had chosen a soft front tire, but
he blamed fading rear grip for
dropping back by the end. At the
same time, teammate Andrea
Dovizioso had never been in the
picture. They finished sixth and
seventh, respectively.
The winners were both factory
Movistar Yamahas. Valentino
Rossi ran a flawless race to fin-
ish second, his best result of the
season, while teammate Maver-
ick Vinales, once again, strug-
gled and lost ground in the early
stages, only to come storming
through to third at the end.
His last victim, denied a
VOL. 55 ISSUE 28 JULY 17, 2018 P49
Marc Marquez and the Sachsenring in
Germany go together like jam and donuts.
This year, he took his ninth consecutive
German Grand Prix victory in what may be
the last MotoGP race held at the circuit
NINE
second podium of the year, had
been Alma Pramac Ducati's
Danilo Petrucci, who had rallied
impressively at the finish, only to
have third stolen with two laps
to go.
Another strong ride saw Alvaro
Bautista (Angel Nieto Ducati),
facing the imminent end of his
grand prix career, come storm-
ing through to fifth, taking the
place from Lorenzo with three
laps left.
For Marquez, it had been
harder than it looked, after he'd
waited in the early laps to get his
hard front tire up to temperature.
There's no one better around
the tight and twisty German
venue than Marc Marquez. He
proved it once again in 2018.
