Rider cheering with crowd and holding sign

Quartararo Crowned King of 2022 German MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo, part of the ENEOS-sponsored Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team, had another amazing victory following his win at the Catalan GP, taking the crown at Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Despite the intense heat, the Frenchman was in a league of his own at Sachsenring, starting from P2 to take his first German win; teammate Franco Morbidelli launched from P20 and made up seven positions to secure three championship points.

Driver making turn on track
Two MotoGP riders on track
Rider with trophy

Replicating his Catalan strategy to perfection, El Diablo took the holeshot ahead of Francesco Bagnaia from P2 with a blistering start. On lap 4, Bagnaia crashed in Turn 1, leaving a 1.1sec gap to second place and putting Quartararo in the clear.

But the race wouldn’t be a cakewalk: having caught the flu earlier in the week, Quartararo still managed to maintain incredible lap times while navigating the tricky circuit. He maintained his focus and speed, taking his third victory and sixth podium of the season with a 4.939sec advantage.

“Although I felt ill the entire weekend, the most important takeaway is we finished in a good way,” Quartararo said. “I was very consistent throughout the race, and winning by such a big margin is a step forward for our confidence.”

Racer from aerial view
Racer on track
Rider making tight turn on track

Morbidelli battled well from P20, moving up to 15th after the first five laps. The heat was intense yet he continued to fight against Raul Fernandez for 12th place. Fernandez passed him on lap 24 and Morbidelli held his position for the remainder of the race, finishing 13th with a 29.014sec gap frotom Quartararo.

“We made good improvements but qualifying hurt our race,” Morbidelli said. “I was able to make up positions but being in a group in these temperatures made it difficult to overtake. Being close to fighting for the top 10 was a good result for us, and I’m eager to reach the top 10.”

Quartararo extends his championship lead to 34 points with 172 points total; Morbidelli remains 19th with 25 points. Yamaha stays in second with 172 points in the manufacturer standings and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP moves to first in the team championship with 197 points.

NEXT RACE

Quartararo and Morbidelli visit TT Assen in the Netherlands from June 24-26, 2022.