However, a supreme ride from the reigning champion saw him push eventual race winner Maverick Vinales to the absolute limit, before settling for second place and extending his championship lead to 44 points over Andrea Dovizioso.
Expectations will be high for Marquez given his outstanding record in Germany, but for the Spanish rider it’s just another weekend in which getting the maximum from the bike is his ambition.
“The first back to back race of the season, I am excited. We had a good weekend in Assen and I am motivated as we now arrive at one of my favorites tracks.”
“Of course, past results don’t mean a lot once we start on Friday so we have to keep working hard with the Repsol Honda Team to stay in front.”
Marquez has never been beaten at the German circuit, winning every race he has been involved in since 2010. The seven-time champion has however lost one of his undefeated records this year at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), and knows it’s important to not focus on previous results in these situations.
“Everyone says I am the favorite because I won in the past few years, but this sport is unpredictable and everyone said the same in Austin and I crashed. Then we will start just thinking about the weekend as every race.”
The 26 year-old has so far had one of his more consistent starts to a season, with only 2014 being more successful after the first eight races. Victory in Germany would leave Marquez in a great position for the second half of the year, where he is usually very strong.
Source: The Rallystar 