GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Sachsenring, Germany

July 16, 2016

Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Knockout Session Two:

1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:21.160

2. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:21.572

3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:21.666

4. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:21.666

5. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:21.738

6. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:21.784

7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:21.858

8. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:21.883

9. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 1:21.890, crash

10. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:21.892

11. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:22.088, crashed in QP1 and QP2

12. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 1:22.346

From Qualifying Knockout Session One:

13. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:21.783

14. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 1:21.994

15. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:22.236

16. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:22.382

17. Stefan BRADL, Germany (APRILIA), 1:22.493

18. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (DUCATI), 1:22.567

19. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), 1:22.670

20. Loris BAZ, France (DUCATI), 1:22.860

21. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:23.075

More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:

Mixed fortunes for Miller and Rabat in Sachsenring qualifying

Summer finally greeted Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Jack Miller and Tito Rabat for qualifying in advance of tomorrow’s German Grand Prix.

Sunny and clear conditions saw track temperatures climb by more than 20 degrees compared to the cold, damp and windy conditions during Friday free practice.

On the back of his superb maiden MotoGP in Assen three weeks ago a relaxed and confident Miller qualified 16th on the fourth row.

The warmer conditions today were more suited to the new asymmetric Michelin front tyre introduced for the first time this season, resulting in a dramatic reduction in lap times.

Miller’s qualifying time of 1’23.075 was four seconds faster than FP1 and he was disappointed to spoil his first qualifying run with a small mistake in the downhill section after Turn 11.

The convoluted Sachsenring track is where the 21-year-old Australian made his Grand Prix debut in the 125cc class in 2011.

Spaniard Rabat again suffered from the steep learning curve of his rookie MotoGP season and struggled to find the ideal set-up for his Honda RC213V.

Rabat will start 21st in the ninth race of the season, a 30-lapper that is typically tough for riders with a tight combination of 13-turns in the short 3.67km lap.

Jack Miller: 16th – 1’22.382

“Unfortunately on my first fast lap I made a small mistake at the bottom of the waterfall with a big shake down the hill into turn 12. I couldn’t stop the bike in time and had to run through the gravel. But overall I’m feeling good about my pace; I did some solid laps in FP4 on used tyres so I think the race can be good for me. I feel confident banging out the times riding alone and all the left hand corners here make it easier for me with my right leg still not 100% recovered.”

Tito Rabat: 21st – 1’23.075

“I am very disappointed because I put in a big effort to prepare in the best way and do a good job in qualifying. I don’t really understand what happened, perhaps my information about the bike set-up to my crew was not the best and I could not go any faster despite the better weather conditions. The main problem is that I had no feeling and confidence in the front-end.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“It was a solid performance from Jack in qualifying and he is a good frame of mind following his first MotoGP win at Assen. More important is his strong race pace across the free practice sessions and he clearly has the potential to score some nice points here. For Tito it has been difficult and he has the same feeling and comments about the bike that he had back at the first race in Qatar. He is not comfortable with the set-up so now we will analyse his comments and data to make it better for the race.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing Team Gresini:

 MOTOGP – QUALIFIERS AT THE SACHSENRING

SIXTH ROW FOR BRADL AT HIS HOME RACE

BAUTISTA TO START FROM THE SEVENTH ROW

A sunny Saturday finally allowed Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista to work consistently on developing the Aprilia RS-GP machines both for the qualifiers and, above all, for the race tomorrow, when probable tyre deterioration will demand careful management of race pace.

In particular, in FP3 both of the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini standard bearers made a clear improvement in terms of performance compared with the Friday sessions. In today’s practices a new swingarm also made its first appearance on the Aprilias. Its effectiveness will now be assessed by the riders and the respective teams to decide whether or not to use it in the race.

In the Q1 session, Stefan Bradl finished in seventh place with a time of 1’22.493, a performance that earns him spot number seventeen, on the sixth row of the starting grid. Bautista, after demonstrating excellent potential in the first two sectors of the winding German circuit, several times matching some of the best partial times on the sheets, continued losing ground in the final section (T4), finishing in ninth place (nineteenth overall at 1’22.670), which places him on the seventh row of the grid tomorrow.

