The Empire Strikes Back - Repsol Honda 1-2 In Germany

Just twelve months ago Marc Marquez went into the summer break having just won his ninth consecutive race of the season. Fast-forward one year and he leaves Germany with just his second win and a 65-point deficit in the world championship standings.

But the German Grand Prix, a track that should have caused a lot of problems for Honda after the troubles they have endured so far this season, showed that the factory team are not out of it just yet. Marc Marquez dominated the entire weekend, from practice to the race he was untouchable.

The Spaniard didn't get the best of starts, but by the fifth lap had regained the lead from Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo at the final turn and powered off into the distance, lapping in consistent 1:21s for much of the contest.

“I am very happy with this victory. I've been chasing it hard over the last few races. In Assen we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel; after Barcelona which was very hard, I felt good on the bike again thanks to the changes we made (Marquez is running the 2014 chassis with 2015 engine and swingarm). We have confirmed that they worked here at this circuit, but I wanted to be cautious because I am aware that this circuit has always been very good for me and also for Honda. We have to keep working, because on the laps that I did behind Lorenzo I saw that in some aspects that they were stronger than us. Let's see if we can continue improving at the Misano test next week.”

Dani Pedrosa's season has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions; arm pump problems in Qatar meant surgery was imminent and that could have been the end of his career. Then he quashed all speculation with a podium in Barcelona. Pedrosa showed that he can still mix it with the top guys in Germany after fighting with Valentino Rossi for much of the race. The Spaniard moved ahead of the Italian with fourteen laps to go and pulled the pin in the final five laps to consolidate a fine 2nd place finish at a track he is the most successful around.

Though the championship is well out of reach for Dani this year, he may just have a part to play. With him back up to full fitness, the team could employ him as Marc Marquez' tail-gunner in the second half of the season should the reigning champion be in a position to retain his crown. And if not, Dani could still be a thorn in the side of the Yamaha duo as he is out to prove that he can still win and won't take too much notice in the fight behind, which could have a massive bearing on the outcome of the 2015 season.

“I'm so happy – above all with how we finished the race as I rode very strongly. I was under a lot of pressure from Valentino and, although it had been a while since I had last fought with him and he is very difficult to beat, I gave it my all and was able to finish ahead of him. I rode much better at the end and it is the first race this season in which I kept up a good pace until the finish. It's true that here the bike had less of a handicap that at other tracks, due to the type of circuit it is, but at the test next week we have to work hard because both Jorge and Valentino were much closer today than in other years here. We'll see if we can find something for the second half of the season to make us more competitive.”

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