Some autorenewing subscriptions have failed to automatically renew. If you find you can't read subscriber articles, or think this applies to you please read this.

Sachsenring MotoGP Sunday Subscriber Notes: Momentum, A Costly Mistake, And Why Some Riders Crashed

By David Emmett |

For the past three MotoGP rounds, Pecco Bagnaia has been building up an unrelenting head of steam. Starting with victory at Barcelona, then dominating at Mugello and Assen, the Ducati Lenovo rider has grasped the MotoGP season by the throat and is stamping his authority over it. Round by round, race by race, Bagnaia has been eating into Jorge Martin's championship lead.

With the summer break coming up, it was imperative for Martin to call a halt to Bagnaia's march. At the Sachsenring, the Pramac Ducati rider needed to seize back the initiative and open up a gap again over Bagnaia. He needed to shift the momentum.

Martin did that in the sprint race with a comfortable win. He hadn't been able to truly escape, but he had been able to build enough of a margin to put him out of touch of the pursuing riders. And with Miguel Oliveira getting on the podium ahead of Bagnaia, Martin had been able to extend his lead by 5 points over the factory Ducati rider.

Martin had made one mistake in the sprint race. At the start, he had struggled to release his holeshot device - it is a blessing these devices are to be banned from 2027, as the regularity with which they fail to release is having a material impact on the championship, for no benefit to the championship - and that had cost him a couple of places which he had needed to fight to take back.

He made no such mistakes in Sunday's grand prix. The Pramac Ducati rider got away cleanly and took the lead into the first corner. But Pecco Bagnaia had also gotten a decent start, though he found himself behind the Trackhouse Aprilia of Miguel Oliveira. Bagnaia dispensed with Oliveira at Turn 12, then countered his attack into Turn 1. A lap later, Bagnaia was through on Jorge Martin as well, this time in the final corner

Martin bided his time for a few laps behind Bagnaia. "When Pecco overtook me it was good to get warmer tires straight away. And I felt super good," he said after the race. At the start of lap 7, Martin struck, putting a block pass on Bagnaia going into Turn 1.

From there, Martin looked to be in control of the race, and on his way to take back control of the championship. He was once again getting help from another rider, this time his Pramac Ducati teammate Franco Morbidelli. The Italian had passed Bagnaia, demoting the Ducati Lenovo rider to third. He was even starting to reel in his teammate and threatening to pass Martin.

His efforts to catch his teammate had taken the best out of Morbidelli's tires, however. The Italian started to flag at the halfway mark and fall back into the clutches of Bagnaia. Morbidelli would continue to slip down the order, eventually finishing a creditable fifth.

Where had Morbidelli's sudden burst of speed come from? "Experience with the bike," the Pramac Ducati rider said. The slightly lower grip of the medium rear tire made it a little easier too. "I was feeling better with the medium rear. It had more stability and tire endurance. Still with new tires or in high-grip situations I am lacking, like in the time attack, in the Sprints," Morbidelli explained.

With Morbidelli gone, a game of cat and mouse unfolded between Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia. Bagnaia closed the gap to eight tenths of a second, and Martin responded. Bagnaia took another couple of tenths out of Martin, and the Pramac Ducati rider found a way to take those tenths back.

In the last 5 laps, Bagnaia started creeping relentlessly closer. Seven tenths. Six tenths. Half a second. Martin tried to respond. And that's where disaster struck, the Pramac Ducati rider folding the front as he tipped in for Turn 1 on the penultimate lap.

Momentum shifted again. What looked being a closely fought battle with a very good chance of Jorge Martin extending his lead in the championship turned on its head. Martin went from leading the championship by 15 points to trailing Pecco Bagnaia by 10 points. It may not be a seismic shift, but it was a very consequential one.

Why did Jorge Martin crash at Turn 1? The Spaniard had no explanation of his own, though other riders who saw the crash did. But first, to Martin himself.

9
2024
MotoGP
Sachsenring, Germany
CormacGP
↑Back to top

Comments

So competitive throughout the field. Particularly the Ducatis. Even FM21 is right up there on a good day. Sharing Shedloads of data helps keep the red armada close to the top.

