MotoGP Sachsenring: Track & statistics for the 2025 German GP

The time has come: This weekend, the MotoGP stars will be back in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Motorsport-Magazin.com has compiled everything you need to know about the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.

Hardly any other circuit on the current Motorcycle World Championship calendar can look back on such a rich and eventful history as the Sachsenring. The first race was held in Hohenstein-Ernstthal in 1927. The original route ran 8.7 kilometers along public roads in the area. In 1934, the first German Grand Prix was held on the road course, and three years later, the track was officially renamed the Sachsenring.

After the turmoil of World War II, the first races on the old layout began in 1949, but it took another twelve years before the Motorcycle World Championship returned to the Ring. The East German Grand Prix was held at the old Sachsenring until 1972. Then the World Championship races in East Germany came to a strange and inglorious end. Officially, safety deficiencies on the extremely fast and dangerous track were the reason for its removal from the calendar, but in reality, there was political calculation behind it. In 1971, numerous spectators sang the West German anthem during West German Dieter Braun's victory, which the East German leadership found just as objectionable as the cheers for Braun during the race. As a result, the organizers decided not to hold a World Championship race.

Racing continued with national series, but in 1990, the historic race track finally closed. After German reunification, the track no longer met the demands of the drivers and the now significantly improved equipment available, and racing was discontinued. It took until the mid-1990s for a new, now permanent race track, including a driver safety center and event grounds, to open. In 1998, the time had finally come: the Motorcycle World Championship returned to the Sachsenring and has hosted the German Grand Prix there ever since.

The current Sachsenring has virtually nothing in common with the original 8.7-kilometer street circuit. The track has been shortened to 3.671 kilometers, making it by far the shortest on the World Championship calendar, and now features ten left-hand turns and only three right-hand turns. A particularly characteristic feature of the Sachsenring are the considerable elevation changes along the track, which gave the circuit the reputation of a roller coaster.

The omega-shaped section from turns two to five is also unmistakable. Turn four opens a series of seven left-hand bends in a row before the dreaded turn eleven. The right-hander, known as the "Waterfall," is very fast and leads steeply downhill. Additionally, the right tire sidewall is very cold upon arrival due to the preceding left-hand sections, which has led to many heavy crashes.

The record winner at the Sachsenring is Marc Marquez , who has already won eight times in the MotoGP class and at one point achieved eleven consecutive victories at the German Grand Prix across all classes. In 2010, he won the 125cc class on his way to his first world championship title, then twice in Moto2, and eight consecutive MotoGP races between 2013 and 2021. His winning streak ended when he was unable to start in 2022 due to injury. A year later, he experienced a horror GP and subsequently decided to switch from Honda to Ducati .

In 2012, Sandro Cortese caused a storm of enthusiasm with his victory in the Moto3 category. The Berkheimer was only the third German, after Ernst Degner in 1961 in the 125cc class and Dieter Braun in 1971 in the 250cc class, to celebrate a victory at the Sachsenring. In 2017, Jonas Folger managed to finish second behind Marquez in the MotoGP race. This would remain his only foray onto the MotoGP podium.