Marc Marquez Racing For Fifth Consecutive MotoGP Victory In Germany

Marc Marquez has an enviable record at Sachsenring. The 24-year-old five-time world champion has been coming to the tightly compressed—13 corners in 2.28 miles—German track for a decade. From 2010 onward, he has won every race entered, regardless of class. In MotoGP alone, Marquez has four pole positions and four victories.

Earlier this year, Sachsenring—the shortest circuit on the GP calendar—was repaved. Due to noise restrictions, no testing was permitted, so MotoGP riders will get an additional 10 minutes of track time during Friday morning and afternoon practices, as well as Saturday morning in FP3. To compensate for the mostly left-hand layout, Michelin will dole out asymmetric slicks front and rear.

Five more premier-class riders—Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Maverick Vinales, Danilo Petrucci, and Jonas Folger—joined Marquez at Thursday's pre-event press conference. Rossi is still buzzing from his 115th career win last weekend at Assen, while former 125cc world champ Dovizioso is leading the title chase for the first time in his 10-year MotoGP career.

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team: "To be first after eight races is a dream. The last three races we worked in a perfect way. In Assen, we used a different setup than in practice and it worked. After Maverick's crash, I was able to push a little bit more and make a good lap time. That, for me, was more important than the final result."

Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha: "I'm very happy for the victory [at Assen] because [my last win] was Barcelona last year and it was after a great race. So, great emotion. It was also very important for the championship. A lot of riders and a lot of different bikes are very close; the situation changes from one week to the other. I'm not so far."

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: "Assen was one of the most difficult weekends for us. We were on the podium, and we were able to even recover some points from the leaders. It's so difficult to understand this championship. Two races ago, I was nearly out of the battle, 37 points behind Maverick. Now, I'm just seven points behind him, 11 points behind Andrea."

Maverick Vinales, Movistar Yamaha: "I'm disappointed but, in another way, really lucky that Dovi could avoid me [after crashing at Assen]. If not, maybe I would not be racing in Sachsenring. I know we were really strong, especially in the dry conditions. That's why I'm not so nervous. If I push myself on the limit, we can be on the top again."

Danilo Petrucci, OCTO Pramac Ducati: "I didn't expect to be so fast in dry conditions in Assen but at the end I managed all of the race. The light rain helped me a little bit to follow Valentino. A good moment, for sure. Here, I feel positive. Last year, I was quite fast on the dry; I did the same lap time as Valentino. Then, in the race, I was leading but I crashed."

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: "Sachsenring has been a good circuit for me and also for Honda. This is important, but this year is different. First of all, we have to see how is the grip, how are the tires. Another thing here is the weather. Last year, it was a flag-to-flag race. Everything can change."

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team: "Here, in Sachsenring, there is different asphalt and everything can happen. My confidence is really good. The feeling with the bike is good. I have a good feeling with the team; we are working in a relaxed way. We have a lot of tires to try tomorrow in the dry, and it looks like Sunday could be wet."

Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha: "This is a different track compared to Assen. Last year was a crazy race. It looks like the weather forecast is quite bad for the weekend, so it will be very important to try to be ready for all the conditions. I hope for a full dry or full wet race. What you feel after the victory is great, and I think that everybody is here for the same."

Jonas Folger, Yamaha Tech 3: "This season so far is going well. We had some expectations at the beginning of the season that maybe we can reach the top 10. Then, suddenly, we did a better job than we expected. Now, we know we can do top six if we have a good day. I think we have very good speed, we just need to show it every race weekend."

Maverick Vinales, Movistar Yamaha: "It's always better leading [the championship]. I know we've made many mistakes this season, but we have learned, especially in the rain conditions, and we know what we need to do. We have improved in the rain, and it looks like it's going to rain a lot. It's going to be a tricky weekend."