Marc Marquez dedicated his German Grand Prix victory to all those who had helped him during his recovery from a broken arm.
Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez sustained the injury following an accident in the opening race to the 2020 season in Jerez, before then suffering a further setback when a plate inserted into his fractured humerus became damaged.
After sitting out all of last year and then also the opening two rounds of the 2021 campaign, the Spaniard finished seventh and ninth upon his return before enduring three successive retirements, leaving him short of form and way down the list in the standings.
However, a visit to Sachsenring saw Marquez rediscover his best form as he completed an 11th successive win at the track, with this latest triumph his eighth in a row in the top category.
There were understandably emotional scenes after he crossed the finishing line as he not only ended his own personal drought but also the long wait for success for his team, Honda having not prevailed at a race since Valencia in 2019.
"It's true that it was, and still is, a hard time in my career, so this victory helps a lot," said Marquez, who appeared in tears on the track before joining in emotional celebrations with his team ahead of the presentation ceremony.
"When you are in a hard situation, when you have had three crashes in a row, it's not easy mentally or physically. But when I crossed the line I thought of all the people who had helped me be there, because in such a situation it is impossible to do it alone.
"You need the team, the doctors, the physios, the manager, your family and friends, everybody that helps you. They were helping me a lot, and have helped me a lot to come back.
"Today is a time to enjoy and say thanks to all of them, specifically Honda. The respect they gave me during all of this year was something I appreciated a lot.
"This will be a great and important victory for me, but also for the Honda family."
Honda have won 17 of the past 23 MotoGP races at Sachsenring, with Marquez's latest victory making it 11 in succession at the venue.
Marquez moves up to 10th in the championship standings as Frenchman Fabio Quartararo leads the way, his advantage over compatriot Johann Zarco extended to 22 points thanks to securing third place in Germany.
"I knew we were going to struggle, turns six and seven we were extremely slow," Quartararo, who had started the race from sixth position after a difficult qualifying session, said in his news conference.
"On other parts of the track we were okay, but this corner where we stayed a long time on the angle we struggled a lot.
"It was quite clear with the team this morning. We said that we had good pace, but to fight for the victory looks difficult.
"The goal was trying to finish in front of the Ducati and finish on the podium, so we achieved that."
Jamaican sensation Alex Powell claims first F4 win in Italy
Jamaican Alex Powell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior, claimed his first European F4 victory in one of the most exciting races of the year at the famed ‘Temple of Speed’, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy, on Sunday.
Ninth on the grid for the first race of the weekend, Powell had a blistering start, which saw him move up four positions on lap one, before the first of several Safety Car appearances paused racing. It was a race with multiple incidents and re-starts, but Powell remained focused and was consistently sharp for every start.
After a three-way battle, the Jamaican sensation executed a breathtaking pass for the race lead, before a final incident brought out the Safety Car again, with Powell crossing the line first as the race finished.
In addition to the outright race win, Powell also secured first among rookie drivers, claiming the two top trophies in the race. His performance also assisted Prema Racing to secure the team title for the 2024 Euro 4 Championship.
McConnell confident heading into rounds three and four of Nitrocross Championship in Utah
Jamaican racing sensation Fraser McConnell is gearing up for an intense weekend of action as he heads into Rounds three and four of the Nitrocross championship on October 5 & 6 in Utah.
Following a stellar performance at the season’s opening rounds in Richmond, Virginia, McConnell holds second place in the overall standings, just 11 points behind leader Kevin Eriksson.
McConnell’s dominant showing at Richmond Raceway on September 7 & 8 saw him secure a third-place finish in Round 1, followed by a thrilling battle for first in Round 2.
After clinching the top qualifier spot and winning his semi-final, McConnell started the Round 2 final in pole position. Despite taking an early lead, a dramatic half-spin pushed him off his racing line, allowing Eriksson to take the win. McConnell finished second ahead of Viktor Vranckx.
Looking ahead to the Utah rounds, McConnell remains optimistic about his chances.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend, going back to Utah, the birthplace of Nitrocross,” he shared.
“It all started there with the Nitro World Games in 2018 and 2019, so it's a very special place for everyone involved.”
McConnell also highlighted the challenge of the upcoming track. “Salt Lake is one of the craziest tracks on the calendar, with the biggest gap jump and a lot of demanding corners. It requires high speed from us drivers. I'll just go out there and hit my marks as usual, trying to extract as much as I can from the car while proudly repping Jamaica.”
With back-to-back podium finishes in Rounds 1 and 2, McConnell is confident about continuing his strong run.
“We’re second in the championship with 107 points, and I’m looking forward to continuing that streak this weekend,” he said.
McConnell currently leads defending champion Robin Larsson by four points and is poised to close the gap further in his pursuit of overtaking Eriksson.
McConnell's season is sponsored by JustBet, Proven, Tru Shake, Rainforest, and the Jamaica Tourist Board.
Reggae Racers Gore, Summerbell secure creditable finishes in race five of ADAC GT4 Germany series
Jamaica’s team of Tommi Gore and Senna Summerbell produced a creditable showing in the fifth race of the ADAC GT4 Germany series as they secured two top-15 finishes at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, at the weekend.
The Jamaican duo, dubbed the Reggae Racers, displayed their prowess as they drove their Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Club Sport to a 14th place finish after qualifying in ninth position in race one.
They were up with the pace from a strong start but later faded down the track in a fiercely competitive field.
However, the Avia W&S Motorsport representatives improved significantly in the second race, where they went nine places better to place fifth after placing fourth in qualifying.
The team of Jan Marschalkowski and Philipp Gogollok from Eastside Motorsport, finished tops to register their first win of the series. They won ahead of Finn Zulauf and Josef Knopp, also representing Avia W&S Motorsport.
With much positive to take from their performances, Gore and Summerbell will target even more improvements in the final race of the season scheduled for October 18-20 in Hockenheim, Germany.
“I am so happy to be a part of this team and ready to end the year strong. We had a big jump in results from the start of the season with this change, so we can only expect things to get better from here,” Gore said.
The Avia W&S Motorsports team, which currently occupies second position in the team ranking on 179 points, are the defending champions in the ADAC GT4 Series. They are 11 points behind leaders Hofor Racing.
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