Stefan Bradl ends German GP in 16th
A gruelling German Grand Prix came to a lacklustre end for the Repsol Honda Team with Bradl in 16th as pain forces Pol Espargaro to retire.
Home hero Stefan Bradl finished on the edge of the points after gritting his teeth through a physically demanding German GP. Crossing the line in 16th, Bradl completed the race and gained more data for Honda HRC as they continue to work on improving the Honda RC213V.
Unfortunately, Pol Espargaro’s injuries from his falls in Free Practice 1 proved too much in combination with the heat and the length of the race, forcing his retirement. An impressive launch off the line had the #44 battling for the top ten but he was forced to watch on as he slowly dropped through the field as the pain increased.
The Repsol Honda Team now head directly to Assen for the eleventh race of the season before the mid-year Summer Break.
Stefan Bradl (16th)
“Today is a sad day, I had a big issue with riding the bike in this heat. After following people for the first few corners, I couldn’t brake because my right hand, the lever, became so hot and I couldn’t control the bike. After a couple of laps, I had to drop back to get some fresh air for the bike and for my body. I just tried to finish the race, it was physically more than on the limit and I also have a burn on my right foot because it was so hot. It’s not acceptable to have this situation, we need to improve it. Luckily in Assen we have a chance to fix this problem.”
Pol Espargaro (DNF)
“It was a tough weekend already and then today was another hard day. The ribs just need time to recover but putting more stress on them each day doesn’t help. I tried to do what I could in the race, but the pain got worse and worse and with the heat, I was struggling to breathe. We also had a lot of heat on my right foot which added to the pain. I had to retire; the pain was too extreme. Now I will go home and recover there, the rib injury is similar to what I had in Valencia last year so I know how to deal with them a bit. Three days is not a lot before Assen, but it is what it is.”
Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland – Race Results
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
| 1 | BAGNAIA FRANCESCO | 62 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1’19.931 |
| 1 | QUARTARARO FABIO | 20 | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 41’12.816 |
| 2 | ZARCO JOHANN | 5 | FRA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 4.939 |
| 3 | MILLER JACK | 43 | AUS | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 8.372 |
| 4 | ESPARGARO ALEIX | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 9.113 |
| 5 | MARINI LUCA | 10 | ITA | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 11.679 |
| 6 | MARTIN JORGE | 89 | SPA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 13.164 |
| 7 | BINDER BRAD | 33 | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 15.405 |
| 8 | DI GIANNANTONIO FABIO | 49 | ITA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 15.581 |
| 9 | OLIVEIRA MIGUEL | 88 | POR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 19.74 |
| 10 | BASTIANINI ENEA | 23 | ITA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 21.611 |
| 11 | BEZZECCHI MARCO | 73 | ITA | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 23.175 |
| 12 | FERNANDEZ RAUL | 25 | SPA | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 26.548 |
| 13 | MORBIDELLI FRANCO | 21 | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 29.014 |
| 14 | DOVIZIOSO ANDREA | 4 | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 30.68 |
| 15 | GARDNER REMY | 87 | AUS | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 30.812 |
| 16 | BRADL STEFAN | 6 | GER | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 52.04 |
| 17 | ESPARGARO POL | 44 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | DNF |
| 18 | VINALES MAVERICK | 12 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | DNF |
| 19 | NAKAGAMI TAKAAKI | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | DNF |
| 20 | MARQUEZ ALEX | 73 | SPA | LCR Honda | Honda | DNF |
| 21 | BINDER DARRYN | 40 | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | DNF |
| 22 | BAGNAIA FRANCESCO | 62 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | DNF |
| 23 | MIR JOAN | 36 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | DNF |
