Hector Faubel took an extraordinary victory at the German Grand Prix on a tiebreak thanks to setting a faster lap than Johann Zarco after the two finished dead level after 27 laps of racing.
The 125cc class provided another dramatic spectacle with the lead regularly changing hands but as the race entered its' final four laps, the leading group which once included as many as ten riders was down to three with polesitter Maverick Vinales leading Faubel and Zarco.
Zarco made his intentions clear at the start of the penultimate lap with a dive up the inside of Faubel into turn one which had seen so much dicing earlier on, but the Bankia Aspar rider returned the compliment at the same point next time around and latched straight on to the back of Vinales.
Faubel put a beautiful move on the teenager at the double-apex turn three, swooping round the outside before cutting back underneath the Blusens bike on the run into turn four and victory looked highly likely.
This still looked the case three corners from home with Zarco still behind Vinales in third but the Frenchman scythed up the inside into turn 12 and lined his Derbi up for an attack on the leader.
As the leaders rounded the final corner, it was clear that Zarco had carried greater speed and he drew alongside Faubel as the finish line approached. The official timing screens showed Zarco in first place but by 0.000s and a video finish was called for. None of the available camera angles could separate them and a tiebreak was needed, with the faster race lap of the two determining the winner, with Faubel’s 1:27.867 giving him the verdict over Zarco’s 1:28.136.
The Photo Finish reveals a dead heat between Faubel and Zarco
Faubel’s a win was his first in nearly four years with Zarco an agonizing second for the second race running. Almost forgotten in the drama was Vinales who took the chequered flag a quarter of a second back in third.
A podium finish for the 16 year old was all the more impressive given a terrible start where he was hung out to dry on the outside of turn one, dropping to tenth before working his way back to the front of the pack.
Nicolas Terol led the race in the early stages after working his way through the field from sixth, but the AirAsia Derbis of Efren Vazquez and Zarco followed closely ahead of the two Blusens Aprilias with Faubel back in sixth.
Vazquez was the first man to depart the leading group after outbraking himself into turn one ten laps from the finish, while Terol was surprisingly the next to drop back as the rear end of his Aprilia looked increasingly nervous.
Sergio Gadea hit trouble in the closing stages too allowing Terol to claim fourth with Luis Salom following the championship leader home in fifth, and Gadea falling to sixth. The two home favourites battled it out for seventh with Jonas Folger edging out Sandro Cortese, while Danny Kent chased them home in ninth. Niklas Ajo meanwhile put in an excellent ride to complete the top ten.
Danny Webb battled bravely to score points for Mahindra but there was more heartbreak for Harry Stafford who got caught up in an incident with Adrian Martin at the very last corner when on course for points. Taylor Mackenzie was also in the shake-up for a top-15 finish after a lightning start but crashed out mid-race.
Race Result (27 Laps):
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Bike | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Hector Faubel | SPA | Aprilia | Bankia Aspar Team | 39:57.979 |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Derbi | Avant-AirAsia-Ajo | +0.000 |
| 3 | Maverick Vinales | SPA | Aprilia | Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing | +0.272 |
| 4 | Nicolas Terol | SPA | Aprilia | Bankia Aspar Team | +1.723 |
| 5 | Luis Salom | SPA | Aprilia | RW Racing GP | +2.784 |
| 6 | Sergio Gadea | SPA | Aprilia | Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing | +6.786 |
| 7 | Jonas Folger | GER | Aprilia | Red Bull Ajo MotorSport | +13.116 |
| 8 | Sandro Cortese | GER | Aprilia | Intact-Racing Team Germany | +13.414 |
| 9 | Danny Kent | GBR | Aprilia | Red Bull Ajo MotorSport | +13.710 |