Every rider is on or over the limit. Any racer can make a small error which will have big consequences.

Pecco has had some lapses, not lately. Jorge Martin has done so to. They are both doing the business in different ways.

It doesn't pay to take it easy, comparatively, but mistakes cost a lot.

It's the feel, the vibes, the judgement of when & where to push like crazy and when to take more care.

Remy Gardner stayed on the M1 all the weekend. Yay!

Didn't see Fabulous Fabio Quartararo during the race but he made a good result. Helped perhaps by some penalties for those who crossed the line ahead of him.

Enjoy the break. It definitely ain't summer in Oz. I am planning to go to Sunny Queensland for a weekend of the Australian championships, should be warmer and entertaining.

Hey Steve, we'd come down if we could, but are tied up all day Saturday, and on Sunday a 7hr return drive from the Sunshine Coast is not happening : )

We are, however, booked in for the Island in October so I'll look forward to sharing a couple of beers there.

Fingers quietly crossed for Remy to slowly work his way back into Yamaha's MotoGP plans... he had a terrific weekend.

Apical did say Remy stayed on it “all the weekend” … he crashed on Friday, so he is correct 😁 A technicality I know (he didn’t say “race weekend”) but it is MotoGP, so we live in the technicality world 😂

I am heading to Magny-Cours to watch him in the WSBK next month. It is a long swim from Hobart lol, but I am well overdue for a world championship event in Europe. Really excited to watch him on the M1. I think last weekend will give him an injection of self belief and value. I thought Massimo Meregalli’s comments were really positive (even for PR speak).

Go #87

Obviously late to the conversation, but what a revelation! Had heard of it but never seen it….until I stumbled across FREE TO AIR coverage last weekend. Whooly dooly, great looking track, with some BIG balls corners. A real blast from the past to see such serious sideways action, loved it! 
This paywall shit has got knobs on it, it is literally a lesson in diminishing returns: no- one can “discover” the sport, but inevitably some will drift away….how is that a growth model?

It was great to hear Simon Crafar lost for words after the praise from Keanu Reeves - that doesn't happen often! Recently rewatched the Donington GP from the 500 era, and my God was he good on those dunlops!

I think Martin was a little wide on that corner where he crashed.... Asking too much of the front when he tried to pull it back in.

What do you think of the chances of Ducati building up another GP24 for Marc Marquez, with the aim of securing number 1 and 2 race numbers? It would also get them an early start on development feedback for the GP24.

I know it's a huge expense and the tooling for the bikes and spares takes a while, but Ducati have the capability.

 

In other news, there are some very anonymous performances from Yamaha, Honda and KTM. They go into the summer real with a mountain to climb.

They cant do it as they have no concessions.He really doesn't seem to need it either, the data he generates will give them a good idea of he needs for next year and he needs a full seasons worth before they start changing stuff. They will have 1,2 3 and 4 as Ducatis anyway, so why the expense. MM will always wear 93 anyway..

I think he'd be happy just getting whatever Pecco has got for the launch control. I think you could put Pecco at the back & he'd still be in the top 5 at the first corner.

I just viewed some footage of the crash on social media - MotoGP official Insta ... - and now i'm a bit confused. If i recognized it right, the rear tire painted a big fat rubber stripe on the tarmac. Is that common with a frontend washout, or a major electronics burp ?

Normal I think for that turn losing the front, and much better than it gripping and chucking him eh?

:)

With a day to ponder, not so critical of Martin. He was pushing hard, and HAD to be! Why? Pecco was hunting him down and coming at a good clip. 2 laps left, 5 tenths separating them, and Pecco had been steadily reeling him in. 

Tough corner! Unfortunately I bumped into a spoiler that Martin crashed out of the lead. Decided to predict what corner, what lap and how. Picked that corner, but 3-4 laps out. Close!

Compliments to Pecco Bagnaia! 

Ok, brief tire pressure rule comment. 3 MotoGP riders penalized, thank goodness it wasn't near the front though or we'd all be speaking of it. But Moto2, sounds like the win was almost tossed?! (Wouldn't that have irked you?). I don't think it is helping safety, do you? Clear layperson here, but shouldn't the min pressure be lower and JUST what Michelin techs can bear to let out there on track without dire misgivings through hands over their eyes? Haven't the evidenced strong safety issues been very soft REARS?!

