MotoGP Race Lap Record: Jonas Folger, 1:21.442, 2017

MotoGP All Time Lap Record: Marc Marquez, 1:20.270, 2018

2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship

Sachsenring, Germany

July 6, 2019

Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Two:

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:20.195, New All-Time Lap Record

2. Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:20.400

3. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:20.405

4. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:20.531

5. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:20.690

6. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:20.857

7. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:20.964

8. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:21.023

9. Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:21.061

10. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:21.104

11. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:21.137

12. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:21.486

From Qualifying One:

13. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:21.105

14. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda), 1:21.227

15. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:21.313

16. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:21.433

17. Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:21.446

18. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (KTM), 1:21.465

19. Johann Zarco, France (KTM), 1:21.637

20. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:21.683

21. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:21.796

22. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:22.119

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:

Syahrin and Oliveira start German GP from row six and seven

With a fastest lap that was nearly one second quicker than his best time yesterday, Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Hafizh Syahrin went eight fastest in Qualifying one at the Sachsenring today. The Malaysian is set to launch the ninth round of the 2019 MotoGP season tomorrow at 14.00 local time.

Meanwhile Miguel Oliveira scored a fantastic P15 in FP3 this morning, but struggled to repeat his fastest lap of 1:21.375 in the short Q1 session. The Portuguese MotoGP rookie concluded Qualifying in tenth and therefore will start the last race before the summer break from the seventh row of the grid.

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 18th

Time: 1:21.465

Laps: 8

“I’m really happy with the Qualifying we’ve done, but we had a crash in FP4 with the first bike, which had some good parts. The guys were not able to repair the number one bike in time, because there was just not enough time. So, I had to jump on the second one, which also had some more kilometers on the engine. I just tried my best and was quite surprised to be so fast. I hope I have a good pace for the race tomorrow and will try to prepare everything in Warm Up with my number one bike. I just wish I find the same decent feeling with this machine like I had before the crash.”

Miguel Oliveira

Position: 20th

Time: 1:21.683

Laps: 8

“It was a disappointing Qualifying. We did a quite good Saturday, a very good FP3, a fantastic FP4 with a very good race pace, but we couldn’t make it in the Qualifying. I’m disappointed for the fact, that three riders improved their lap times directly behind me. I got no warning that I was being followed. It’s a costly mistake that puts us very far back on the grid, having the potential to be much more in front. We will see tomorrow. It’s going to be a hard race. We know it’s not easy to overtake at this track, but we will do our best.”

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

FIFTH AND SIXTH ROW FOR THE APRILIAS IN GERMANY

A GOOD PACE IS NOT ENOUGH TO SEND ALEIX AND ANDREA TO Q2 BUT LEAVES HIGH HOPES FOR A COMEBACK IN TOMORROW’S RACE

Fifth and sixth row for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders in the GP of Germany tomorrow. This was the outcome of the day of qualifying on the twisty Sachsenring circuit on a Saturday where Aleix Espargaró, still suffering from injuries to his left leg after his accident in Barcelona, finished with the fifth best time in Q1 (1’21.313) which earn him the fifteenth spot on the fifth row of the grid.

Andrea Iannone continues improving compared to the first part of the season and, by now stably in his teammate’s slipstream, he finished the first qualifiers in sixth place with a time of 1’21.433, therefore in the first spot of the sixth row.

This means that both of them will have to come back from behind to hunt down a spot in the top ten. Playing in their favour is the good pace they both demonstrated in the various sessions, although the German circuit is one of the most complicated of the season in terms of ease of overtaking.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“The weekend is going much better than Assen. In terms of my physical fitness, I did not expect a change in such a short amount of time. In the simulations with used tyres, I felt good. In qualifying, I expected to be able to do better, but I ran into traffic and wasn’t able to put together a clean lap. Starting from behind here is not idea, given the scarce opportunities for overtaking, but I can count on a good pace and I am able to be incisive in braking. I will definitely need to stay calm in the first lap. Some of our rivals will manage to create a gap, but over 30 laps, management will be fundamental.”

ANDREA IANNONE

“We are doing better than I expected on this track. Unfortunately, the biggest limitation was qualifying, where we had a significant gap. I can confirm what was already said, in other words, that tyre management will be key in the race tomorrow. It won’t be easy. We still haven’t decided which compound to use because we need to analyse all the data carefully.”

