Honda certainly had a memorable weekend with Marc Marquez winning the German Grand Prix after nearly 600 days without a win (after a long injury recovery), and the brand also took the top honors in F1 and IndyCar races.
There was no stopping Marquez as the lights went out at the Sachsenring, the 10-time German GP winner shooting forward and moving into second by the second corner. By the end of the first lap, he had moved into the lead and defended a brief challenge from Aleix Espargaro. Consistent pace saw the eight-time World Champion steadily grow his lead, with falling raindrops only spurring him on.
Intense pressure and a strong ride from Miguel Oliveira pushed Marquez right to the end of the race, but 336 days after his injury at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix, Marquez was a race winner once again. It is his 11th straight win in Germany and the 11th consecutive win for a Repsol Honda Team rider at the circuit, ending a 21-race run without a victory. With his 96th premier class podium, his 57th win in the class, Marquez moves ahead of Doohan for most premier class podiums – fourth overall.
“This is one of the most important, and hardest, moments of my career. I knew there was a great opportunity to do something today. When I crossed the line, I just enjoyed it with my whole team… When I saw some drops of rain on lap four of five, I knew it was my race. I started pushing and when it started to rain harder, I pushed even more with Oliveira. He pushed so hard and was very fast, it was hard to concentrate because all the memories, everything I have been through over the last year, came into my mind. But we did it. We will do it again.”
Ferrandis on Top at High Point National
The third round of the summer campaign marked the sport’s return to the famed Pennsylvania venue for the first time since 2019 with the GEICO Motorcycle High Point National, where the threat of rain loomed over the afternoon but never really materialized. In the 450 Class a hard-fought, consistent afternoon was enough to put Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis atop the podium for the second time this season. In the 250 Class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jalek Swoll extended the parity in the division and broke through with his first professional victory.
Although he missed out on a moto win, Ferrandis’ consistency was enough to vault him to the second overall victory of the season and his career via 2-2 moto finishes. Adam Cianciarulo’s drop off the podium in the final moto relegated him to the runner-up spot by a single point (1-4), while Tomac made his first appearance on the podium this summer in third (6-1), which bumped Ken Roczen (3-3) off the podium via tiebreaker.
“What a race. I don’t know (what to say),” said Ferrandis. “I got a good start and was able to get by Ken (Roczen), which was good because he was so fast today. It was a war (after that). Ken kept pushing me and we were able to come to Adam (Cianciarulo). It was crazy how competitive it was with them. We were going so fast and the track was so difficult. It’s just amazing to get a win here today and get a hold of the red plate again.”
With the win, Ferrandis also reclaimed control of the red plate as 450 Class point leader for the second time this season. He currently has a slim three-point advantage over Roczen, while Plessinger, who finished sixth on the afternoon (5-8) maintained his hold on third, 30 points out of the lead.
Robinson Holds Off Bauman for OKC Mile I Victory
Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) became the first rider to earn a second Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle victory this Progressive American Flat Track season with a clutch performance in Friday evening’s Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City OKC Mile I presented by KICKER at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Robinson controlled the lead and held a gap to second from the first lap onward. However, the nerves required to pull off the victory were considerably greater than that fact might suggest; Robinson was forced to overcome injury, an extremely physical racetrack, and a fast-closing Briar Bauman (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) to emerge victorious in the end.
After the race, Robinson said, “This might be the most tiring track we go to all year. This was brutal, and with the bummer at Joliet and sustaining a knee injury there, I’ve been on the couch for three weeks. Fitness is huge here, so big thanks to my trainer, Dick Tibbits; he helps me out a lot with everything I’ve been going through with the injury and just trying to be as ready as we can. And a huge thank you to Mission Foods, Roof Systems, HCRR, and my crew chief Ben Evans; they had this thing dialed in from the time we unloaded. I could not be happier to be a part of this program.”
