> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # German Grand Prix 2023 MotoGP rider rankings - URL: https://www.the-race.com/motogp/german-grand-prix-2023-motogp-rider-rankings/ - Published: 2023-06-19T10:23:26.000Z - Updated: 2023-09-15T16:59:20.000Z - Description: There’s a clear winner in our Sachsenring MotoGP rider rankings – but the most talked about rider of the weekend is at the opposite end of the table - Author: Simon Patterson - Tags: MotoGP, #image-bottom-center Heading towards this year’s German Grand Prix, we all expected one thing and one thing only: Marc Marquez domination. The Repsol Honda rider had been the undisputed king of the Sachsenring as long as he’s been in MotoGP, undefeated every time he started a race there. Yet this year he wasn’t even competitive (and wasn’t even there by the time the Sunday race started), leaving the door open for a new star to emerge in the vacuum. But, while number one on this week’s rankings list might be abundantly clear (as is probably last position as well), there are still plenty of talking points within the field Scoring the grid in order based on their performances not just in the main event but also Saturday’s sprint race, the rankings are obviously all subjective – but come not just from their final race results but taking into account things like the machinery they’re on and the pre-race expectations. ### 1 Jorge Martin **Started:** 6th **Sprint:** 1st **Race:** 1st ![Jorge Martin Pramac Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/SI202306180330.jpg) Until fairly recently, there was something of a standard expectation of Jorge Martin. Blisteringly fast in qualifying and aggressive in the opening laps of races, he’d turn a front row start into a brilliant few laps and then either fade back through the pack, or, worse, crash out hard. Sunday’s race rather conclusively proved that version of Martin is gone, replaced with a new, more consistent and mature guy who has absolutely launched himself into title contention. Holding his cool in the closing laps while under attack from Pecco Bagnaia was quite the feat, and combined with his recent run of results, it’s hard not to see this as his new standard level going forward. ### 2 Johann Zarco **Started:** 4th **Sprint:** 5th **Race:** 3rd ![Johann Zarco Pramac Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/SI202306180328.jpg) There’s no better way to answer speculation about your future than to finish on the podium, again. Sure, Johann Zarco’s maiden MotoGP win might remain an elusive thing, but how on earth could anyone even countenance sending him to World Superbikes next year when he’s returning consistent podium after podium in the premier class? ### 3 Luca Marini **Started:** 2nd **Sprint:** 4th **Race:** 5th ![Luca Marini VR46 Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/lmarini_2023_motogp_sachsenring_vaclavduskajr_03297.jpg) If there’s one rider who is the role model for hard work paying off, it’s got to be VR46 Ducati racer Luca Marini, whose slow but steady chipping away at MotoGP is finally starting to yield consistent results. Especially promising at the Sachsenring, though, has got to be the fact that he had the match of hard-charging team-mate Marco Bezzecchi. It bodes well for what’s to come and it’s hard not to see Marini standing on the top step of a podium before too much longer. ### 4 Jack Miller **Started:** 3rd **Sprint:** 3rd **Race:** 6th ![Jack Miller KTM Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/Jack-Miller-KTM-MotoGP-2023-Germany-Sunday.jpg) It wasn’t an easy weekend at the Sachsenring to be someone not on a Ducati – only Jack Miller was able to break its monopoly with two impressive results for KTM. The sprint podium was an unexpected treat, and while he might have done the usual Miller trick of sliding back a little in the main race, he was nonetheless the only rider able to split the Italian bikes at the front and prevent absolute and complete domination of the weekend. ### 5 Pecco Bagnaia **Started:** 1st **Sprint:** 2nd **Race:** 2nd ![Pecco Bagnaia Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/JRB0892_UC525876_High.jpg) Look, it’s obviously tough to argue that a pair of second places are a bad result for someone fighting to retain a title this year, and Bagnaia certainly didn’t finish either race looking particularly disappointed with himself. But while he might have scored a healthy collection of points, he also conceded a fair chunk to the on-form Martin. Though that might not be too much of an issue at this point in the season, it’s a trend he’s eventually going to have to reverse if he wants to keep the MotoGP trophy sitting on his mantlepiece. ### 6 Enea Bastianini **Started:** 11th **Sprint:** 10th **Race:** 8th ![Enea Bastianini Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/Bastianini-_3__UC525284_High.jpg) Not an amazing weekend for Enea Bastianini, but a useful one to remind the grid that he’s still there and is still fast, as he continues his return from a championship-wrecking injury at the opening round of the season. [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/SI202306180372-300x200.jpg)](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/bombshell-2024-motogp-rider-swap-option-available-to-ducati/) Bombshell 2024 MotoGP rider swap option available to Ducati [Read more](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/bombshell-2024-motogp-rider-swap-option-available-to-ducati/) Still obviously not physically strong enough to be