2021 MotoGP German GP – how to watch, session times & more
MotoGP travels to the Sachsenring for the eighth round of the 2021 world championship season, the German Grand Prix, for the first leg of a double-header before the summer break.
After a dramatic Catalunya MotoGP where Miguel Oliveira delivered the third premier class win of his career, and his first for the factory KTM squad, the title battle tightened up at the top as Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco secured second place to close the gap to leader Fabio Quartararo to 14 points.
Quartararo had an eventful Barcelona race, initially penalised for exceeding track limits in the closing stages, before being given a further post-race penalty for riding with his racing leather suit opened. The two penalties dropped the factory Yamaha rider down to sixth place in the final classification.
Jack Miller return to the rostrum in Catalunya for Ducati in third place, to move up to that same position in the MotoGP riders’ standings, while defending world champion Joan Mir bagged another solid points haul in fourth place as the lone Suzuki rider, after Alex Rins was ruled out before the race weekend due to a broken right arm.
After last year’s German GP was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all eyes will be on Marc Marquez given his flawless record at the Sachsenring.
The Honda rider is undefeated at the German track since joining the premier class back in 2013 – making it seven consecutive MotoGP wins – while his total haul is 10 wins at the Sachsenring counting back to his Moto2 and 125cc days.
After crashing out of the last three races, and his best result during his comeback remaining seventh place at the Portuguese GP, the German round provides Marquez with the perfect opportunity to return to fighting at the front.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, race start, flares
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
2021 German MotoGP session timings
MotoGP will run its standard schedule across the German GP weekend, with two practice sessions on Friday that will run for 45 minutes each. On Saturday third practice will also run for 45 minutes, with the top 10 on the combined FP1-2-3 timesheet automatically entering into Q2 of qualifying. A final 30-minute FP4 session is held on Saturday afternoon ahead of qualifying.
Q1 of qualifying sees all riders who did not finish in the top 10 of the combined practice times take part, with the top two finishers progressing into Q2 alongside the top 10 who gained an automatic spot via their practice times.
Q2 is the pole position shootout which decides the order of the front four rows, with the rest of the grid organised on Q1 times, for the German GP on Sunday.
Moto2 and Moto3 are also in action during the German GP.
Friday 18th June 2021
Free Practice 1: 8:55am-09:40am BST (9:55am-10:40am local)
Free Practice 2: 1:10pm-1:55pm BST (2:10pm-2:55pm local)
Saturday 19th June 2021
Free Practice 3: 8:55am-9:40am BST (9:55am-10:40am local)
Free Practice 4: 12:30pm-1:00pm BST (1:30pm-2:00pm local)
Qualifying: 1:10pm-1:50pm BST (2:10pm-2:50pm local)
Sunday 20th June 2021
Warm Up: 8:40am-09:00am BST (9:40am-10:00am local)
Race: 1:00pm BST (2:00pm local)
Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
How can I watch the German MotoGP?
• Channel: BT Sport 2
• Channel numbers: Sky – 414 (BT Sport 2)
• Channel numbers: Virgin Media – 528 (BT Sport 2)
BT Sport’s live coverage of Sunday’s action starts with the warm-up sessions at 7:30am, taken from the world feed, before switching to its own broadcast at 9:15am for the pre-race show ahead of the Moto3 race.
The build-up to the MotoGP race starts from 12:30pm, or when the Moto3 race finishes, ahead of lights out at 1:00pm. To avoid clashing with Formula 1’s French GP, the MotoGP German GP is being run before the Moto2 race.
Can I stream the German MotoGP?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can also stream the German GP by purchasing a video pass from MotoGP.com. A one-off video pass, the remainder of the 2021 MotoGP season, costs £128.56p.
The video pass gives access to every live session, qualifying and race, plus world feed content and the chance to watch previous races.
Weather forecast for the German MotoGP
The Sachsenring is set for hot and dry conditions throughout the weekend, starting sunny on Friday and Saturday, but with a chance of cloudy weather on Sunday and a small chance of rain. Highs of 29 degrees Celsius are forecast on race day, which is around five degrees warmer than the Catalunya GP.
Most German MotoGP winners (premier class only)
Giacomo Agostini: 8 wins (500cc – 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976)
Marc Marquez: 7 wins (MotoGP – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Valentino Rossi: 4 wins (MotoGP – 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009)
Dani Pedrosa: 4 wins (MotoGP – 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Mick Doohan: 4 wins (500cc – 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998)
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