Jorge crashed for the second crash in a row going down the home straight over a brow into a right hander.  If you watch the TNT coverage he's burning front end rubber as he falls.  possibly feathering and trail braking the front into the corner.  If he runs a different trail to Pecco that will also cause it.  

I can't get over how TNT coverage is so biased against Jorge.  They just can't help themselves can they?  If it it weren't Jorge it would be that team nobody has heard of.....begins with A?   uuuuh?  forgotten who it is now?  

I can still see Pecco throwing it away at least once more this season, trouble is, momentum is against Jorge and I don't think he can cope with it.  

Don't get me wrong, I love David's extended notes and summaries -- almost as the the paddock pass podcast with al the banter and lively chat between friends, with the occasional gems such as the interview to Kenny Roberts jr -- I never thought he could be such an intelligent and articulated man (*).

However... saying that next year Pecco is in deep trouble because Marc will get the same machinery smells old -- I remember last year everybody was declaring "Marc on a Ducati will destroy the field!".

But it hasn't been total annihilation from Marc as we can all see.

And the bikes, gp23 vs gp24: the riders struggle to find a significant difference, Marc himself is not so sure about how much is the bike "impeding" his progress, and about the sources that say the contrary, I don't know really but the many technicians and people in the paddock that are interviewed by the italian journalists (like Giovanni Zamagni), they never talk or are so confident that the GP23 has a "clear disadvantage" to the GP24 (as David puts it).

I probably would have kept these thoughts for myself because it's a real struggle to write these things down in english (I would also struggle if it was in italian, mind you, writing doesn't come easy for me), but what pushed me was the other comment about "getting the same starting device that Bagnaia has" -- it seems again to me a sort of dismissal for this 3 times world champion that is just unbelievably good. Marc also is a rocket at the start, making up so many positions from way down in the grid as we've seen so many times this year, but nobody says that Marc starts well because he's got some gizmo on his bike. Why arguing that Pecco instead must have one to start so well? Can't we just admit that Bagnaia is a super talented rider?

 

 (*) Kenny Jr in that interview suggested the simplest way to update the motogp rulebook and make motorbikes less rocketship, a very reasonable set of limitations to be imposed on the rubber; genius! but nobody seems to care...

It has been said by a few people (including Mark I think) that there is a definite difference in drive grip between the 23 and 24 machines. It doesn't make a difference on every corner but where it does, it is quite clear and a big advantage.

They all have gizmos on their bikes now that will thankfully be gone in 2027 :). Is the gizmo on the 24 better than the one on the 23? Probably. Does that mean Pecco is not a super talented rider? No. He clearly makes the most of what he has since his starts are better than others on the 24 bike.

I don’t think that anyone is arguing that Pecco is not a super talented rider. His record speaks for itself.       

However, from what I’ve seen Marc and Pecco make up places at the start in different ways. It seems to me that Pecco is fully in tune with the GP24 start device and gets drive off the line that nobody else can match, but Marc makes up most of his places after the initial launch by manoeuvring himself into advantageous positions and being prepared to brake later and harder than anyone else into the first turn.     

It seems to me that MM93 is a somewhat old-style rider, whose key skill is in making the bike do whatever he wants. Whereas Pecco seems to be more of a precision expert, who can extract every last drop of potential from the machine and do exactly the same lines lap after lap after lap. Both approaches work, both require and exhibit huge talent, and both are only facets of otherwise seriously superior riders. But today, and on a Ducati of either year, the latter is better for getting results. 

Watching Pecco start to wind in Jorge over the last 4 races has confirmed a growing suspicion that he could turn out to be one of the greats. I think he’ll win the title again this year, with pressure from Jorge all the way, and there’s a very good chance he’ll repeat that next year but with the pressure coming from Marquez. Of course I could be talking nonsense and things have changed in recent years, but it has never been the case, in all the years I’ve been watching, that being on the fastest bike was the key to winning the title. It has always been the mix. The Yamaha wasn’t ever the fastest bike on the grid, but in Rossi & Lorenzo’s hands it could deliver the goods. Likewise, the Ducati was still pretty Ill-formed when Stoner won on it back in 07. By all accounts the Honda has been a horrible machine for many a year, but look at the results. My point being that I think MM93 would be right there already if he was able to ride the Ducati as well as Pecco. (Marc will probably blitz the next race now :-) ).