More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:

Fabulous Fabio takes fourth front row at the Sachsenring

PETRONAS Yamaha SRT duo in strong shape for German GP with Quartararo second and Morbidelli seventh

German GP – 06 July 2019

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s Fabio Quartararo has taken a fabulous fourth consecutive front row start for the German Grand Prix, riding through the pain barrier to secure second place behind Marc Marquez. The impressive performance was backed up by team-mate Franco Morbidelli, taking seventh place on the grid for tomorrow’s Sachsenring clash.

Riding injured after a huge high-speed save in this morning’s FP3 left him with a partially-dislocated left shoulder, Quartararo didn’t let the injury bother him as he set his time in Q2. Trading top spot with Marquez throughout the weekend, he goes into tomorrow’s race confident that he has the pace to run with the reigning World Champion.

It was also a strong day for Morbidelli, completing his strategy in the morning’s sessions to ensure he’s in a strong position for tomorrow’s race. He then backed up his practice race pace performance with seventh on the grid, progressing directly into Q2, then securing a third-row start.

Tomorrow’s 30-lap German Grand Prix gets underway at 2pm local time (8pm Malaysian time).

Franco Morbidelli

“It was a good day for us. We’re faster in race pace than over one lap, which gives us confidence for Sunday. I didn’t have a perfect feeling in qualifying, but I had a great feeling in FP4 so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. It’s difficult to say what kind of a race it will be as practice this morning was a bit sketchy because of the high winds, but despite that we felt strong. Marquez looks to be a little bit ahead of everyone else, but behind him it’s really open.”

Fabio Quartararo

“I’m delighted to be on the front row again, because this morning was tough for us. I made a mistake this morning and had a big moment at 250kph, but on track my shoulder was only a little bit painful in qualifying. It’s one of the most important tracks of the year to qualify well at because it’s so narrow and tight, so I’m really pleased with the result. It’s going to be a long race tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to getting stuck in because I think we’re in a good position to fight.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Ten out of ten: Marquez takes German GP pole with lap record

The pole position lock out at the Sachsenring continued for Marc Marquez with a new circuit record while Stefan Bradl narrowly missed the top 12.

Marc Marquez’s intentions were clear from Free Practice 3 on Saturday, the seven-time World Champion topping the opening session by three tenths of a second. This relentless push continued to FP4 where he lapped consistently in the low 1’21s, ultimately ending the session second.

All eyes were on the reigning champion as Q2 began, Marquez didn’t disappoint and immediately set a 1’20.5. A two-stop run around the tight 3.7km long Sachsenring helped Marquez to improve on his own lap record, setting a 1’20.195 for his tenth straight pole position at the Sachsenring. Marquez’s tenth career pole at the German GP is his fifth of the 2019 season and is his 57th pole in the premier class – just one shy of Mick Doohan’s record.

Stefan Bradl’s 1’21.227 in Q1 was a further two tenths faster than his time from FP3 as he continued to improve his pace each session. The time was less than two tenths of a second off a Q2 transfer spot and will see the German start in 14th, just behind Dovizioso. Bradl’s past record at his home round has the German aiming for a top ten finish, especially after a consistent Free Practice 4 session in the low 1’22s.

Sunday’s 30-lap MotoGP race gets underway at 14:00 local time where Marquez will be looking to convert pole position to victory for the tenth time in his Grand Prix career.

Marc Marquez

1ST 1’20.195

“I am riding very well and since FP1 I have felt good here. We’ve just been trying different tyres and some different things on the bike to see how it compares. Even in qualifying we tried some different things to keep understanding more. We have everything in place for tomorrow but the Yamaha riders are very fast, Viñales and Quartararo are very fast so we will have to keep an eye on them. The pole was possible today but we will have to see if the win is possible tomorrow!”

Stefan Bradl

14TH 1’21.227

“We have had another busy and productive day today. We have accomplished a lot today and our pace is good. For tomorrow we will start from the fifth row so we must make sure we are sensible during the race and do not get caught up in anything. I’m looking forward to it as I think we can gain some positions and riding at home is always very special.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati:

German GP: Danilo Petrucci crashes out during qualifying and will start from 12th position, Dovizioso 13th on the grid

The Ducati Team came back in action today near Chemnitz (Germany) at Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix qualifiers. After working on race pace with a focus on tyre wear in Friday’s free practice sessions, characterized by narrow gaps and concluded by both riders within the top ten, the team struggled a bit more than expected during qualifying, with Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso respectively twelfth and thirteenth on the grid.

