2002 – Olivier Jacque (Yamaha) started from pole – the last ever pole for a 4-cylinder two-stroke machine. It also seemed that this would be the final two- stroke victory with Jacque and Barros (also on a two-stroke) battling at the front, only to collide and crash out with less than three laps remaining, gifting the victory to Valentino Rossi (on the four-stroke Honda).

2003 – In one of the closest finishes ever in MotoGP, Sete Gibernau (Honda) beat Valentino Rossi by just 0.06 sec after a fantastic battle that went down to the final corner.

2004 – Max Biaggi (Honda) took the last of his 42 Grand Prix victories by just 0.35 secs, from Alex Barros who was having his best ride of the year on the factory Honda.

2005 – The race was stopped after five laps because of John Hopkins’ crash. The race was re-started for the remaining 25 laps, with positions from the first race determining grid positions. Valentino Rossi won at the Sachsenring for the first time on a Yamaha, from Sete Gibernau and Nicky Hayden; all three being covered by less than a second at the chequered flag. This was Rossi’s 76th win across all classes to equal the number of career wins achieved by the legendary Mike Hailwood.

2006 – Another win for Valentino Rossi; this time after qualifying down in eleventh place on the grid. Rossi was followed closely across the line by Marco Melandri, Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa with just 0.307 seconds covering all four riders, making this the closest top four finish of all-time in the premier- class.

2007 – Dani Pedrosa took the lead on the first lap from pole-setter Casey Stoner and pulled steadily away to win by a 13-second margin from Loris Capi- rossi. This was Honda’s first win of the 800cc era of MotoGP.

2008 – This is the only year that the MotoGP race at the Sachsenring circuit has been run in wet conditions. In a repeat of the previous year, Dani Pedrosa took the lead on the first lap from poleman Casey Stoner. After five laps Pedrosa had opened a seven-second lead before he crashed allowing Stoner to give Ducati their first win at the Sachsenring.

2009 – A fourth MotoGP win at the Sachsenring for Valentino Rossi, this time by the small margin of just 0.099 seconds from his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

2010 – The race was stopped on lap ten due to a crash involving Randy de Puniet, Alvaro Bautista and Aleix Espargaro. The re-started race for 21 laps was a battle between Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo; with Pedrosa coming out on top to win the MotoGP race at the Sachsenring for the second time. Valentino Rossi, making his comeback from serious injury, was passed at the final corner by Casey Stoner to be denied a podium finish.