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“Today we did some good work on the bike, improving the general feeling, but we were unable to find more stability in T4, particularly coming out of turn 11 that comes before the downhill, and that is where I’m losing the advantage I’ve gained in the first sectors. This penalised me on the flying lap, but tomorrow it will be important to maintain a good pace. In the race it will be different. It will be hard having to start from behind. I’ll have to get off the grid fast and do well in the first laps, but I am confident in the pace that I can maintain and I am sure that we’ll be able to improve this position”.

STEFAN BRADL

“We struggled a bit today because the bike we decided to use was slightly different than the one I rode yesterday in terms of electronics. Lining it up with our standard cost us some time, but fortunately in FP4 we were able to improve the traction, which is the area where we need to improve on this track right now. In qualifying I was able to push and I think the seventeenth spot on the grid is acceptable, although I obviously hoped to do better. I hope the weather doesn’t play any tricks on us tomorrow, even if the forecast is not particularly positive. The Sachsenring is a rather difficult track when the conditions are not perfect”.

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

Espargaro to launch from 5th after strong qualifying

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team rider Pol Espargaro will lunge forward from the middle of the second row of the grid after delivering a spirited qualifying performance today in Germany. The young Spaniard started the day by notably finishing FP3 in 5th after setting a rapid time on his penultimate lap out of 23, which was under a tenth of a second from third. The result confirmed his appearance in the all-important Q2 session and when it began, Espargaro continued his form. By the time the chequered flag fell, he had produced a personal best that saw him only 0.072 from the front row and tomorrow the 25-year-old will seek to undertake a rocket start and then win the top independent rider battle.

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith pulled off a determined showing in Saxony today and will begin his quest to complete the first part of the year with a strong finish from 14th on the grid. This morning, Smith got straight to work and built up his speed but in the final moments of the practice, he was running at a hot pace, which was only 0.3 from the top time, but he unfortunately made a mistake in the last sector. This cancelled his lap, meaning that he had to compete in Q1. Here, the Briton gave his all in what was an ultra competitive 15-minute shootout, but despite his best efforts, he just missed out on the qualifying 2 session and will commence the 30-lap sprint from the 5th row.

Pol Espargaro

Position: 5th Time: 1’21.738 Laps: 7

“Qualifying today went really well and the result is close to our season’s best, plus it definitely helps to start from the second row at this track, because it’s not easy to overtake at the Sachsenring due to it being so tight. Therefore, this grid position hopefully gives us the chance to create a small gap to the pursuing satellite riders and my aim is to battle with the Ducati’s, which are strong here. Our pace today has been consistent and I feel quite comfortable on the bike, so I’m really looking forward to the race, even though it will be long and demanding. I aim to deliver a performance and score the top satellite position again to close what has been a positive opening half of the 2016 season. We will wait and see what happens with the weather, but I am ready and excited for the challenge.”

Bradley Smith

Position: 14th Time: 1’21.994 Laps: 10

“Unfortunately, today didn’t quite go to plan and even though I have made it a bit more challenging for myself by qualifying in 14th, I will do my absolute best in the race. At the end of FP3, I made a small mistake in the last sector, which cost me entrance into Q2. Looking back, we can see that we had the pace to do a good job in Qualifying 2, because, with the 1’21.9 lap time that I rode in QP1, I would have been just outside of the top ten. We all know that this year the class is super competitive and it’s vital to find every tenth possible, as this amount of time can equal three or four positions on the grid. Tomorrow we still need to work on the bike because, even though I’m feeling quite comfortable with the setup, we had a few small issues with the hotter conditions this afternoon. The team and I also need to improve our entry speed a bit more, and in the warm-up we will experiment with a few different settings so that we can have more confidence in that area. I feel content with riding the bike on a full fuel load and also when the tyres have completed race distance. Yet, it will be important to get a strong start from 14th because it’s tricky to pass at this track. We know that some riders will be unable to match their race pace with their qualifying performance and 30 laps is a long race, so I will push hard to regain some valuable positions and try not to make any mistakes.”

More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:

Yonny Hernández takes Pull&Bear Aspar Team to the fourth row

Colombian enters directly to Q2 for the third time this season but sees his best lap cancelled for exceeding track limits and will start twelfth. Eugene Laverty to start from sixth row

Marc Márquez scored the first pole position of his career at Sachsenring in 2010 on his way to his first world title and in seven years the Spaniard has yet to relinquish the best position on the grid, a remarkable record he continued today in MotoGP. His effort today of 1’21.160 was eight tenths short of last year’s best but still four tenths clear of closest challenger Héctor Barberá, with Valentino Rossi completing the front row. The same gap separating first and second place – four tenths – also separates third to eleventh, which will be Jorge Lorenzo after a series of crashes for the World Champion, who will be joined on the fourth row by Dani Pedrosa and Pull&Bear Aspar Team rider Yonny Hernández.