competitive and lacking bike time compared to his rivals, he’s nonetheless playing catch-up now. Once he gets Assen and the summer break out of the way, these results are enough to suggest that he’ll start back where he left off at the end of 2022. ### 7 Miguel Oliveira **Started:** 16th **Sprint:** 16th **Race:** 10th ![Miguel Oliveira RNF Aprilia Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1054259.jpg) Coming to the Sachsenring, a circuit where nine of its 11 corners are left-handers, was never going to be easy for the still-recovering Miguel Oliveira with an injury that was going to hurt him more when turning left – so to do what he did is rather impressive. Riding, according to his team boss, with one hand tied behind his back thanks to his ongoing shoulder injury recovery, it bodes well for what the Portuguese rider will be capable of once he returns to full fitness after the upcoming summer break. ### 8 Augusto Fernandez **Started:** 15th **Sprint:** 14th **Race:** 11th ![Augusto Fernandez Tech3 Gas Gas Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/Augusto-Fernandez-2023-GASGAS-MotoGP-Germany-Saturday.jpg) At a time when there’s endless speculation about what the future holds for KTM’s rider line-up next year, you’ve got to give significant credit to what Augusto Fernandez is doing on the Gas Gas-branded bike. [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/SI202306100305-300x200.jpg)](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/ktm-must-keep-its-best-motogp-talent-even-if-its-unpopular/) KTM must keep its best MotoGP talent – even if it’s unpopular [Read more](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/ktm-must-keep-its-best-motogp-talent-even-if-its-unpopular/) Chipping away weekend after weekend, he’s established himself as an impressively consistent points-scorer. He’s looking like someone who’s going to be increasingly hard for the occasionally mercenary Austrian manufacturer to get rid of. ### 9 Marco Bezzecchi **Started:** 5th **Sprint:** 7th **Race:** 4th ![Marco Bezzecchi VR46 Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1054674.jpg) We’ve got used to seeing Bezzecchi at the sharp end of MotoGP races this year, meaning that it’s a cross he’s made for his own back that seventh and fourth is now seen as disappointing for him. But, with something missing compared to the trio of Ducatis in front of him and, unusually, compared to VR46 team-mate Marini (at least in early-race pace), it was Bezzecchi far from his best at the Sachsenring. ### 10 Aleix Espargaro **Started:** 10th **Sprint:** 9th **Race:** 16th ![Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053389.jpg) Rather mediocre all round from the 2022 podium contender. Aleix Espargaro was quick to pin the blame for the poor weekend not on the state of his own Aprilia but the relative strength of rivals’ Ducatis, insisting that right now the RS-GPs are simply being outclassed. That’s somewhat backed up by his team-mates’ results, because while it might not have been the weekend that Espargaro – nursing not just a heel injury but two broken ribs as well [from his dumb Mugello accident](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/espargaro-in-agony-at-mugello-after-on-the-phone-bike-crash/) – was hoping for, his one small consolation is that he ended it in much better form than struggling team-mate Maverick Vinales. ### 11 Taka Nakagami **Started:** 18th **Sprint:** 17th **Race:** 14th ![Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1052974.jpg) You can’t really blame Taka Nakagami for wanting to take it easy at the Sachsenring, after getting a front seat view of his Honda RC213V’s attempts to launch Marc Marquez into orbit in Sunday morning warm-up. [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1054292-300x200.jpg)](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/marquezs-crash-left-hondas-last-motogp-man-standing-scared/) Marquez’s crash left Honda’s last MotoGP man standing scared [Read more](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/marquezs-crash-left-hondas-last-motogp-man-standing-scared/) Himself a victim of the bike earlier in the weekend – in a crash that risked worsening a long-term finger injury – it’s pretty obvious that he understood early on what Marquez didn’t. The realisation in question was that even seeing a chequered flag at the German track was going to involve settling for some rather disappointing results. ### 12 Brad Binder **Started:** 9th **Sprint:** 6th **Race:** DNF ![Brad Binder KTM Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/Brad-Binder-KTM-MotoGP-2023-Germany-Sunday.jpg) We’ve grown accustomed to seeing Brad Binder at the sharp end of MotoGP races lately. But one thing we’ve definitely not seen is both him being conclusively outclassed by team-mate Miller and making mistakes. After looking far from his usual level of sprint race competitiveness on Saturday, Sunday’s race was a little better until he threw away a third place, an error that already risks being terminal for any lingering title aspirations. ### 13 Alex Marquez **Started:** 8th **Sprint:** 8th **Race:** 7th ![Alex Marquez Gresini Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053989.jpg) Aside from a Friday crash, it was, in all honesty, a bit of a quiet weekend for Alex Marquez at the Sachsenring, with the Gresini Ducati rider not exactly setting the world alight with his performances. Partly born out of a desire to see the finish line after a number of punishingly tough weekends that