Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Melandri is well aware that Marc Marquez is the King of the Sachsenring, yet a surprise rider may be a big threat at this weekend’s 2026 MotoGP German Grand Prix.
Marquez has made the Sachsenring his playground over the past 16 years, with the 33-year-old boasting a total of 12 career Grand Prix wins at the circuit in an industrial park in Saxony. He scored his first German GP win in the 125cc class in 2010, and also took two Moto2 wins.
The Spaniard also went unbeaten at the German GP between 2010 and 2021, and his run of not being beaten on the road even stretched to a P2 finish in 2024 after sitting out the 2022 and 2023 editions. But Melandri is not certain that Marquez will have it all his way this year.
Predict the podium at the German Grand Prix this weekend 🔮
Ai Ogura will be ‘very tough’ for Marc Marquez to beat in the German Grand Prix
While Melandri has tipped Marquez to beat the next-best Ducati rider by five seconds in the German GP this weekend, the performance levels of the Desmosidici GP26 compared to the Aprilia RS-GP could leave the Cervera native with a fight on his hands from the Noale squad.
READ MORE: Marc Marquez’s German GP record, from his wins to poles at the Sachsenring
In particular, Melandri suspects that Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura will be “very tough” to beat at the Sachsenring, even if the Japanese ace can sometimes creep under the radar. Ogura won the Dutch Grand Prix last time out, as well, to give him an additional boost going to Germany.
“Keep an eye on Ogura,” Melandri said on the Chiacchiere da Box podcast. “Maybe we don’t give him the credit he deserves, because we are used to thinking mainly [that] the Italians and Spaniards are better. But I fear he’ll be a very, very tough opponent to beat.”
Ogura is on a fantastic run of form heading into this week’s German GP, as the Trackhouse rider also scored his first MotoGP pole position at the Czech Grand Prix two rounds ago. The 25-year-old also turned pole at Brno into a P2 finish and he threatened Marquez for the win.
Marquez only beat Ogura by 0.421s to win the Czech GP, with the Trackhouse rider arguably the faster of the pair in the closing stages at Brno. Then, Ogura won the Dutch GP by 2.004s after seeing Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia crash and Marquez struggle due to his arm at Assen.
With 10 out of the Sachsenring’s 13 corners being left-handers, Marquez’s ongoing recovery from arm and shoulder injuries should not cause him as many issues as he had at Assen. Yet the combination of Trackhouse rider Ogura and the 2026 Aprilia RS-GP encourage Melandri.
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