The Pull&Bear Aspar Team again featured in Q2, having already done so in Italy and the Netherlands, thanks to the efforts of Yonny Hernández. Like yesterday the Colombian was tenth fastest in free practice this morning, automatically qualifying him for the fight for top grid positions. In the crucial session Yonny rode alone on his first run as he gathered his references and on his second run he was just two tenths shy of the pace of pole man Marc Márquez, only to make a mistake under braking in turn eleven. His time was still good enough for eighth place but the lap was cancelled for exceeding track limits and as a result he will line up on the outside of the fourth row, two rows ahead of his team-mate Eugene Laverty. The Irishman starts eighteenth after making significant improvements this afternoon. Laverty’s crew made some changes to the geometry of his bike after this morning’s FP3, which immediately gained him almost two seconds per lap. After scoring points in each of the first eight races of the season, Laverty is determined to extend his run here in Germany tomorrow.

12th Yonny Hernández 1.22.346: “I am happy because I qualified directly for Q2 but I could be happier. On my best lap I was two tenths off pole and could have finished in the top eight but I pushed hard in turn eleven, ran wide onto the green zone and lost some time. It wasn’t to be. Then they cancelled my lap, even though I lost time. Anyway, my pace is good, we have been competitive all weekend and I am going into the race with positive energy, looking for a good result. If it rains I will push as far forward as I can because the conditions suit me but in general I think we are ready for any conditions.”

18th Eugene Laverty 1.22.567: “The afternoon was so much better. When the bike is working better the lap time comes so much easier. In the afternoon I made a 1’22 easily and this morning I was on the limit to make a 1’24. It was impossible to go faster so I am happy with the work the guys did, just by changing the geometry we improved so much. We had a really good FP4, qualifying wasn’t as good because I lost the front and conceded around three tenths. We had the potential for fifteenth place on the grid and that’s a big improvement on where we were this morning. Lorenzo’s crash in front of me also distracted me but qualifying is qualifying, it is the race that matters and I am happy with our pace from FP4. Some other riders are spinning up quite a lot and that is not good for 30 laps but I feel optimistic we have a good setting and I am confident for the race tomorrow.

More, from a press release issued by Octo Pramac Yakhnich:

Petrux-show in #GermanGP qualifying at Sachsenring. Scott finishes 15 °

A fantastic day for Danilo Petrucci, great protagonist of Saturday’s qualifying at Sachsenring. Following a Q1 dominated beating the World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, Petrux notched up the third quickest lap-time in Q2.

For Scott a difficult saturday ended in 15th place.

The day had not started in the best way with both drivers Octo Pramac Yakhnich, forced to play in the Q1 after FP3 finished in 12th (Petrux) and 17th place (Scott).

Danilo immediately found confidence in FP4 marking a very interesting race pace. Scott managed to improve in the first three sectors of the track but failed to be incisive in the last part of Sachsenring.

In Q1 Petrux literally dominated by beating the competition of Jorge Lorenzo and Cal Crutchlow with a fantastic last lap. Scott was able to lower by half a second his FP3 lap-time but his crono of 1’22.236 was not enough to pass into Q2 and will force the British rider starting from the fifth row tomorrow.

In Q2 another masterpiece of Danilo. Exploiting a stellar T1 (second fastest time), the rider from Terni completed a fantastic lap with the third quickest lap-time (1’21.666). Unfortunately Valentino Rossi set the exact same time a few laps before denying the Octo Pramac Yakhnich rider the joy of starting from the first row for the first time in his career.

15th – Scott Redding

1’22.236

It has been a very difficult day in which I could not find confidence. The feeling was particularly low on the front. I had the feeling that it could close more than once each lap, and this hasn’t allowed me to push. It is a problem we will try to solve for the race. But I know thant anything can happen tomorrow. It is important to stay focused as the race is a different story.

4th – Danilo Petrucci

1’21.666

It is a great result even if I would like to be the first Independent. Then when I got back to the garage I discovered to have the same Valentino time. It was a shame because it was my first first-row. But it is also true that this morning Valentino made a little driving school to me so all things considered it is ok. The bike is working well. I hope that tomorrow will be a dry race. I hope to stay a few laps with the front group and are very confident for the race pace.

