Without Marc Marquez at Sachsenring for the first time since the eight-time world champion joined Repsol Honda in 2013, last weekend’s Germa🌸n MotoGP will be one the team forgets in a hurry. 

While pure performance was an issue for much of the weekend𝓀, it’s the condition of their riders that proved to be of bigger concern, some of which was self-infli🍃cted. 

Following two crashes in FP1 (both at turn 1), Espargaro’s performance continued to deter๊iorate due to severe pain in his ribs that left him struggling to breꦚathe. 

And in a race where conditions were unpleasantly hot, the Spaniard’s fitness issues became t♒oo much for him to continue.

"It was a tough weekend already and thꦚen today [Sunday] was another hard day," claimed Espargaro. "The ribs just need time to recover but putting more stress on them each day doesn’t help. 

"💫I tried to do what I could in th🐼e race, but the pain got worse and worse and with the heat, I was struggling to breathe. 

"We also h🌞ad a lot of heat on my right foot which added to the pain. I had to retire; the pain w๊as too extreme. 

"Now I will go🃏 home and𒅌 recover there, the rib injury is similar to what I had in Valencia last year so I know how to deal with them a bit. Three days is not a lot before Assen, but it is what it is."

‘You feel stupid and like a fool’ - Bradl criticises Honda for burns at German MotoGP

As Espargaro mentioned, heat quickly became♕ an issue during the 30-lap race, however, it was nothing compared to what Bradl suffeꦆred, or had to say about Honda for that matter. 

"𝕴I♛ don't even know why I finished the race," added Bradl. "I was more than 21 seconds behind the penultimate rider.

"You feel stupid and like a fool when you're a💫t yoไur house at the German Grand Prix.

"It was terribl💝e. Hon🐎da has not been able to develop a fairing that allows riders to survive this heat.

"This message🅠 has to get to them, it's not acceptable, it caꦕn't be like that. I've been through other hot and difficult races, but this one I don't know how I managed to finish it."

Unable to set lapཧ times faster than that of Moto2 riders, it’s now clear why Bradl was so far off the pace during the German MotoGP. 

It was an equally⛎ disappointing German Grand Prix for LCR Honda as ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚAlex Marquez retired due to a problem with his ride-height device, while Takaaki Nakagami crashed out on lap 7.