Red Bull Rookie Kratochwil on home turf at the Sachsenring – the tension is mounting

Stars have been made at the Sachsenring. This has been the case for many years. More recently, winners of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup at the Sachsenring have gone on to win world championships. These include Jorge Martín, Toprak Razgatlıoglu, Pedro Acosta, David Alonso and José Rueda.

In stark contrast to the flat circuit at Assen, the Sachsenring is renowned for its dramatic changes in elevation. A total of 270 degrees of left-hand bends, which rise, fall and rise again in varying radii, before hurling the riders into a right-hand bend.

Will there be a home victory?

It’s an incredible challenge, as the circuit is new to most of them. One notable exception is Fynn Kratochwil, as the 15-year-old secured one of his twelve victories here last year in the Northern Talent Cup on his way to dominating his home series.

He has made a name for himself in this year’s Rookies Cup. Kratochwil secured two brilliant podium finishes at Mugello. Things were more frustrating at Assen – a 17th-place finish and a crash through no fault of his own – but in Germany, the home crowd will help him get back to the form he showed in Italy.

A list of winners

In the second half of the season, with 8 of the 14 races completed, there have already been five different winners. The record stands at eight, set in 2011 when Lorenzo Baldassarri won the Cup despite securing only two victories. So far this season, Benat Fernández has secured three wins, and apart from Ryota Ogiwara – who has two wins to his name thanks to his incredible one-two at Mugello – the other riders are one-off winners: Kiandra Ramadhipa, David González and, most recently, Cano.

González is well in contention following his second-place finish in the second race at Assen, whilst Ramadhipa can point to his form at the Sachsenring. The 16-year-old Indonesian led for most of the first race last year before finishing second behind Cup winner Brian Uriarte.

Fernández does not feel the need to win every race; his conservative consistency has given him an enviable lead of 42 points. In recent seasons, some rookies have tried to rack up as many wins as possible, as Angel Piqueras did in 2023 with a record nine wins from 14 races. Uriarte claimed seven wins last year.

There are still six races to go, so Fernández could still catch up with Piqueras, but that is clearly not his plan. His focus is on winning the Cup, as this is the stepping stone to the World Championship.