Pecco reminds me a bit of Dovi. A bit dull, but a lot more talented than was sometimes acknowledged. Except Pecco has turned that into titles.

I woukld argue, that Pecoo and his team are best at setup, so that he has the bike's limit gives him the most margin. MM93 sets the bike up very well, just not quite as well, and then wrestles the bike slightly beyond these limits. I would say that in terms of strategies, Pecco is in the same category as Lorenzo and maybe AE41 while MM93's tactics are more like those of Rossi, Stoner, Doohan. In the end I think also based on that history that the adaptive riders will have a higher succes rate.

      

That could well be it, and I'd certainly agree that MM93 is cut from the same cloth as Rossi, Stoner, Doohan. (In passing, as is Jack Miller, which is why I'm sad to see him slipping down the ranks but hoping he'll move across to WSBK and do tandem speedway-style with Toprak). For all of them, close enough was good enough set-up-wise and they could or can make up the difference with pure talent. I think the Pecco's and Martin's are a new type of rider, similar to Lorenzo etc. I'm sure they are just as able to wrestle it round the track but where they excel is in precision riding, getting as close as possible, lap upon lap, to the fastest line.

If Pecco can really wrestle a bike like Marc. I haven't seen it, also not with Lorenzo. Even the way Pecco slides the bike is rational. Very smart and extremely fast. Just wonder if that is sufficient for the long run. Maybe the other type benefits from their setup and riding style developments as well to take it from there. And I am an engineering geek...

Stoner said that one of his strong points was understanding how a bike needed to be ridden in order to go fast. I wonder how Stoner would look on a Lorenzo era Yamaha. Marc's not wrestling the Ducati anywhere near as much as he used to wrestle the Honda. He's tried and gone slower. He spoke a fair bit about that in the first few races. Pecco is on a Ducati, has been since day one in MotoGP. The Ducati needs to be ridden in...well Pecco is a great example.

It's fairly obvious that the GP24 has a significant advantage over the GP23. The actual advantage in time might be small but with the current state of MotoGP small advantages are significant. 

So far this year, on average, the GP23 sits behind Aprilia and the KTM, unless it's got Marc Marquez on it. Last year not. 

Politics pushes riders to declare that they are riding the best machine in the world.

However, I agree that Pecco has what it takes to fight.

I mean you are basically comparing privateers on GP23’s to the Factory Aprilia and KTM squads, which isn’t a valid comparison…..but still Digia is ahead of Aleix and Miller and within cooee of Binder.  Let’s not talk about Oliveira and the Fernandez’s in a different postcode down the ladder…

But it’s just not that cut and dried to say that because the GP24 leapt out of one corner that it is in a different galaxy. All the comparisons are with Marc who rides on the front wheel, I mean look how much ground he makes up on the brakes. That is his preferred racing style bike setup.

But there is no such thing as a free lunch: that style and setup compromises exit speed.

If you are going to say the GP24 has better drive based on the difference to Marc on the GP23 then the corresponding argument is that the GP23 is better under brakes with Marc’s recent charge’s through the field being good proof.

 

Set-up and line choice according to that set-up; you can't have it all. (Unless you're a rookie on a red autrian bike that is. I always wonder at what PA can do, coming in hot and pulling the apex like he had it tied at the end of a bungee, then still get a strong drive out...)

Neil Morrison said on the Sunday eve podcast that he thinks the '24 Ducati is much better than the '23. His views have been as spot on as anyone's over time methinks.

Not needing to take anything away from Pecco. He is masterful. SO planful and analytical, measured, focused...as well as brave and robust. He has assembled skill and knowledge, sure of his intelligent competence. I respect what he has done. So different than Marc the barbarian! The man is possessed. Born as a flaming rocket with arms and legs that got wheels. I am astounded by what he is. Fun to have them both, quite like the variety.

