Marquez ready to continue 7-year domination in Germany

New track surface will not faze the strong performance of the Sachsenring favorite

Heading into the ninth round of the 2017 MotoGP™, Marc Marquez is running high off his podium success at the Dutch TT - the results of which put him into fourth place on the Championship standings. With only eleven points between the first four in the MotoGP™ classification it is the smallest ever margin covering the top riders in the premier-class after eight races since the current scoring system was introduced. The previous record for the closest standings at this stage of the season was in 1998 when only 29 points covered racing legends Mick Doohan, Max Biaggi, Alex Criville and Carlos Checa.

Although this is the first time since moving up to the MotoGP™ class that the Spanish rider has gone five successive races without starting from pole, his last being the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, the current World Champion not only has the third-place finish in Assen to sustain his efforts, but an impressive history at the new Sachsenring circuit.

Marquez has qualified on pole in Germany for seven years straight; 2010 in the 125cc class, 2011 & 2012 in Moto2™ and the last four years in MotoGP™, and this bodes well for this track's winningest rider. Alongside the American circuit at Austin, the Sachsenring is just one of five circuits on the current grand prix schedule that is run in an anti-clockwise direction. The other three being Aragon, Phillip Island and Valencia.

Marc Marquez: “I look forward to going to the Sachsenring, a circuit that has proven to be good for us in the past. Of course we'll have to wait and see how things go, as the track has been resurfaced and we know it can be quite different, starting with the grip, which will probably be higher compared to recent years. We must remain concentrated in order to be able to manage every situation as well as possible, like we did in Assen. In any case, it’s a circuit that I like and where I'll try to be stronger. We're just 11 points from Dovizioso at the top, and that's good. This Championship is really open, and we must keep calm and keep working hard to be better and better in the coming races.”