Eight-time world champion Marc Márquez is record winner at the Sachsenring. Álex Márquez fit for the Liqui Moly Motorcycle Grand Prix of Germany after operation. Brothers made MotoGP history at last year’s German round of the world championship.

Marc and Álex Márquez are dominating MotoGP at the moment: eight-time world champion Marc leads the overall standings, ahead of his younger brother Álex, who has recovered from an operation on his left hand after the crash in Assen and is fit for the German Grand Prix. Never before have two brothers been one and two at the top of the table in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing. It could hardly be more fitting that the Liqui Moly Motorcycle Grand Prix of Germany (11th to 13th July) is next up in the title race: no circuit suits Marc Márquez better than the Sachsenring – and no venue stirs up so many special memories for the two Spaniards.

“Above all, I associate the Sachsenring with my many victories. I really enjoy riding at this circuit,” says Marc Márquez. The superstar is regarded as the undisputed “King of the Ring”. With eleven victories across all classes, the Ducati factory rider is by far the most successful rider at the iconic racetrack in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Between 2010 and 2021, Márquez went unbeaten at the only German round of the world championship.

As such, it is no wonder that the 32-year-old has a special relationship with the German MotoGP race. “When you have won so often at a circuit, you travel there with a smile on your face. I know it is going to be a good weekend – or at least we will do everything in our power to make it a good weekend.” He has particularly fond memories of his triumph in 2021 when, after a barren spell stretching back almost two years and a long time out with injury, he returned to the top step of the podium.

His brother Álex, who is three years younger than Marc, also has positive memories of the Sachsenring: “Last year’s Grand Prix was special. I joined my brother on the podium, which was incredible. It was the first time we had achieved that in MotoGP. Another thing that springs to mind is my victory in the Moto2 class in 2019,” recalls Álex Márquez.

The Márquez brothers made MotoGP history at the Sachsenring in 2024, when they became the first brothers in the modern four-stroke era (since 2002) to make it onto the podium together in the top class of motorcycle racing. The last time this feat had been achieved was by the Japanese Aoki brothers, Nobuatsu and Takuma, at the Imola Grand Prix in 1997, when the field still lined up on 500cc two-stroke bikes.

The passionate motorcycle fans in Germany and the relaxed atmosphere at the Grand Prix have also made a lasting impression on the Márquez brothers. “Everything is very compact and tight at the Sachsenring. That means we can feel the support of the fans even more,” says Marc Márquez. His brother Álex adds: “The atmosphere is very lively and it is always really loud. The grandstands are packed and the fans create an awesome feeling.”