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Superb seventh consecutive Sachsenring pole for Marquez; Pedrosa improves his speed

Marc Marquez’s incredible 1’21.160 lap time in today’s qualifying session at a much warmer and sunnier Sachsenring circuit earned him the 62nd pole of his career and the seventh in a row at the German track across all classes.

The Repsol Honda man has been among the top three in widely varying conditions this weekend, and he made a further step forward in qualifying after finalizing some additional details to the settings of his RC213V.

Teammate Dani Pedrosa also took advantage of today’s better conditions to consistently improve his pace. In FP3 he knocked two seconds off his time from the opening day, and he set a very fast pace in FP4. Only in qualifying was he unable to connect all the dots, and he had to settle for 10th position, though just over two tenths of a second off the front row. However, his strong race pace makes him confidant that he’ll be able to fight in tomorrow’s race.

Marc Marquez

POLE POSITION 1’21.160

“I’m happy to have set the fastest time today, because we’re better here than at other circuits. I have a fairly good pace and am riding comfortably. The final free-practice session wasn’t one of the best of the weekend, as I didn’t feel completely right but we made a change for the qualifying session, which went much better. We need to study the data this afternoon, but in qualifying we managed to take that step forward that we needed. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, because the weather forecast is for conditions to be quite unstable. In any case, we’ll try to finish on the podium, which is our goal. It seems that Valentino [Rossi] is very strong, and we’ll also have to keep Dani [Pedrosa] in mind; I don’t know what happened to him in qualifying, but his pace is very close to ours and he’s very strong here.”

Dani Pedrosa

10TH 1’21.892

“It’s a pity we weren’t able to be faster in qualifying after having been so fast in the free practices. I wasn’t able to make a big enough improvement to the lap time I had set with used tyres, and honestly I don’t know why. It’s not good to be that far back on the grid at this track because the first part is quite tight, but we need to focus on the race anyway. We’ll have to get a good start, be fast on the first lap and gain as many positions as possible, because our pace is good and the race is long. Of course it won’t be easy—we also have to see what the weather will be like—but we’ll stay positive and try to do our best.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

FIRST AND FOURTH ROW FOR MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP AFTER EVENTFUL GERMAN QUALIFYING

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo positioned their YZR-M1 Yamahas in third and eleventh place respectively for tomorrow‘s GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland after a drama-filled second day at the Sachsenring circuit.

Sachsenring (Germany), 16th July 2016

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi showed superb speed in the second qualifying session today at the Sachsenring circuit, securing third place. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo successfully came through Q1 despite a late crash. He was on a hot lap in the second 15-minute qualifying heat when another fall prohibited him from setting a fast time. Unable to rejoin the session, he settled for eleventh on the grid for tomorrow‘s GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

In Q2 Rossi waited for the first group of riders to get out on track before he left pit lane. He consistently upped his speed to hold third place after three flying laps before returning to the pits with less than seven minutes on the clock.

Rossi was eager to improve his time on his second stint, but got stuck in traffic, which prevented him from bettering his time and placement in the rankings. However, thanks to his solid third hot lap, a 1’21.666s, he held his spot on the first row of the grid for tomorrow‘s race.

Lorenzo had a relatively easy pass through Q1 in order to promote to Q2. He immediately moved up to second on his first flying lap, but when the pace picked up he was pushed back to third. That didn‘t last long, however, as on a next fast lap the current World Champion set a 1‘21.737s for first place and held on to it for most of the session. When he was relegated to second place, the Factory Yamaha rider headed out to put the hammer down once more. Despite suffering an unlucky fall at the end of the session, he was through to Q2.

The Mallorcan had a late start to the second qualification session on his second bike in order to get a flying lap in without any traffic. With a little more than eleven minutes to go he joined the time attack and showed his consistency as he rode a set of laps in the 1.22‘s and clocked a 1‘22.088s for seventh place.

