Marc Marquez says Sachsenring marked his return to the MotoGP title fight

Marc Marquez has pinpointed the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring in July as the point at which he first felt he was back in contention for the MotoGP championship. The reigning champion was still without a win and 102 points off the lead after a quiet return from shoulder surgery at Mugello, but he then took a double victory at Balaton Park.

By the end of the German weekend, Marquez had won five of the previous eight races. Over the same period, Marco Bezzecchi failed to finish a Grand Prix and Jorge Martin, who is injured, managed only one podium. Marquez said: "The Sachsenring GP is when I started to feel that we were in the game again, that we were in the title fight."

He needs to outscore Martin by 30 points from a possible 37 at the Qatar round to clinch the title, while also gaining eight points on Bezzecchi, with Portimao and Valencia still to come.