As expected, the MotoGP race at the Sachsenring was a tragedy for Honda. Wildcard driver Stefan Bradl and his brand colleagues Joan Mir, Luca Marini, Johann Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami only managed three World Championship points between them over the weekend. Nevertheless, the weekend offered a lot to talk about, especially for Bradl.
Stefan Bradl: Incident like with Marc Marquez can happen
In training on Friday, Stefan Bradl did not manage to get past 21st place, so he had to compete in Q1. That’s exactly where he met Marc Marquez, who was doing his last fast lap shortly before the end of the session. After the corner, however, his former Honda colleague Bradl got in his way. Marquez had to abort his lap, and Bradl was given a 3-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix. “I would like to apologize to Marc again. I went to him immediately after the session and spoke to him personally,” explained the Zahlinger. “Such incidents can happen and I hold my hand up that it was my mistake.”
In the sprint, not much went right. After 15 laps, Bradl crossed the finish line in 19th place, 23 seconds behind winner Jorge Martin. At least the home hero was able to keep Honda regular Joan Mir well behind him. “In general, we were able to collect interesting data for the engineers today. That also applies to the sprint, where I spent most of the time with Joan [Mir] and Taka [Nakagami] could keep up,” said the 34-year-old happily.
Stefan Bradl: Pushed forward by the German record crowd
The 30-lap Grand Prix race was also unsuccessful for the German. He finished 18th, 43 seconds behind. Again he beat Joan Mir. The Honda team’s focus was not on the race result anyway, but on the testing work and the further development of the RC213. “Now we will take what we have learned and continue to work with the test team to build for the future,” explained Bradl after Sunday’s GP. “These weekends are not only useful for us, but also to better understand things about the other Hondas and the other motorcycles.”
A little later, however, there was another penalty. Bradl, Zarco and Augusto Fernandez had violated the tire pressure rule and under-inflated. According to the MotoGP rules, all three were given a 16-second penalty by the stewards – Bradl dropped from 18th to 20th place. A loss that is certainly bearable.
Nevertheless, the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring was a special MotoGP experience for Stefan Bradl. “It is always a great pleasure to drive at the Sachsenring. I have to thank the fans for their support this weekend,” said Bradl, raving about the record crowd at the Sachsenring. “I felt that on the track and every time I was in the paddock or at side events.”