With more than four and a half minutes left of the session he came in for a short pit stop before having another go at putting his name at the top of the leader board. However, a few minutes later drama struck once more when he suffered a second small crash. The rider was unhurt, but was unable to rejoin the session and ultimately finished eleventh in the qualifying time sheets.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Valentino did a good job today. As I‘ve said before, the Sachsenring circuit is not easy for us, but Vale and his team worked in the right direction in today‘s Free Practice sessions and we saw the results during Q2. It was a pity that he got stuck in traffic, because he could have set an even faster time, but regardless, a front row start is a really good position for the race, especially because Sachsenring is a difficult track to overtake at. Jorge was very unlucky today to suffer two more crashes. Fortunately neither of them had serious consequences. We are going to have a long night to get his bikes ready for tomorrow and will try to make another step forward for the Warm Up. The weather forecast for tomorrow is not looking too good, which will likely play a big part in what we expect will be a challenging race.

VALENTINO ROSSI

I was lucky to stay on the first row, because unfortunately with the second tyre I got stuck in traffic and I feel that I could have done two or three-tenths better because I did a 1‘21.6 on the first tyre. I feel good on the bike. We have made a small modification since the Free Practice sessions and I was faster, so it‘s a shame I wasn‘t able to take second place, but third is OK.

JORGE LORENZO

During the second crash I entered the corner not breaking so hard or deep, but on the previous lap I didn‘t warm up my tyres enough. I was completely straight and not breaking very strongly when I lost the front. Three mistakes on my part are not normal for me, but this weekend it happened. I‘m disappointed about the crashes and the position, but ultimately I could see a big improvement. During every practice session we improved the bike and finally we were very competitive with the new tyre, especially in Q1. On the lap that I crashed I maybe could have done a 1‘21.5 or 1‘21.4. After I crashed we made another modification for Q2 but I didn‘t have enough new tyres, I only had one more, so we exited with a nine-laps old tyre and I was impressed about the lap time, a 1‘22.0, which was good. I imagined that if I put on a new tyre I could be on the first or second row, but unfortunately I wasn‘t able to finish the lap. Eleventh on the grid is a bad position, but that‘s where I finished.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Dovizioso seventh, Iannone ninth in qualifying at Sachsenring: the two Ducati Team riders will start Sunday’s German Grand Prix from row 3 of the grid

The Ducati Team’s two Italian riders will start the German Grand Prix from the third row of the grid after today’s qualifying session at the Sachsenring. Andrea Dovizioso was seventh quickest with a time of 1’21.858, while team-mate Andrea Iannone was two places further down the field in ninth after recording a time of 1’21.890.

In this morning’s FP3 session, Iannone was second quickest behind Marquez and this meant that he, together with Dovizioso in ninth, went straight through into the all-important Q2 qualifying session in the afternoon.

The final free practice session then saw the Vasto-born rider take first place and with Dovizioso fifth, the two factory Ducati men went out for the decisive qualifying run-off for the first four rows of the grid.

Dovizioso set seventh-quickest time on the final lap of his second run while Iannone, who crashed at Turn 1 on his first exit, managed to return to the garage. His bike was repaired in time to allow him to go back out on track and obtain the ninth-quickest time on his final lap.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’21.’858 (7th)

“I am pleased because we are again working well this weekend and we have managed to improve in every session. In FP4 our pace wasn’t bad at all and with used tyres we are not far from the frontrunners, but unfortunately in qualifying I was not able to make a perfect lap. Tomorrow the weather conditions will probably change again and the cooler temperature could help us, so we’ll see what will happen in the race.”

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’21.890 (9th)

“It’s a pity that in qualifying we were not able to make the most of our potential because throughout the weekend we have always been very quick and competitive. Our best session was FP4 in race simulation, with a full tank and a used rear tyre, and in the end we were very quick with a good pace. Unfortunately in qualifying with the first tyre I crashed when I lost the front, and in the end we were not able to get into the first two rows, which was our target because here it’s very important to start up at the front.”

More, from a press release issued by Fantastic Hector Barbera conquers first row on the starting grid

The second day of practice for the German Grand Prix started in a cheerful way, with Hector taking eighth place in the morning and therefore moving up to the Q2 qualification run of the Top 12 riders of the MotoGP category. After his return to the garage, he presented team principal Raul Romero with a special helmet, a gift for his upcoming birthday. But the day got even better for Barbera and Avintia Racing, when the Spanish rider jumped up to second place in the decisive 15-minutes qualifying session, leaving everybody speechless. With this result, Barbera improved on his third place that he achieved at Mugello in 2012, which had been his first ever front row start in a MotoGP race. Without a doubt, Barbera’s achievement today would have been almost impossible without pole-setter Marc Marquez as a reference on his fastest lap, but considering the fact that Barbera rides a motorcycle with the technology of 2014, second place is an incredible result in itself, regardless of the circumstances. Tomorrow, Barbera’s goal is to simply enjoy the race and to achieve the best result possible.

