Grand Prix of Germany

The Grand Prix of Germany (also known as the German GP) is one of the oldest races on the MotoGP calendar with the meet a part of the 500cc championship since 1952.

It took until the fourth edition of the FIM 500cc world championship for the series to stage a round in Germany. But the German GP itself has roots dating back to 1925 and it was run 15 times, before then joining the world championship as Reg Armstrong won on a Norton bike.

Germany has since offered the championship a regular home in Europe. Only in 1953, 1962, 1963 and 2020 has the race not been a part of the premier class calendar since its inaugural inclusion. MotoGP cancelled the 2020 German GP due to Covid-19 restrictions in the nation.

The 500cc world championship also staged an East German Grand Prix from 1961 until 1972 after three non-championship runnings of the round. All 12 runnings of the East German GP even took place at the Sachsenring, which has been the home of the German GP since 1998.

History of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany

Circuits around Germany have given the 500cc/MotoGP class a home through the years with the round held at the Solitude racetrack, the Nurburgring, Hockenheim and the Sachsenring. The premier class has also used multiple configurations of the Nurburgring to stage the race.

Solitude inherited the honour of hosting the inaugural 500cc world championship running of the German GP in 1952. But it would only go on to stage the race five times in total. Instead, the Nurburgring and Hockenheim largely proved to be the round’s home from 1955 to 1997.

Geoff Duke riding a Gilera bike won the first running of the German GP at the Nurburgring in 1955 when the 500cc world championship used the full 22.8km (14.1m) Nordschleife. Libero Liberati then took the honour of winning the debut German GP held at Hockenheim in 1957.

Mick Doohan won the last German Grands Prix at Hockenheim and the Nurburgring plus the first at the Sachsenring

Solitude, the Nurburgring and Hockenheim shared hosting duties on a rotational basis from 1954 until 1964 when Solitude held its final German GP. The 1965 running even marked the first of two editions that the 500cc class ran on the Nurburgring’s Sudschleife southern loop.

The Nordschleife once again became the 500cc class’ main track at the Nurburgring while in yearly rotation with Hockenheim from 1970 to 1980. But the championship started to use the Nurburgring’s shortened Grand Prix configuration in 1984 and would continue to until 1997.

Mike Hailwood with MV Agusta won the first 500cc German Grand Prix on the Nurburgring’s Sudschleife layout in 1965 and Giacomo Agostini won on its last appearance in 1968. Honda legend Freddie Spencer also won the first 500cc German GP on the Nurburgring’s GP circuit.

Honda riders even won the final German Grands Prix held at Hockenheim in 1994 and at the Nurburgring in 1997 with Mick Doohan victorious on both visits. The Australian was also the first rider to win a German GP at the Sachsenring in 1998 in Doohan’s last full-season racing.

Honda have dominated at the Sachsenring with Marc Marquez the king of the German GP

The Sachsenring has frequently been a happy hunting ground for Honda bikes, as well, with Valentino Rossi, Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi giving the Japanese brand an early period of dominance that Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez took to extreme heights from 2010-2021.

Marquez even went unbeaten at the Sachsenring from 2010 to 2021, having first won a race at the German Grand Prix in the 2010 125cc campaign before winning the 2011 Moto2 meet and in MotoGP in 2013. It took Honda failing to win a race in 2022 to finish Marquez’s reign.

It truly marked the most dominant period in motorcycle racing during the modern era and is rivalled only by Agostini all-time. The Italian got nine 500cc wins and seven 350cc wins from the 1965 to 1973 seasons at the Finnish Grand Prix thanks to the all-conquering MV Agusta.

Agostini also dominated at the German Grand Prix with 10 victories in the 500cc class, plus a further five in the 350cc class, from 1965 to 1976. But the Italian’s time terrorising the 500cc field started with six premier class wins over races held at Hockenheim and the Nurburgring.

What is the Sachsenring circuit like?

A lap of the Sachsenring circuit is unlike most tracks on the MotoGP calendar due to it being one of the very few counter-clockwise venues on the schedule. The circuit’s extra number of left-hand turns poses a different challenge with just three out of the 13 bends right-handers.

After turning right at the end of the pit straight into Turn 1, riders will only turn right for the long and tight T3 plus the notorious T11 – a fast flick to the right at the top of the hill which catches many out, having gone so long without putting any heat in the right side of the tyre.

Marquez has often been in a class of his own at the Sachsenring owing to his preference for left-handed circuits and background training on dirt track bikes. Another arrow in his quiver at the German Grand Prix is Marquez’s strength in changeable conditions like the race faces.

Unlike some tracks which favour bikes with strong straight-line top speeds, the Sachsenring also offers bikes which turn well an advantage. The circuit’s tight and twisty layout that takes away the possibility to exploit a bike’s power also forces riders to use the edge of their tyres.

Winners of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany

Below, MotoGP News has listed every premier class rider to win the German Grand Prix…