 1 The Sachsenring, Saxony Germany |
 2 Stoner had pole (his fourth in a row) with Pedrosa and Edwards completing the first row. Rossi started seventh on a very wet Sachsenring track. Pedrosa started quickly and sped away in the front with Casey Stoner riding cautiously in second place. |
 3 By the end of lap 1, Rossi had repassed Toseland (52) and De Puniet (14). On lap 2 Valentino passed Lorenzo and moved into fifth position but Lorenzo crashed shortly after on lap 3. Meanwhile, Pedrosa was flying in the front and eventually built up a seven second lead after five laps. |
 4 But in a moment that changed the direction of this year's championship, another pivotal moment, Pedrosa crashed out of the lead and badly injured his wrist. It put him out of the next two races and all but ended his chances of winning the 2008 championship. This was the second such moment in 2008 after Lorenzo's crashes put him out of the championship. |
 5 Casey now had the lead and rode brilliantly in the wet. He maintained a three second gap over Rossi who had worked his way into second. Chris Vermuelen worked his way up from 14th on the grid to take the final podium position. |
 6 Rossi retook the championship lead on 187, Pedrosa held on to second with 171 points but now Stoner was only 4 points behind Pedrosa on 167. Lorenzo's crash put him further behind on 114 points. With Pedrosa severely injured, the championship contest was now between Rossi and Stoner, and Stoner was on a roll. |