One of the first people to congratulate Barbera in the parc fermé was his team-mate Loris Baz, who returned to action at the Sachsenring after almost two months of absence due to his foot injury. The Frenchman will haave to start the race from the last row of the grid, but he was able to improve his lap times in every session,increasing his pace by a full three seconds from Friday to Saturday. Baz will try to avoid unnecessary risks in the race, but if the weather forecast of possible rain showers comes true, he will try to take advantage and to recover positions with a smooth ride.

Hector Barbera | 1’21.572 | P2

“I’m over the moon, because this is my best result ever in a MotoGP qualification. Sachsenring is a track were our expectations were very high, but to achieve second position is more than we ever dreamt of, just incredible! This front row starting position is a way to thank the team and everybody who believes in this project. The team is doing a fantastic job and it’s fair to say that even though it is such a big surprise to be in front, it also shows that we have the capacity to achieve success, which we showed today. Our motorcycle is two years old, which is noticeable, because you always have to give a little bit extra. We don’t know if it will be a dry of a wet race tomorrow, but whatever the conditions will be, I will try to do my very best and leave from here with a good result!”

Loris Baz | 1’22.860 | P20

“I am on the way of finding back to my rhythm and on getting my strength back, but on the other side, we are running into the same problems that we had before my injury. At least, we have a rhythm that is acceptable. The foot injury doesn’t bother me too much, the only thing is that I have to use more strength in the rest of body, which is a bit tiring. Qualifying wasn’t too bad. We were better than in the last two races, which is positive. But we are still far away from where we want to be. We found a setting that allowed me to improve considerably, but I have to be really aggressive with the bike and I feel the strain on my body. My riding style right now is not very clean, but I hope we can find a few more improvements for tomorrow. I am also struggling to find the right feeling with the dual compound front tyre that Michelin brought for this race. I have to find confidence, because without confidence it is difficult to go fast!”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

CRUTCHLOW NOT SATISFIED WITH HIS QUALIFYING IN GERMANY

Cal Crutchlow will start Sunday’s German Grand Prix from the fifth row of the grid, having missed out on the chance to go for pole in the qualifying final by a tiny margin of five-hundredths of a second.

The LCR Honda rider was frustrated to be even taking part in the qualifying repechage, after having got caught up behind a slower rider during the final free practice session, consigning him to the first qualifier. Despite setting the sixth fastest time of the two qualifying sessions combined, having finished outside of the top two in Q1 he will now start from 13th place on the grid.

Pace during those free practices this weekend suggests that Crutchlow should be higher up the grid, and considering his speed the Brit will be hopeful that he can make up positions quickly in the early laps to give himself the best shout of a good result, whatever the weather may be.

#35 Cal Crutchlow – 13th (1’21.783)

“We should have been in Q1 directly really. In FP3 it looked like Bradl was just riding in the middle of the track, he made a mistake and came back on track in front of me and ruined my lap. Then we had a rear brake problem and I had to scrap the rest of my laps.”

“I’m disappointed like you would not believe. I took a gamble along with the team that we would use an older front tyre during the qualifier, because we didn’t have enough new ones left in our allocation. We took the gamble because we needed it for Q2, simple as that. As we then saw, the laps there weren’t great and I would have been sixth with my Q1 time.”

“I would say that I’m the fourth fastest guy out there, so to be 13th is just a joke. I’m not happy but there’s nothing I can do now other than get out there in the race tomorrow and go for it.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

VIÑALES & SUZUKI ON SACHSENRING MotoGP™ 2ND ROW

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR will start from the second row of the grid at tomorrow’s ninth round of the MotoGP™ World Championship at Sachsenring in Germany after yesterday’s pole-setter Maverick Viñales put his GSX-RR into sixth position.

Team-mate Aleix Espargaró will start from the middle of the third row in eighth place after significantly-improving his lap-time in the hot and dry conditions this afternoon; a complete contrast to yesterday’s mixed cool and, at times, wet conditions.

Both Suzuki GSX-RR riders have been in the mix for the front positions from the start today; both qualifying directly to Q2 with Viñales third with a time of 1’21.820 and Espargaró seventh on 1’22.593.