weren’t necessarily his own fault, there was a feeling that something was certainly missing from his riding. ### 14 Jonas Folger **Started:** 20th **Sprint:** DNF **Race:** 17th ![Jonas Folger Tech3 Gas Gas Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/Jonas-Folger-2023-GASGAS-MotoGP-Germany-Sunday.jpg) Yet another average race weekend for Pol Espargaro’s injury replacement, with Jonas Folger [once again well off the pace](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/folgers-motogp-comeback-is-beginning-to-look-pointless/) and last in most sessions by a substantial margin. He also wasn’t able to finish the sprint – although that at least wasn’t his own fault but rather the result of a technical problem with the Tech3 Gas Gas machine. ### 15 Franco Morbidelli **Started:** 17th **Sprint:** 15th **Race:** 12th ![Franco Morbidelli Yamaha Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/fmorbidelli_2023_motogp_mugello_vaclavduskajr_00641.jpg) Obviously finishing outside the top 10 isn’t what former championship contender Franco Morbidelli came to the Sachsenring to do, yet at least compared to previous races there are a few positives here and there to take from his weekend. Able to make forward progress on both a bike and a circuit that aren’t conducive to overtaking, he also finished ahead of team-mate Fabio Quartararo, a small win in the ‘Yamaha Cup’ as Morbidelli himself sardonically christened their intra-team battles. ### 16 Fabio Di Giannantonio **Started:** 14th **Sprint:** 12th Race: 9th ![Fabio Di Giannantonio Gresini Ducati Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053377.jpg) On one hand, Sunday’s race was one of the best results of Gresini rider Fabio Di Giannantonio’s MotoGP career. But, when there are eight Ducatis finishing inside the top nine and you’re still the last one of them, it’s perhaps not the [advertisement for your future](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/gresini-motogp-struggler-looks-doomed-against-in-form-alternative/) that it might seem to be, and it’s hardly a weekend of performances likely to have secured his spot with the squad for next year. ### 17 Fabio Quartararo **Started:** 12th **Sprint:** 13th **Race:** 13th ![Fabio Quartararo Yamaha Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/fquartararo_2023_motogp_sachsenring_vaclavduskajr_02860.jpg) We know, of course, that the Yamaha isn’t an easy bike to perform on this year, and there was clearly something of an element of self-preservation for the 2022 German GP winner Quartararo. [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053154-300x200.jpg)](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/quartararo-already-not-confident-about-2024-met-yamaha-chief/) Quartararo already ‘not confident’ about 2024, met Yamaha chief [Read more](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/quartararo-already-not-confident-about-2024-met-yamaha-chief/) But while that’s all well and good in the context of the season, he still can’t let himself get beaten by his team-mate – especially when a soft-tyre gamble meant he went backwards in the race while Morbidelli was able to come from a substantially worse position to overhaul the Frenchman. ### 18 Raul Fernandez **Started:** 19th **Sprint:** 18th **Race:** 15th ![Raul Fernandez RNF Aprilia Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053365.jpg) There are plenty of caveats to Raul Fernandez’s results of late, such as a slumping Aprilia and the might of the Ducatis. But the stark reality is that he really shouldn’t be getting beaten by a team-mate who essentially has one arm tied behind his back by injury. Fernandez wasn’t just outclassed by Oliveira at the Sachsenring though, he was thoroughly embarrassed by most of the grid, and it’s perhaps no wonder there are rumours about his future even as he sits with a two-year deal with the RNF squad. ### 19 Maverick Viñales **Started:** 13th **Sprint:** DNF **Race:** DNF ![Maverick Vinales Aprilia Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1054328.jpg) Vinales has turned into something of an invisible man recently, both in the paddock and on track. Never once featuring during the sprint race before crashing out and absent from the main event with engine problems early on, it’s a continuation of the disappearing act that the Aprilia rider performed at Mugello as well, and it’s quite telling about the mood he’s in that he’s completely stopped talking to the media. ### 20 Marc Marquez **Started:** 7th **Sprint:** 11th **Race:** DNS ![Marc Marquez Honda Sachsenring MotoGP](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053978.jpg) It’s rare to see a weekend in MotoGP so utterly self-destructive as Marc Marquez’s was at the Sachsenring. It’s pretty apparent that he went to Germany with a win-it-or-bin-it mentality and expected to find a Honda at least somewhat compliant to his wishes. [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/the-race-com.appspot.com/1/2023/06/1053983-300x200.jpg)](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/marquez-honda-shouldnt-end-like-this-but-it-now-has-to-end/) Marquez/Honda shouldn’t end like this – but it now has to end [Read more](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/marquez-honda-shouldnt-end-like-this-but-it-now-has-to-end/) Instead, he found something rather more rigid and, rather than accept the limitations, tried to force a square peg into a round hole all weekend. The end result is a trail of broken bikes and a freshly injured rider. Again.