Marquez ‘pits’ his skill, Miller superb

MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda, 41m 47.664s
2. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, 1.466s
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha, 10.317s

Pole position: Marquez, 1:20.937 = 163.2 km/h
Fastest lap: Marquez, 1:22.037 = 161.0 km/h

Championship top 3
Marquez 225 points • Pedrosa 148 • Rossi 141

Story of the race
The summer break in MotoGP has now begun, and one rider who will certainly sit back with some degree of satisfaction is Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) – and why not after victory at Sachsenring brought up his ninth straight win in a season that has already taken on gargantuan proportions, and with plenty more still to come.

The start of the German Grand Prix was certainly bizarre, even comical – only one rider (Stefan Bradl) on the front three rows after a majority of the front-runners elected to start from pit lane after switching from wet to slick-shod machines following the sighting lap – but soon after that normal service resumed with Marquez making his way to the front with team-mate Dani Pedrosa in tow.

That’s how it remained for the balance of the 30-lap race, with Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) and his team-mate Valentino Rossi eventually picking their way through to third and fourth, while the top five was completed by the impressive Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) as the top Ducati-equipped rider.

And Bradl? After starting with a bang on the drying track, he eventually limped home in 16th position. Eight hours later, Germany would have World Cup victory to celebrate anyway…

“It looked like Assen but in the end everyone came in the pits because we all saw it was dry,” said Marquez. “I was worried about the back of the track initially and in the end my strategy was to copy Dani and (Valentino) Rossi, my main rivals for the championship. I followed them. The race was nice in the beginning because I overtook several riders and then I had a good battle with Dani. I’m really happy for this victory. Now we can relax a bit!”

Marquez now leads the championship by 77 points over Pedrosa, with Rossi a further seven points behind in third.

The pit lane start was a tight one, as 14 riders bunched together on a piece of tarmac no wider than a go-kart track. Marquez won the ‘race’ to the main circuit after they got the green light, and after that he started picking riders off at will until he passed Bradl for the lead on lap six.

Brothers Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) were sixth and seventh respectively, as they both continued their good 2014 form. The top 10 was completed by Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) and Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team).

Australia’s Broc Parkes (Paul Bird Motorsport) was 21st after struggling with electrical problems. To compound matters, Parkes wrecked his No. 1 machine in a big crash on Saturday.

Pole position: Aegerter, 1:24.761 = 155.9 km/h
Fastest lap:  Kallio, 1:24.902 = 155.6 km/h

Championship top 3
Rabat 170 points • Kallio 151 • Maverick Vinales 120

Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) scored his first career win after 129 grands prix. He started from pole position and he outlasted Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) on the final lap to win by the slimmest of margins, 0.091 seconds, with the podium completed by Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing).

Championship leader Esteve Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) was fourth, and he’s now just 19 points in front of Kallio. Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) was in the podium hunt, but eventually crossed the line in fifth.

Australia’s Anthony West (QMMF Racing), the last start winner at Assen, was 17th.

Moto3    
1. Jack Miller, Red Bull KTM Ajo, 39m 26.927s
2. Brad Binder,  Ombroglio Racing, 0.180s
3. Alexis Masboum, Ongetta-Rivacold, 1.119s    

Pole position:  Miller, 1:26.997 = 151.9 km/h
Fastest lap (record): Binder, 1:26.877 = 152.1 km/h

Championship top 3
Miller 142 points • Alex Marquez 123 • Efren Vazquez 112

On the shortest circuit on the world championship calendar Australia’s Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was a towering figure from Friday practice, and it culminated with his fourth victory of the season, ahead of South African challenger Brad Binder (Ombroglio Racing Mahindra).

Miller led for the whole 27 laps, but it took Binder until lap 12 to annex second place from Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda) -- who had won the previous two races – and put some extreme pressure on the Townsville rider. Miller held his nerve though, and held off Binder by 0.180 seconds.

Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda) was third ahead of Marquez, which has allowed Miller to open up his lead in the championship to 19 points.

“Brad (Binder) was very strong. From the first lap I could see he was going all out, braking like an animal and getting very close to me,” said Miller. “It was very stressful and I had to push hard on the last two laps to try to pass me. It was very important to get these 25 points. Now we have to ride intelligently at the next few tracks.”
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Arthur Sissis (Mahindra Racing) finished in 13th position as he continued his steady improvement in what has been a challenging year for the South Australian.