In the final Q2 – to determine the top four-rows of the grid – their progress continued with both of them in, or around, the top four-or-five positions, but Viñales didn’t quite make the front row, although his and Espargaró’s lap-times were their best of the weekend: Viñales lapped at 1’21.784 on his final ninth lap and Espargaró 1’21.883 on the same lap.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“Honestly we were expecting to gather better results today, after the positive day yesterday. Maverick was very fast on Friday and this morning we tried several things with him, but finally we found a good set-up, and also, Aleix was fast this morning, improving on some weaknesses. The qualifying is not bad because we are in the second and third rows, but maybe we could have done better. Anyway, if we manage to make some little steps forward analysing data for tomorrow, then it could be a race where we could be performing well. The weather tomorrow will be variable, it could rain and be colder, so it’s ‘gonna be a challenge and we will need to be good in adapting to the changing conditions.”

Maverick Viñales:

“I’m not really satisfied, honestly, as I was expecting much more. It’s still one problem we have to find a solution for: Very fast on Friday, then slower on Saturday; and finally struggling in Sunday’s race. Here, the weather conditions changed a lot also, yesterday was colder and rainy, while today there was sunshine. When temperatures get higher we always struggle, the traction is our main issue and also here we suffer. We did many tests, the improvements are solid, but we still need more competitiveness. Anyway, we are working on the info we collected, we just need to stay calm and focused and try to finalise a good machine for the warm-up. Hopefully tomorrow is going to be a little colder and this could help us.”

Aleix Espargaró:

“The truth is that I am very happy, especially in FP4 we made a great step forward, we tested the tyre performance over the race length and the lap-time was not affected so much, so this means we did a good job with the set-up. Unfortunately, in qualifying I couldn’t find even a clean single lap, every lap I made a little mistake in ‘Sector 3’ and couldn’t find an effective solution, but we are very close; with a couple-of-tenths I would be P2. For tomorrow I am feeling positive, there’s only one rider much faster than the others and I think it’s ‘gonna be a group race; I think we made solid improvements and we can have a good race performance. The start will be very important, as well, as to stay close with the leading group.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

 Faultless Marquez takes pole as disaster strikes for Lorenzo

No issues for Marc Marquez as he cruises to pole position yet again in Germany, Lorenzo having a less than ideal day.

The surprises had hardly stopped as the MotoGP™ World Championship headed out for Q2 to decide the grid for the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) had made it into the session by the skin of his teeth, crashing while on a flying lap in Q1.

Most riders elected to do two runs, the field roaring out of the pits with under five minutes remaining. It was with this that the king of Sachsenring made himself known, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) setting a 1’21.160 to take his fourth straight pole position in the premier class in Germany. The Spaniard is looking to continue his perfect record at the Sachsenring, having won from pole for the last three years in the premier class and setting the fastest lap along the way. His incredible record extends even beyond that, having not stepped off the top step in Germany since his first win there in 2010.

Behind him was a marvellous Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing), the Spaniard taking his second ever front row start in the premier class. His first came back in 2012 at the Italian GP, on a Ducati for that race as well. Not only was he the leading Independent Team rider, but also the leading Ducati and the only Ducati man on the front row. Second place is Barbera’s best grid position in the premier class and his best Qualifying result since his last race in the 250cc class at Valencia in 2009.

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will complete the front row for the German GP, half a second off pole position. ‘The Doctor’ was pleased to stay on the front row after traffic got in the way during his second run on track with new tyres. Rossi’s race pace looks strong enough to challenge Marquez and he’ll be hoping to end Honda’s domination of the German circuit. Having already failed to score on three occasions in 2016, he needs to get back on the podium.

Setting an identical time to Rossi, Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) will lead the second row of the grid ahead of Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3). Marquez may have had a distinct advantage with his pole time, but both Espargaro and Petrucci were within a tenth of second place.

Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) formed the rest of the top ten.

Just as sectors started to flash red, Jorge Lorenzo suffered his second crash within 30 minutes, coming off at Turn 1. His day could hardly get any worse, the factory Yamaha man set to line up in 11th. This is his worst grid position since he was 12th at the Dutch GP in 2013 after breaking his collarbone.

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) fell just five minutes into the session at Turn 1 as he began his second flying lap. It was a small crash but took valuable time away from the session and forced him to use his second bike.

