by Tracy Hagen

The 2013 MotoGP championship tightened up considerably in Germany with Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez taking his second win of his rookie year while championship leaders Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) were ruled out from racing due to injuries sustained from crashes in practice. Marquez’s victory vaulted him back into the championship lead with 138 points, followed by Pedrosa at 136 and Lorenzo with 127 points.

Cal Crutchlow raced his Monster Yamaha to second place with a gritty ride through pain following a huge tumble in Friday’s practice that took off heaps of skin from the hands and arms of the Brit. Valentino Rossi, winner of the last race at Assen two weeks ago, finished a disappointed third, frustrated that his Yamaha was off on set-up.

With Pedrosa and Lorenzo out of action Crutchlow and Rossi moved closer to the top of the points tally with 107 and 101, respectively.

The race started in perfect weather yet the top two qualifiers, Marquez (pole) and Crutchlow, bogged the start. Rossi shot off the front row to lead through Turn 1 followed by home favorite Stefan Bradl (Honda) and superbiker Aleix Espargaro.

Bradl brought the crowd to their feet and clapping over their heads with a pass on Rossi at the end of the first lap.

Turn 1 on the second lap was more eventful than the opening lap. Rossi slowed and Espargaro had a look at going around on the outside. Marquez surged up on the inside line but it wasn’t enough for a pass. Crutchlow ran wide on account of the slow-pokes and gave up a position to Alvaro Bautista (Honda).

Marquez passed Espargaro at Turn 1 on the third lap while Bautista and Crutchlow did the same after plunging down the waterfall and the end of the lap.

Marquez ripped past Rossi and Crutchlow barged past Bautista at the same spot on the next lap.

Crutchlow closed the gap to Rossi on the sixth lap when Rossi had a tankslapper in the long run of left-hand turns halfway around the circuit. At the end of lap 6 Marquez’s eventual pass on Bradl happened. The Spaniard’s speedy sliding through the turns was too much for the clean, leaning German and Marquez was gone.

Rossi passed Bradl at the end of lap nine to put the Honda between himself and Crutchlow. Bradl held up the Brit over the following lap, with the Honda having the punch off the corners and Crutchlow carrying corner speed better than anyone on two wheels right now.

Crutchlow caught Rossi quickly but passing the Italian was a tall order. It took five laps and eventually Crutchlow threw himself at Rossi at Turn 12, the most difficult corner on the track for a lead rider to defend.

Crutchlow had Marquez ahead of him by 2.851 seconds at the end of lap 16 with 14 laps to go. The internal was half that at the end of the race in typical Crutchlow fashion.

As much as Crutchlow is desperate for a factory bike and contract, what he really needs is better starts so he doesn’t need to ride the wheels off catching the Spaniards.

Next race: Laguna Seca, July 21