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MOTOGP MOTOGP / FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8 / JULY 16, 2016 SACHSENRING CIRCUIT / SAXONY, GERMANY P66 Even before his seventh race win there, Marc Marquez's record at the Sachsenring was unique. He had achieved six consecutive race wins in all three classes, all of them from pole position—and he added a seventh pole this year. The title leader, who admits to taking a "more careful" approach to racing this year, after accumulating points for a string of second places, had a two-fold explanation. Firstly, the predominance of left-hand cor- ners—10 out of 13 on the intense shortest lap of the season—played to his training on anti-clockwise dirt tracks. Secondly, "it's like a karting track, where I did a lot of practice when I was young." While the shortest circuit on the calendar is popular with fans— 93,000 on race day—and many riders enjoy its quirky nature, it is generally held to be too tight for MotoGP bikes, and the future of the German GP at the traditional Saxony venue is in doubt. While the contract for the German Grand Prix was renewed until 2021, the venue for next year's race has not yet been confirmed, with Dorna chief Ezpeleta promising an an- nouncement in the coming weeks. The Nürburgring or the Lausitzring mooted as possible alternatives, but the sports president of the sanctioning club, ADAC, sounded a note of hope. "We are already on the home straight in our nego- tiations with the Sachsenring," he said. At the same time, Dorna an- nounced that Finland is due to join the MotoGP calendar in 2018, with the new Kymiring circuit already under construction. Indonesia and Thailand are also likely to join the calendar shortly. Michelin had brought an asym- metric front tire to Germany, which found favor with all rid- ers. It was not the French com- pany's first, but the first since its return. Bridgestone also devel- oped an asymmetric front for the Sachsenring (and Phillip Island), with the second iteration also proving popular after problems under braking with the first. Un- like the Japanese tire, however, the Michelin continued the softer compound over the centre of the tire, with only a strip of harder compound on the left. Bridges- tone's solution had been the other way round. Marquez spoke for all, saying: "This is the right circuit for this tire. The Suzuki riders tested it at Valencia, but it is my first time. With Bridgestone there were some problems at first, but afterwards it was better." All Mahindra riders in Moto3 had the benefit of a new gearbox—ho- mologated in haste after success- ful tests over recent weeks—solv- ing a shifting problem that has afflicted the new-this-year ma- chine from the start of the season. Mahindra Racing CEO Mufaddal Choonia had a colorful explanation of how the only Indian machine in championship racing had been im- proved. The old gearbox, he said, "had some problems—it slipped out of gear once in a while or shift- ed into neutral by itself. It seemed to have a mind of its own. So we have taken the mind out of it. Now it is just a gearbox." The reception was universally favorable. Luckless Stefan Bradl missed his home GP for a second year in succession, after a crash in wet morning warm-up left him suffer- ing a concussion. The Aprilia rider and teammate Alvaro Bautista, both facing an uncertain future, had further upgrades to the Italian company's development machine, including an engine with better midrange. Australian son of a champion Remy Gardner's role as part-time replacement in the Tasca Moto2 team has become permanent, with the 18-year-old set to see out the season after two "one-off" rides at the previous two races. He re- warded the team with four points for 11th place to add to the single point he scored in Catalunya. "It was fixed up during this weekend," he said, adding that he would now abandon his Spanish CEV cham- pionship campaign, where he had already won a race. Gardner's weekend started under a minor cloud; he was banned from the first 20 minutes of free practice because he had taken part in a lo- cal Sachsen Cup race at the cir- cuit inside the two-week minimum prescribed by the rules. Since he was not at that stage a permanent rider, "extenuating circumstances" meant a token punishment. Briefly...

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