The undisputed King of the Ring is searching for his 12th win at the Sachsenring this weekend, but does that make the #93 a certain pick?
Another weekend of MotoGP™ action is coming up which means it’s another chance to gain some points on your mini-league rivals. But the big dilemma this weekend is this: do we need to have Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in our teams for the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland?
Mugello’s top scorers
Before we delve into that question, let’s take a brief look at who stood out most at Mugello. Below are the top scorers from the Italian GP – no surprise to see it’s dominated by Ducati:
GOLD: Francesco Bagnaia (47.5 points)
GOLD: Jorge Martin (40)
CONSTRUCTOR: Ducati (43.75)
TEAM: Prima Pramac Racing (38.75)
SILVER: Johann Zarco (37.5)
SILVER: Jack Miller (25)
To Marquez or not to Marquez?
Having won every race he’s competed in at the Sachsenring since 2010, including in 2021, so naturally one of the favourites for victory this weekend is Marc Marquez. At $2.7m – a 300k decrease from the Italian GP – the eight-time World Champion is also a very affordable option for players. In our opinion, if you’re going to back the #93, then Sachsenring is the place to do it.
Marc Marquez has a 100% front row record in 2023 despite Honda’s continued struggles with their RC213V. It’s hard to see Marquez not challenging for victory this weekend at a track he has a perfect record at in his last 11 visits, so if he’s on the pace on Friday, getting the Spaniard in shouldn’t be much of a gamble.
Go left. Be different. Be the Sachsenring
Who else should we have our eyes on?
There’s no hiding the fact that Ducati are the manufacturer to beat at the minute. A top four lockout at Mugello won’t be as easy to do on such a contrasting circuit like the Sachsenring, but we can expect plenty of their riders to be up the sharp end again. In 2022, four of the top six riders in the German GP were on Ducatis – and that’s after Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed out of P2.
If you haven’t got the reigning World Champion in your team yet, then that should be something you need to be thinking about. Easier said than done though, as Pecco’s price has risen to $3.9m. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) claimed P2 in Germany last year and comes into this weekend on good form. The Frenchman will cost you $3.0m, while teammate Jorge Martin will be a popular pick at $2.9m.
If you’re looking for a solid, cheaper Ducati rider pick, then both Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) at $2.5m and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) at $1.8m are good shouts. Title-chasing Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) is the most owned rider in the game with 22,816 of us owning the Italian – if you haven’t got ‘Bez’ at $2.9m yet, then he’s also one to try and squeeze into your team.
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pairing of Brad Binder and Jack Miller should also be on players’ radars. Neither are in the top five most owned riders, so a small gamble on the South African and Australian doing well in Germany could see you climb your mini leagues at a vast rate of knots. KTM have been on song in 2023 and both of their riders have tasted recent success at the Sachsenring – Miller was P3 in 2022, with Binder P4 in 2021.
As always, don’t forget to finalise your teams before MotoGP™ Q1 at 10:50 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday morning, and make sure you keep a keen eye on Friday’s proceedings to see who you want to transfer in for the Sachsenring.
