MotoGP: Fabio Quartararo dominates in Germany after pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia crashes out

Fabio Quartararo claimed his second win of the season in the German Grand Prix on Sunday, helping the French rider to extend his championship lead to 34 points.

After qualifying in second, the Yamaha rider managed to overtake pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia in the first lap and never looked back, finishing over 2s clear of his rivals.

Bagnaia felt pressured to regain his position and made a crucial error as he made a move into turn 1 at the start of the second lap. With the Sachsenring track heating up beyond 50 degrees celcius, the Ducati rider's rear tyre lost grip and caused him to slide off track into the gravel.

The crash ultimately ends Bagnaia's title hopes, with the Italian still on just 81 points at the halfway point of the season.

In contrast, his departing teammate Jack Miller enjoyed a stellar race. The Australian qualified in sixth but faced a long-lap penalty due to causing a crash under yellow flags in FP4.

It hardly disheartened the Ducati rider however, who quickly found his way up to fourth. He ended up in eighth after serving his penalty, but his superb pace allowed him to fight back into a podium position.

Miller had to pass both Aprilia riders en route to his third-place finish, with Miller forcing both to make mistakes after piling on the pressure. The soon-to-be KTM rider now boasts three podiums this season.

Ducati may be tempted to throw all their support around Johann Zarco this season after the 31-year-old put on a masterful display to take second, and overtake teammate Enea Bastianini in the standings. Bastianini finished in a disappointing 10th position after a frustrating weekend in Germany.

Aleix Espargaro finished just outside of the podium positions in fourth, while Ducati's Luca Marini rounded off the top five.

Honda's struggles continued with Pol Espargaro, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez all failing to reach the chequered flag.