Jorge Martin encourages the championship at the German GP, ​​Marc Marquez throws in the towel

The MotoGP German GP left great joys and sorrows for Spanish motorcycling in a hectic weekend. Jorge Martin Almoguera (San Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid, 25 years old) was the face with his full of points and the second victory of his life in the premier category, quite a declaration of intent after keeping the champion and brand partner at bay Pecco Bagnaia in a duel to the limit. Marc Marquez was the cross and did not even participate in a race where he had won consecutively in his last 11 participations. The fifth crash of the Honda rider in less than 48 hours made him throw in the towel and decide not to take part in a grand prix with historic poker for Ducati, for the third consecutive race celebrating three of its riders on the podium, completed by Johann Zarco .

Only 64 thousandths of a second separated the winner from his leader, who in the last corner of the penultimate lap got so close that he hit his rear wheel, giving a good knock to the hearts of those responsible for the Bologna factory. Despite the harassment of number one, Martin stood firm and defended his first win since Styria 2021 with the knife between his teeth, where he opened his box as a rookie in the category. The pace of the Spaniard with the satellite mount was always one step above the rest of his teammates throughout the weekend, and even on two occasions he made two-for-one overtaking on the twisty German track. After succeeding in sprint of Saturday, Martinator, As he is known in his team, he knew that Bagnaia was going to study his data to attack him in the long race on Sunday.

The Italian came to overtake him on lap 21, returning the play at turn 12 where the Spaniard took the lead after three laps of the test. He remained cold and knew how to study his rival, whom he did not let go with very even rhythms. On lap 24, Martin resumed command and gave a recital of defensive driving and mental strength until the end. “This is only the first step. We are getting closer and closer, and we are prepared for everything”, commented the winner, now just 16 points behind the leader in the World Cup standings.

For Marquez, the ultimate blow came in the morning warm-up session on Sunday, when he spun off and hit the asphalt and gravel violently at Turn 7. The eight-time world champion’s body language after his last romp in Germany was of pain and utter despair. Leaning against the track barriers, his helmet shielding his emotions, he shook his head as he stared at nothing, eyes fixed on the ground. Here he came wanting to be happy, on a stage where he did not know defeat in the premier class. “After five crashes, especially this morning, I don’t feel ready to run and do the race. I have a lot of blows to the body, ”he pointed to the DAZN microphones before leaving the circuit without wanting to add anything else. Although he didn’t acknowledge it, the strongest blow of all was to the soul level.

On a circuit that fits like a glove, the Honda was more indomitable than ever and ended up causing another bone fracture. Fortunately, it was in the left thumb and little according to the doctors, who gave him the right to participate. The right-hander had made him undergo surgery and miss three races as soon as the World Cup started, which he arrived wanting to forget the ordeal of injuries and poor results that he had been carrying since 2020. As his team’s statement stressed, he was the champion of Cervera who said enough and quit the race. After the seventh round of 2023, Marquez has not scored a single Sunday and sinks well beyond the classification. In the midst of his worst drought of victories since his entry into MotoGP -he has not won for 602 days-, the divorce with the Japanese factory seems a matter of time given the performance of the motorcycle and, above all, its dangerousness.