The event's origins lie at Berlin's AVUS, where the first two Großer Preis von Deutschland races were staged before moving to the newly built Nürburgring in its full 28-kilometre configuration. From 1934 onward, public roads near Hohenstein-Ernstthal in Saxony took over as the venue, using what became known as the Sachsenring from 1937. The Second World War interrupted the championship entirely, and the postwar geopolitical division of Germany added further complexity. West Germany hosted the event at multiple circuits over the following decades — the Solitudering near Stuttgart, the Schottenring near Fulda, the Hockenheimring, and eventually the Nürburgring Nordschleife — rotating between them as safety standards and attendance figures shifted.
Simultaneously, the Sachsenring — now within the German Democratic Republic — hosted its own world championship round from 1961 to 1972, officially known as the Grand Prix of the GDR and referred to as the East German GP. The event lost its World Championship status in 1972 after West German rider Dieter Braun won the 1971 race and crowds spontaneously sang the West German national anthem, prompting East German authorities to restrict Western riders and thereby strip the round of its championship validity. It continued as a domestic event under the name Großer Preis des ADMV der DDR until later in the decade.
The modern German Grand Prix took shape after 1998 when the event moved from declining attendance at Hockenheim and Nürburgring to the purpose-built shortened Sachsenring circuit. The move transformed the event into one of MotoGP's most popular weekends, with sell-out crowds becoming the norm. The 2020 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, attendance reached 256,441 spectators, underlining the race's continued appeal.
The 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring Nordschleife was boycotted by championship contenders who judged the safety arrangements inadequate. In their absence, German amateur riders filled the top positions. Edmund Czihak took victory in the 500cc class, a result that remains the only premier-class win by a German rider in either the 500cc era or the MotoGP era. The unusual circumstances — armco barriers demanded by car drivers conflicted with the straw bale protection required for motorcycle racing — highlighted the fundamental safety tension between the two disciplines sharing the same venue. The 1980 running on the Nordschleife was the last on that circuit; the Hockenheim GP track took over from 1984.
The Sachsenring's compact layout — comparatively short and technical among MotoGP venues — has historically favoured corner specialists and riders adept at late braking. The circuit's low-speed right-left combination at the bottom of the hill became a signature section, where championship leaders have frequently been pressured into errors. Marc Márquez in particular accumulated a dominant record at the venue across his career.
The race has carried numerous official titles reflecting sponsor changes across the decades. Early editions bore purely national designations, while commercial sponsorship arrived in 1996 with the Warsteiner Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Subsequent sponsors included Cinzano, Alice, eni, GoPro, and Liqui Moly. As of 2025, the event is styled the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany.