Marquez moves to the top

HONDA’S Marc Marquez extended his reign as ‘King of the Sachsenring’ with an eighth successive win at the German Grand Prix that sent him back to the top of the MotoGP championship standings on Sunday.

The Spaniard, who has also started eight times in a row from pole position in Germany, was pushed hard by local hero Jonas Folger who finished a stirring second for the non-works Yamaha Tech3 team.

Folger, a rookie who started fifth, became the first German to stand on the podium in his home grand prix in the MotoGP era with his first top-three finish since graduating from the Moto2 class.

Dani Pedrosa, Marquez’s team mate and compatriot, finished a distant third.

The win was triple champion Marquez’s second of the season and sent him clear at the top with 129 points, five ahead of Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales, who finished fourth and is on 124 after nine races.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso, the previous leader, slipped to third on 123 points after crossing the line in eighth place. Compatriot Valentino Rossi, who finished fifth, is fourth overall on 119 points.

Marquez’s run of success at the Sachsenring, near Chemnitz, started in 2010 when he was in the 125cc category. He won in Moto2 in 2011 and 2012 before his streak of five victories in MotoGP.

South Africa’s Brad Binder (KTM) continued his steady improvement after returning from recent injury by finishing seventh in the Moto2 race. It was the reigning Moto3 champion’s best result since moving to the intermediate class at the beginning of the year.

His brother Darryn Binder finished tenth in Sunday’s Moto3 entry-level class.

- Reuters and Motoring Staff