VOLUME 56 ISSUE 27 JULY 9, 2019 P69
in qualifying, was already up to
11th behind Lorenzo Baldassarri
(Flex-Box HP40 Kalex), and on
the charge.
A lap-two slip by Schrotter
dropped the German to fifth,
and it was Lecuona in the lead
for the next five laps, belying
the supposed failings of his
low-level KTM.
Marquez, meantime, had
recovered from being bumped
by his all-action teammate Xavi
Vierge and had taken second
from Marini on lap four. Now he
started skirmishing with Lecu-
ona, finally getting the better
of it to lead over the line for the
first time on lap seven. There
he would stay to the end.
Binder was continuing to
force his way forward. He took
third from Vierge on lap ten,
and was firmly past Lecuona
one lap later and leaning on
Marquez. "I really enjoyed the
first half of the race," he said
to the current one. Perhaps it is
slower, but you know how it will
react." He had done more laps
over the two days on the current
chassis. "With the new chassis,
we know the positives and nega-
tives, and it's possible the nega-
tive things can cause a crash. We
need more information."
DOOHAN'S
THOUGHTS
One week ago, Mick Doohan
commented that Fabio Quartararo
was achieving his speed without
understanding a MotoGP bike,
but "just riding the wheels off
the thing." At Sachsenring, the
20-year-old Frenchman proved
him right, after a potentially
seriously injurious indiscretion
left him with a briefly dislocated
shoulder, and probably new
respect for the Yamaha M1.
Doohan's comment was not a
criticism. He continued by saying:
"We've all been there. But he's
doing it better than we did."
MORE LEAN, PLEASE
Marc Marquez broke his
own best-lap record at the
Sachsenring and in the process
set a new one for another aspect
of performance. During practice,
his Repsol Honda recorded an
astonishing 66 degrees of lean
while rounding the tight second-
gear Omega right-hander early on
the lap of the smallest, shortest
and most concentrated circuit of
the year. It was further than even
he wanted to go, he said.
Briefly...
Marquez (center) heads into
the summer break with a two-
race buffer on everyone else.