And put them down in a much better fashion than I could have ever hoped to.

I think that unfortunately we'll have to wait until Pecco retires for him to be properly appreciated. The idea that actually he isn't that good and he only does well because of <your external factor here> has been deeply buried within the MotoGP fandom's collective conceptions, and the more absurd it looks when compared with reality, the crazier the mental gymnastics are.

The bit about the new starting device is such a perfect example, and it's absolutely sending me: Pecco hardly makes up places on launches, almost all of them are due to overtakes on the first laps, see Qatar, Jerez, Mugello or even this very race!

This comment took me places. Casey Stoner attacking turn 3 Philip Island is one of the most beautiful things not just MotoGP but on the planet. His being unbeatable at that track throughout the time he raced there- I was not even watching MotoGP then- that's a pretty giant feat. 

Subtle taste? Perhaps it takes a while for people to appreciate quieter complexity. 

Swaths of people insta-love cheeseburgers or AC/DC, but it takes a bit from fewer folks over time to dig Mozart or a zesty shrimp salad? 

Love your analogies Motoshrink! But for me, Pecco was never an acquired taste. I loved him from the get go. I guess I’m not a cheeseburger, AC/DC kind of guy. That said, I actually love cheeseburgers and AC/DC! And I’m not really into classical music. Probably because it’s a bit too complicated for my simple brain. ;-)

First of all, Pecco 'deserves' all the credit here. How many GP 24's are on the grid? Only TWO are at the pointy end: Jorge and Pecco! Enough said.

Obviously, the 24 bike is better then the 23. If it wasn't, Pecco and Jorge would be riding the 23. At the first two tests, both riders said the 24 was better everywhere. That totality adds up during a lap. The major difference, I see, is on corner exit. The 24 bike just jumps out of the corners. If you watch Marc, following a 24, he always makes up ground on corner ENTRY and loses ground on corner EXIT. Watch it in slo-mo.... No one on a 23 bike is pushing the 24's but Marc. NO ONE! If folks think Marc wouldn't be seriously in the mix on a 24 you're not watching the same races I am. 

David, as usual a great write up. However can you explain the four tenths between GP23 and 24? Honestly, I heard Pirro, Borsoi and another guy I can't remember the name not this adamant about differences. Specifically such a huge difference. 

And I agree with some of the comments above: enough with this storytelling about Pecco winning because he has a superior bike and that MM with the same bike would destroy him... We do not know! 

What I think though, is that the new boys on the track learnt their lesson from MM and have no reverential problem with holding steady, and using the same barging techniques deployed by Marc himself during his reign... I'm not saying I enjoy it but I would call it poetic justice. The funny part is that MM first underlpays it saying  it's normal, it's racing... However he will keep on repeating it until it becomes a thing... Expecially with the Italian and Spanish press

 

I heard Simon on an After the Flag episode say that he estimates that the GP23 is down about 25 horsepower on the GP24. Presumably this would show up in a straight drag race. The variables on the track include the rider (obviously) with their different strengths and weaknesses, starting position, traffic with which to contend, etc. etc. I think it shows in acceleration out of corners, as mentioned by GB43, coupled, no doubt, with different rider styles.

I think Diggia is coming to terms with the GP23 as well.

Pecco is one with the machine. MM always has had to beat the machine into submission. Maybe for this reason Pecco is seen as "lesser". 

I hope he beats MM straight up next year and cements his own legacy. 

 

 

Just wondering what is going on at KTM, as the results over the last one and a half years levelled off at a minor but clear margin behind the leader of the pack. All the communication  over this time sounded cozy and optimistic and now within a few weeks half of the riders got booted and Sterlacchini got kicked with immediate effect - as far as i understood. I can't judge their management antics fairly, is it bad management in itself or just management routines that happen at other manufacturers as well and it is inferior communication that is leaked outside over several internal channels. As they are now steadily hitting a barrier in performance to reach the top manufacturer. I guess there is still a technical roadblock with holding on to Whitepower equipment, where Oehlins is prime.