Source: Supplied.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has taken an incredible eighth win in a row at the Sachsenring, extending his run from the 125 World Championship to another year of the premier class, with all those wins from pole.

It was anything but easy however, with German rookie Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) pushing the reigning champion on home turf throughout the race in a stunning ride to his first podium. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) completed the podium.

Marquez took the lead into turn one from pole, with teammate Dani Pedrosa slotting into second as Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) sliced through from P6 on the grid to third, pushing Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and Jonas Folger back.

Marquez and Pedrosa began to pull away in the lead as Folger charged through to get himself into third and then started threatening the Repsol Honda duo in the lead. Choosing his moment, the German rookie then took Pedrosa and prepared to attack Marquez, pushing through soon after and below lap record pace.

With Petrucci through on Lorenzo into fourth, it was Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who struck next, with the number 46, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Petrucci then battling for fourth as Pedrosa began to drop back from the lead duo. Folger then headed wide and Marquez took the opportunity, but couldn’t shake the German.

That’s the way it stayed, with Marquez’ pit-board remaining +0.1 lap after lap and the rookie not for giving up. Facing the reigning champion, chasing his eighth-consecutive win at the track, Folger kept calm under incredible pressure and even created some himself. Finally it was a small mistake that saw Folger run deep and Marquez pulled the pin to stretch the gap, eventually crossing the line for win number eight just over three seconds clear.

Folger kept it safe in the final laps to cross the line in second for his first premier class podium, sealing the deal in an incredible performance at his home race. Pedrosa completed the podium after a more lonely ride in the latter stages, also bouncing back from a tough Dutch GP.

As the top 10 battled it out further, Rossi had found his fourth under attack from Dovizioso, with Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) then joining the fight and Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) soon on the scene. After some stunning wheel-to-wheel action, it was Viñales who took fourth, with teammate Rossi for close company to complete the top five.

Bautista took sixth after proving a formidable force in the fight, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) crossing the line in seventh for a good haul of points for the Noale factory ahead of the summer break.

Championship leader going into the race, Dovizioso crossed the line in P9 and remains third in the standings, ahead of a stunning comeback from Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) to move through from 19th on the grid. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) completed the top 10, with Jorge Lorenzo crossing the line in P11 after running at the front earlier in the race.

Danilo Petrucci was another who fell back, taking 12th ahead of another double points finish for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith. Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completed the top 15.

The summer break now awaits, with MotoGP next on track at the beginning on August. And the championship? Marquez has one hand back on the throne after his German GP win, now five points clear of key rival Viñales.

Dovizioso is now third, one point behind Viñales as the upcoming Brno and Red Bull Ring shine with promise for Ducati. Rossi lurks in fourth, only another four points off, with Pedrosa still very much in the fight in fifth.

Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) took another impressive Moto2 win under intense pressure at the Sachsenring, first hunted by key title rival Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) and then by a charging Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

The Italian kept it calm and carried on, besting Oliveira to the line with rookie Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) completing the podium behind the duel for the win. Meanwhile, Australia’s Remy Gardner (Tech3 Racing) went on to finish in the points with a 12th.

In Moto3, Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) took a hard-earned victory at the Sachsenring, as the championship leader made his move on the final lap to hold it over the line after a three-way fight for the win. Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) took second, with Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) completing the podium for his first rostrum finish in the world championship.