MotoGP Deutschland 2013 – 2>4

Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, 14th July 2013

MotoGP Deutschland at the Sachsenring marked a big shakeup in the 2013 MotoGP championship chase. Hit the jump to see some pictures and read about the carnage that continues to plague the big names in MotoGP.

Lorenzo May 5, 2013

With Lorenzo out for two races it seemed like Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was going to have an easy time extending his lead in the current championship chase. The Spaniard has had his best season to date and many have picked him to win the title this year. When Lorenzo re-injured his collar bone in a practice crash at the start of the MotoGP Deutschland weekend, Pedrosa really started to look like the favorite for a race win on Sunday.

Pedrosa surprised everyone by high siding on a cold tire during the Saturday warm-up, effectively put himself out of the race. With the top two contenders out of the race it was up to the rest of the field to put on a show for the rabid German fans.

Surprises for the weekend included Stephan Bradl’s strong fourth place qualifying position. There was no doubt that the LCR Honda rider was buoyed by the home crowd and he managed an excellent 4th place finish in the race.

Even more notable was the 5th place qualifying result of Aleix Espargaro. Running in the CRT class with the Power Electronics Aspar ART machine, Espargaro was only .5 seconds off the pace of the pole sitter Marquez. Granted, the Sachsenring track might favor the lower powered CRT machines, and Espargaro wasn’t able to maintain that pace finishing 8th, but it is encouraging to see that the gap between the MotoGP bikes and CRT machines might be narrowing.

Valentino Rossi, Saschsenring 2013

At the front Marquez, Rossi, Crutchlow and Bradl gapped the field and then proceeded to really race. Bradl had a lightning fast start and much to the delight of the German crowd he led a number of laps at MotoGP Deutschand.

Poor starts by Marquez and Crutchlow had them battling for most of the race with Crutchlow rapidly gaining on Marquez in the closing laps. It wasn’t quite enough for the Englishman as Marquez claimed his second win of the season and moves past his Repsol teammate to become the championship leader.

Valentino Rossi, Saschsenring 2013

Rossi’s third place finish was a little disappointing for the Italian and his fans but with Lorenzo and Pedrosa possibly out for the Laguna Seca round Rossi has a long shot chance at the title. With 10 more races to be run there are a lot of points scoring opportunities and you can never count out Rossi.

If the Rossi Yamaha comeback is a Cinderella story then I don’t even know what to call the amazing rookie season of Marc Marquez. He continues to show that he has the pace and the mindset to run with and beat the fastest men on the grid. Leading the championship before the halfway point of his rookie season is an incredible accomplishment. With every race Marquez looks more and more like the once a generation rider that many have been claiming he is.

With injuries and a tightening championship race, the next MotoGP round at Laguna Seca promises to be a great one.