A dramatic crash on the third from last lap for Pol Espargaró handed the 125cc Championship leader victory at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, as he became the first ride since Valentino Rossi in 1997 to win five or more successive races in the category.

Marc Márquez’s dominance of the 125cc class continued on Sunday at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, where the 17 year-old Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider benefitted from a late crash for Pol Espargaró to take a fifth consecutive win, with Tomoyoshi Koyama and Sandro Cortese completing the podium in a thrilling contest.

It was a noticeably nervy grid prior to the start of the race as riders and teams tried to best judge what tyre combinations to go for, with the wet track fast drying out. Home riders Jonas Folger (Team Ongetta) and Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125) opted for full wet front and back compounds, and the choice gave them an early advantage as they got clear at the front, Folger leading by 2.4s from his compatriot.

The first crasher of the race was Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol), with a host of riders fortunate not to be taken out by the young Spaniard’s bike, and as the surface continued to dry quickly the early gap opened by Folger and Schrötter had been swallowed up by lap six as Márquez and Espargaró overtook.

The pair initiated a battle for the lead at the front and started to open a growing distance from the remainder, and further back Folger had a run off as his race ran into difficulties. A quartet comprising Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) and Koyama (Racing Team Germany) had by then established themselves as the group contending for what looked to be the only remaining podium spot by mid-race distance.


The Márquez-Espargaró battle continued to rage in an aggressive manner and the Championship leader experienced a momentary wobble on his Derbi machine as the pace remained high. As the final quarter of the race arrived Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) had done an admirable job of pulling himself in the group fighting for third.

On lap 24 of 27 Krummenacher suffered the bitter disappointment of crashing at turn one as he pushed hard to maintain third position, thus opening the door to the remaining challengers. More drama, which would affect the race lead, was to come on the next lap however.

With Espargaró in front of Márquez the Tuenti Racing rider’s rear tyre touched the grass on the side of the track and he was thrown from his bike, Márquez only very narrowly avoiding being taken out as well. Unable to restart his machine and get back on track the race was over for the 19 year-old, as Márquez cruised on to victory by a margin of 17.578s.

The crash of Espargaró elevated Koyama to second position and the Japanese rider took an ecstatic result for his team in their home GP, with home rider Cortese edging Rabat in the dying stages of the final lap to complete the podium, his first of the campaign and one which naturally delighted the fervent German crowd.

Rabat and Smith completed the top five, with Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team), Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol), Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing), Sturla Fagerhaug (AirAsia - Sepang International Circuit Team) and wildcard rider Dani Kartheininger (Freudenberg Racing Team) in the top ten. Krummenacher eventually finished 11th. In total 13 riders failed to finish the race.

The result means Márquez now holds a 26-point lead at the top of the Championship, with Espargaró remaining second and the absent Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) third. The win was also the 100th in GP racing for Derbi.