Marquez wins German MotoGP

Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP world championship for the first time this year after winning the German Grand Prix.

Marquez beat rookie Jonas Folger, who finished on the podium for the first time in MotoGP on home soil, and Dani Pedrosa rounded out the top three.

Under overcast skies, Marquez led his Repsol Honda team-mate Pedrosa through the opening corners, while Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) quickly shot from sixth to third, ahead of Folger and Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Ducati).

While the factory Hondas initially eked out an early gap, Folger quickly disposed of Lorenzo and caught second-placed Pedrosa on Lap 4.

The Tech 3 Yamaha tyro then passed both Pedrosa and Marquez on Turn 12, on Laps 5 and 6 respectively, to lead his home race.

Pedrosa had dropped back to more than two seconds adrift of the front two by the end of Lap 10, but Zarco couldn’t lose Marquez.

Instead, the defending champion reclaimed the lead a lap later, Folger sticking with #93 until the dying stages when Marquez pulled away to take his second win of the season and become the third different championship leader in as many races.

The Movistar Yamahas of Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Rossi started well, up from ninth on the grid to sixth on Lap 1, but lost touch with the front-runners as he battled with the likes of Petrucci, Lorenzo, Aleix Espargaro (Gresini Aprilia), and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), in the early stages.

Around the Lap 18 mark, he was involved in an entertaining duel with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) before Viñales soon joined the party, having started 11th.

Viñales passed Dovizioso for fifth on Lap 19, then Rossi for fourth on Lap 20, and eventually edged away from his veteran team-mate.

Alvaro Bautista (Aspar Ducati) rose to sixth by the chequered flag, ahead of Aleix Espargaro and Dovizioso.

Johann Zarco (Tech 3 Yamaha) gained 10 positions over the course of the race to finish ninth and Crutchlow took 10th.

On soft tyres, instead of the more conventional medium option, Lorenzo eventually faded to 11th, one position ahead of Petrucci.

The first two of three Red Bull KTMs in Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith followed, with Jack Miller (Marc VDS Honda) last of the points finishers in 15th.

Alex Rins was the last finisher in 21st, while his team-mate Andrea Iannone capped off another poor afternoon for Suzuki when he crashed at Turn 12 with five laps remaining.

In Moto2, Franco Morbidelli took victory as Remy Gardner finished 12th.

MotoGP now takes its winter break before resuming in the Czech Republic on August 4-6.

Race results: German Grand Prix

Championship points: After Round 9