| 10 | Niklas Ajo | FIN | Aprilia | TT Motion Events Racing | +29.090 |
| 11 | Alberto Moncayo | SPA | Aprilia | AndalucÃa Banca Civica | +29.341 |
| 12 | Toni Finsterbusch (WC) | GER | KTM | Freudenberg Racing Team | +33.483 |
| 13 | Jakub Kornfeil | CZE | Aprilia | Ongetta-Centro-Seta | +34.357 |
| 14 | Danny Webb | GBR | Mahindra | Mahindra Racing | +34.405 |
| 15 | Jasper Iwema | NED | Aprilia | Ongetta-Abbink-Metaal | +36.878 |
| 16 | Marcel Schrotter | GER | Mahindra | Mahindra Racing | +43.087 |
| 17 | Simone Grotzkyj | ITA | Aprilia | Phonica Racing | +43.123 |
| 18 | Louis Rossi | FRA | Aprilia | Matteoni Racing | +52.487 |
| 19 | Luigi Morciano | ITA | Aprilia | Team Italia FMI | +1:01.936 |
| 20 | Giulian Pedone | SWI | Aprilia | Phonica Racing | +1:04.494 |
| 21 | Sturla Fagerhaug | NOR | Aprilia | WTR-Ten10 Racing | +1:05.804 |
| 22 | Francesco Mauriello | ITA | Aprilia | WTR-Ten10 Racing | +1:05.900 |
| 23 | Joan Perello | SPA | Aprilia | Matteoni Racing | +1:23.431 |
| 24 | Zulfahmi Khairuddin | MAL | Derbi | AirAsia-Sic-Ajo | +1:26.645 |
| 25 | Alexis Masbou | FRA | KTM | Caretta Technology | +1 Lap |
| 26 | Felix Forstenhaeusler (WC) | GER | Honda | Schwaben Racing Team | +1 Lap |
| Not Classified | |||||
| Adrian Martin | SPA | Aprilia | Bankia Aspar Team | +1 Lap | |
| Harry Stafford | GBR | Aprilia | Ongetta-Centro-Seta | +1 Lap | |
| Luca Gruenwald (WC) | NED | KTM | Freudenberg Racing Team | +4 Laps | |
| Efren Vazquez | SPA | Derbi | Avant-AirAsia-Ajo | +7 Laps | |
| Peter Sebestyen | HUN | KTM | Caretta Technology | +8 Laps | |
| Marvin Fritz (WC) | GER | Honda | LHR Project Racing | +19 Laps | |
| Jack Miller (WC) | AUS | Aprilia | RZT Racing | +24 Laps | |
| Miguel Oliveira | POR | Aprilia | AndalucÃa Banca Civica | +25 Laps | |
| Taylor Mackenzie | GBR | Aprilia | Phonica Racing | +25 Laps | |
| Did Not Start | |||||
| Alessandro Tonucci | ITA | Aprilia | Team Italia FMI | ||
Lap Leaders (27 Laps):
Gadea (1, 13-15), Faubel (2-4, 27=), Vazquez (5-7), Terol (8-12), Vinales (16-26), Zarco (27=)
Riders Championship (After Round 9: Germany)
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Bike | Team | Wins | Pts |
| 1 | Nicolas Terol | SPA | Aprilia | Bankia Aspar Team | 5 | 166 |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Derbi | Avant-AirAsia-Ajo | 134 | |
| 3 | Maverick Vinales | SPA | Aprilia | Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing | 2 | 122 |
| 4 | Jonas Folger | GER | Aprilia | Red Bull Ajo MotorSport | 1 | 110 |
| 5 | Sandro Cortese | GER | Aprilia | Intact-Racing Team Germany | 106 | |
| 6 | Hector Faubel | SPA | Aprilia | Bankia Aspar Team | 1 | 90 |
| 7 | Efren Vazquez | SPA | Derbi | Avant-AirAsia-Ajo | 90 | |
| 8 | Luis Salom | SPA | Aprilia | RW Racing GP | 76 | |
| 9 | Sergio Gadea | SPA | Aprilia | Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing | 71 | |
| 10 | Danny Kent | GBR | Aprilia | Red Bull Ajo MotorSport | 46 | |
| 11 | Jakub Kornfeil | CZE | Aprilia | Ongetta-Centro-Seta | 34 | |
| 12 | Adrian Martin | SPA | Aprilia | Bankia Aspar Team | 30 | |
| 13 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Aprilia | AndalucÃa Banca Civica | 30 | |
| 14 | Alberto Moncayo | SPA | Aprilia | AndalucÃa Banca Civica | 28 | |
| 15 | Simone Grotzkyj | ITA | Aprilia | Phonica Racing | 19 | |
| 16 | Taylor Mackenzie | GBR | Aprilia | Phonica Racing | 15 | |
| 17 | Marcel Schrotter | GER | Mahindra | Mahindra Racing | 15 | |
| 18 | Zulfahmi Khairuddin | MAL | Derbi | AirAsia-Sic-Ajo | 13 | |
| 19 | Louis Rossi | FRA | Aprilia | Matteoni Racing | 13 | |
| 20 | Niklas Ajo | FIN | Aprilia | TT Motion Events Racing | 11 | |
| 21 | Danny Webb | GBR | Mahindra | Mahindra Racing | 10 | |
| 22 | Alexis Masbou | FRA | KTM | Caretta Technology | 10 | |
| 23 | Hiroki Ono | JAP | KTM | Caretta Technology | 8 | |
| 24 | Jasper Iwema | NED | Aprilia | Ongetta-Abbink-Metaal | 6 | |
| 25 | Toni Finsterbusch | GER | KTM | Freudenberg Racing Team | 4 | |
| 25 | John McPhee | GBR | Aprilia | Racing Steps Foundation KRP | 1 | |
| 26 | Josep Rodriguez | SPA | Aprilia | Wild-Wolf-Racc-MS | 1 |