Nakagami takes first pole since 2013

Takaaki Nakagami spoiled the fun for Johann Zarco on his birthday, beating the French rider to pole in Germany.

Picking a favourite for pole position as Qualifying for the Moto2™ World Championship began was almost impossible, one second splitting the top 22 riders during FP3. Most of the usual names were towards the top of the timesheets immediately, finding themselves the target of riders looking for a slipstream.

Just a round after his first ever victory, Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) continued to build his confidence as the Japanese rider took his first pole since 2013 with a 1’24.274. In Barcelona Nakagami achieved his first podium of 2016 and quickly followed it up with victory, the confidence from the two results pushing him forward in Germany. It’s his fourth pole in the Moto2™ class, his three previous all coming in 2013. Two of these poles saw him go on to finish on the podium, could he make it two wins in row races?

Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport), who celebrated his 26th birthday on the day of Qualifying in Germany, was the man to beat for most of the session. A 1’24.514 on his 11th lap of the session would stand as the fastest time until Nakagami’s last lap. In typical Zarco style, he’s not worried about missing pole position and is confident his race pace will at least have him alongside Nakagami on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) has steadily improved his pace and climbed higher and higher with each session. His progress continued in Qualifying as he secured third on the grid, 0.367s off pole. This is his fifth front row of the year and continues the pattern of taking to the front row in every second race. All but one of his front row starts have converted into podium finishes, Qatar the exception due to the jump start penalty.

Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) will begin the German GP in fourth ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS). Both the Italians have shown great pace at the Sachsenring during their previous visits and will be looking for their first wins in the intermediate class. Sachsenring has a habit of producing first time winners, the last three Moto2™ races being won by riders who had never won before.

Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team), Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS), Marcel Schrotter (AGR Team) and Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completed the top ten.

Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) was forced to withdraw from the German GP after injuring his ribs in a karting accident. The injury was aggravated while riding in FP3.

Back-to-back poles for Bastianini

Pole wasn’t decided until the very end, Bastianini claiming pole as an oil spillage results in a broken collarbone for Antonelli.

Track temperatures of 33.5°C welcomed the Moto3™ World Championship to Qualifying at the Sachsenring. Low 1’27s were the benchmark as the lights went out and Qualifying for the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland began. There were a number of crashes early in the session and the red flag was brought out with 25 minutes remaining as there was oil down at Turns 4, 5 and 6. The oil had come from the bike of Danny Webb (Platinum Bay Real Estate), the Brit’s bike seen smoking before he was flicked off at Turn 7. Webb went to the medical centre for checks on his shoulder.

Jorge Martin (Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra) was flicked off early in the session at Turn 6. He was unharmed and able to get back to the pits for repairs. Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) suffered his third fall of the weekend, coming off at Turn 4.

Turn 4 claimed Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) almost immediately after, the Italian holding his collarbone when he stood up. After checks it was revealed the Italian had broken his left collarbone, thus being declared unfit for the race. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto3) was the next victim at the corner due to the oil, tumbling through the gravel trap but avoiding any serious injury.

Action resumed once the spillage had been cleared. The drama didn’t stop with the crashes, 11 riders starting their last laps with red sectors. Having been strong all weekend, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3) set a 1’27.129 to take his second pole of the year. The Italian has had six poles during his career, always coming in pairs.

For the second time in his career, Andrea Locatelli (Leopard Racing) will start from the front row. A 1’27.448 saw the Italian 0.319s behind his countrymen, half a second faster than any of his teammates. Locatelli’s previous front row came in Austin in 2015 when he was third, going on to take seventh in the race.

Completing the front row and leading the rookies was Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0), 0.053s off second place. Canet has had an up and down weekend with a big crash earlier, but is showing no signs of slowing down. In France he showed that he could stay with the front-runners, tighter tracks seeming to suit his style.

Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) secured his best ever grid position with fourth, ahead of the injured Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0). Many had expected Navarro to struggle to evens core points in Germany; his fifth place an incredible result given his recently broken leg.

Championship leader Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completes the second row of the grid. As ever he was followed by a number of riders looking for a tow, traffic ruining several of his faster laps.

Maria Herrera (MH6 Team) suffered a nasty fall in the final five minutes and was taken to the medical centre where she was diagnosed with a left wrist fracture. Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA Racing Team) was a late faller in the session coming off on the exit of Turn 12.