Brian Uriarte fended off race-long pressure from Maximo Quilles to take Moto3 victory at the Sachsenring.
There was little on-track action but an intense mental battle as the Spaniards duelled all race long at the front.
Uriarte took the holeshot after starting from the front for the first time in his career, while championship leader Quiles dropped down to sixth.
The rookie formulated a massive 0.7s advantage by the end of the first lap to establish some much-needed breathing space.
Valentin Perrone crashed out after losing the front into Turn 1, which led to Joel Kelso being caught up in the gravel traps before rejoining.
Uriarte, Alvaro Carpe and the CFMoto duo Quiles and Marco Morelli looked to be the main battle for the win, especially as the trio cut the gap.
Further down the pecking order, Irish rider Casey O’Gorman and British rider Scott Ogden both crashed out at Turn 3 on Lap 4 and Lap 6, respectively.
Rico Salmela entered the fold by Lap 5 after overtaking Morelli as he waited for the perfect opportunity to make a move.
Meanwhile, for seventh, Joel Esteban’s race ended in the gravel after a fast-paced crash from Adroa Cruces at Turn 7. Both tumbled in at rapid space and thankfully both are conscious.
KTM rider Uriarte was only marginally ahead of the rest but had controlled the opening ten laps incredibly well.
By Lap 11, though, a noticeable second margin was formulated as Uriarte and Quiles distanced themselves from Carpe, Salmela and Morelli. That said, the gap extended further to three seconds over the next three laps.
While occupying third position, KTM’s Carpe had a tank slapper at Turn 7, but fortunately managed to stay on the bike as he went across the gravel, rejoining in 11th place.
For the first time, Uriarte and Quiles exchanged places on Lap 15 in sector one, before the polesitter regained the lead only a few corners later.
Once again, Quiles took the lead with four laps to go; this time around, Uriarte was right behind his fellow countryman heading into the final lap.
Uriarte took control at Turn 5 after a slight mistake from Quiles before successfully fending off any late pressure from the championship leader.
Matteo Bertelle pipped Morelli to the line to claim third spot by just 0.007s, with Salmela finishing a tenth behind both riders.
Adrian Fernandez sealed sixth place three seconds behind, ahead of Jesus Rios and Indonesian rider Veda Pratama.
Ryusei Yamanaka edged out Eddie O’Shea and Carpe in the chaotic battle for ninth, with all three riders separated by less than two tenths.
Hakim Danish took 12th, ahead of Cormac Buchanan, Joel Kelso, and Guido Pini secured the final point for Leopard Racing.
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