The weather was not particularly summery in northern Germany this weekend. While the region sometimes experiences intense heat in July, this time the mercury hovered between 15 and 20 degrees. Rain also fell on two of the three days of track activity, particularly on Saturday during qualifying and the Tissot Sprint, which took place entirely on wet ground.
All of Michelin’s MotoGP tyre ranges were used, with one constant: consistent performance regardless of humidity or temperature. Located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, in the Saxony region, the Sachsenring circuit is the shortest in the championship, with a length of only 3.671 km. It is also one of the slowest but is considered by the Michelin Motorsport teams to be one of the two most difficult tracks in the championship for tyres (along with Phillip Island in Australia). Of the 13 corners that make up the circuit, only three are right-handers. This configuration is likely to cause tyre wear on one side and cooling on the other.
"Fortunately, our preparation took into account both the weather scenarios and the specific constraints of the circuit profile" explains Piero Taramasso, Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager. " The main difficulty, beyond managing the rain, was the track temperature, which remained low throughout the weekend (with a peak of only 29°C at the start of the Grand Prix), which added an extra challenge. For the Tissot Sprint, the vast majority of riders opted for a Medium tyre at the front and a Soft at the rear, which was the best possible compromise. During the Grand Prix, which was contested on a dry track, our partners all chose the Hard tyre at the front for its consistency, and the Medium at the rear for its versatility and long-lasting performance. My takeaway from this weekend is that all the tyres performed perfectly despite the unique nature of this circuit, where we used asymmetrical tyres at both the front and rear (with reinforced left side of the tread). On such a demanding track, made even more difficult by the rain and cold, this is a real achievement."
For the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany, Michelin provided its partners with three asymmetrical tyre compounds (Soft, Medium, Hard) for the front wheel and two asymmetrical compounds (Soft and Medium) for the rear wheel. It is important to note that asymmetrical tyres on both the front and rear are a rare configuration in the season, used only three times (Phillip Island, Sachsenring and Valencia, Spain) out of a total of 22 Grand Prix races.
On Saturday afternoon, the Tissot Sprint was won by Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha).
On Sunday, the Grand Prix victory also went to Marc Márquez (his 69th win in 200 Grand Prix races) ahead of his brother Alex (BK8 Gresini Racing).
The third step of the podium was taken by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
New track record
Rainfall over the weekend prevented the riders from exploiting the performance of their bikes and tyres on dry ground throughout the weekend, but Friday saw a new track record set. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46) completed a lap in 1’19.071, almost four tenths of a second faster than Jorge Martin’s benchmark time (set on a Ducati in 2024).
See you in a few days in Brno (Czech Republic)
No sooner had the teams left the Sachsenring than everyone’s attention turned to the 12th round of the MotoGP World Championship, which will take place next weekend, between 18 and 20 July. This will mark the Czech Republic’s return to the MotoGP calendar with the Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia at the Brno circuit.
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