	2 Laps
18	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Pull & Bear Aspar Team	3 Laps
DNF	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	13 Laps
DNF	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	OCTO Pramac Yakhnich	18 Laps

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	170
2	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	122
3	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	111
4	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	96
5	Maverick VINALES	Suzuki	SPA	83
6	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	72
7	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	65
8	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	63
9	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	59
10	Eugene LAVERTY	Ducati	IRL	53
11	Aleix ESPARGARO	Suzuki	SPA	51
12	Scott REDDING	Ducati	GBR	45
13	Jack MILLER	Honda	AUS	42
14	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Honda	GBR	40
15	Stefan BRADL	Aprilia	GER	37
16	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	35
17	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Aprilia	SPA	35
18	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	ITA	24
19	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	19
20	Tito RABAT	Honda	SPA	18
21	Loris BAZ	Ducati	FRA	8
22	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	3

Tyre Gamble Pays Off for Marquez

After crashing in the morning warm up it was no surprise to see Marquez tentative off the line on a wet track.

Rossi, in third, enjoyed the best opening lap, moving up past Hector Barbera and then Marquez into first. Things were fast-moving up front, though, with Dovizioso eventually taking the lead and Danilo Petrucci slotting into second spot before moving into first himself for a spell.

Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

However, the latter pushed his luck a little too much when out in front, losing his balance and running off on Lap 10, leaving Dovizioso to retake the lead with Rossi and Co. in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, Marquez was not able to find his groove in the wet and was dropped by Jack Miller, falling down into fifth place. His race got even worse not long after, as he ran on to the dirt and resumed in ninth. Here’s a look at that incident, per the MotoGP Twitter feed:

With the rain stopping a dry line started to form out on track, which meant the teams with little to lose were beginning to bring their riders in to change the setup, although the leaders, involved in some close-quarter racing all opted to stay out.

Marquez was in a position to gamble after his earlier faux pas, so Honda called him in and made the decision to switch to a drier compound. It was a decision that would prove to be decisive in determining the end result.

Indeed, Marquez lit up the leaderboard with some scintillating times once he resumed, gaining six to seven seconds a lap on the riders at the front and scything through the field with ease. A reaction was needed from the leaders, but it came too late.

Vincent Jannink/Associated Press

By the time the Honda man had made it to the front, Miller, who had tried to slug it out on the wets, was a sitting duck in first place, and he roared past him into open road, quickly establishing a massive time gap.

While Marquez surged to victory, a fascinating battle ensued for the minor podium places. Scott Redding was another rider who made the tyre change early and benefitted as he moved into second place. However, he was pursued quickly by Crutchlow and Dovizioso, who were on the more suitable tyre at this juncture.

The Pramac Ducati didn’t quite have enough to fend either rider off as a result. Crutchlow rode brilliantly in the final stages to muscle his way past Dovizioso and then Redding. The latter was unable to cling on to a podium, as the Italian, who led this one for long spells, found a way through on the final lap.

ROBERT MICHAEL/Getty Images

Even after such a pulsating finish, all the talk afterwards was about Marquez’s tactical masterstroke. “I was struggling a lot,” he conceded, per Autosport. “So I said 'OK, it's getting drier and drier'. When I saw the minimum bit of dry, I took the risk. I just took it lap by lap and built the confidence.”

San Antonio Spurs star Pau Gasol paid tribute to his compatriot following the win:

For Marquez, the Sachsenring has once again proved to be a hospitable venue. This will be one of his most memorable wins, having gone from the gravel to first place thanks to a bit of luck but some bold riding, too.

Overall, the 23-year-old is looking good for a third world title in four years. The struggles of the Yamaha duo of Rossi and Lorenzo will make an incredible triumph even sweeter for Marquez.