Petrucci, seventh in FP3 in the morning, gained direct access to Q2 but fell victim of a high-speed crash at turn 9 in the final moments, when he was posting his best partial times, after being forced to cancel his first two “time attack” attempts due to traffic. The Italian rider hurt both his left wrist and right hand and was taken to the medical center for further checks, which showed partial ligament damage with laxity in the first finger of his right hand.

Andrea Dovizioso also faced a difficult day, as he was forced to participate in Q1 after posting the 14th time in FP3. With a personal best of 1:21.105, Dovizioso missed access to Q2 by only 3 thousandths of a second.

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 1:21.486 (12th)

“Unfortunately I crashed in one of the fastest parts of the track. I lost the front as soon as I closed the throttle and in the crash I hurt both my left wrist and right hand. Luckily I don’t have any fractures but I have a big bruise and at the moment I feel quite a bit of pain, especially in the tendons of my right hand. I hope to feel better tomorrow morning. I believe we can still ride a strong race, even though starting from twelfth position makes things more complicated. Still, I want to give it my all and bring home as many points as possible to defend third place in the championship.”

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:21.105 (13th)

“Today we managed to improve the feeling with the bike and the overall speed, but unfortunately not enough to gain access to Q2. It’s been a complicated day, we worked hard as usual but on this track unfortunately we struggle more than in others. To start from fifth row doesn’t mirror our potential but we simply need to pull ourselves up and try to get the best possible start and recover as many positions as we can. Weather conditions could mix things up a bit, in any case we surely won’t give up.”

The Ducati Team will resume action tomorrow, July 7th, at 09:20 (CET) for the warm-up session ahead of the race, which is scheduled to start at 14:00 local time.

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

#GermanGP Quali. Splendid qualifying for Jack who scores P5 with the hard rear tyre. Pecco will start from row 6 tomorrow.

Jack is at ease on the Sachsenring circuit and compared to the time attack of the FP2 he manages in FP3 to make better use of the soft tyre qualifying directly to the Q2 with the eighth time.

In Q2 the team opts for a 3 runs strategy and in the second time attack with the hard tyre Jack scores the second fastest time. At the end of the qualifying he finishes in 5th and will start from the second row tomorrow.

After the crash in the FP1 that forced him to skip the FP2, Pecco is not 100 per cent but grits his teeth and returns to the track in the FP3. The Italian rider tries to push but can not be incisive also because of a front tyre that does not work well. In Q1 Pecco gives his best but finishes 17th and will start tomorrow from the row 6.

P17 – Pecco Bagnaia

First of all, I want to thank the Clinica Mobile. They did a really great job allowing me to be on track today. I still have a lot of neck pain but I’m going to grit my teeth tomorrow. Today the feeling with the bike has improved so we can fight tomorrow for valuable points for the standings.

P5 – Jack Miller

I was very comfortable with hard rubber. In the last run with the soft tyre maybe we could have done better but the front tyre already had many laps. The second row is still a good result ahead of the race. The choice of tyres for tomorrow will be important but there is great confidence.

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:

COURAGEOUS TAKA CLAIMS TENTH AT SACHSENRING

Takaaki Nakagami showed amazing spirit and bravery to qualify in tenth position for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring. The LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider was in severe pain during Saturday’s qualifying due to the ankle injury he sustained at Assen last weekend, but battled courageously to make it through to Q2 and ensure a good starting position for Sunday’s race.

The Japanese star went 13th fastest in the morning’s FP3 session, but then started to experience real discomfort in his left ankle. Despite being unable to walk, he still produced a superb ride to claim second place in Q1, progressing to Q2 at the expense of Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso. After finishing in tenth spot, he insisted he would give everything tomorrow as he continues to ride through the pain barrier.

Takaaki Nakagami – 10th

(1’21.104 – lap 3 of 4)

“It was a very tough day for me, this morning I felt good and, for the first time since Assen, I put shoes on and, although it was difficult, started to walk. But at the end of the FP3 session I felt that something was wrong, I was in a lot of pain and after that the condition of my left ankle was a disaster. I could not put any weight on it or walk, so it was really tough for me. At one moment in FP4 I thought I might have to retire as I couldn’t change the gear, I wasn’t able to do the movement to downshift. After that I took off all the taping to try and make it a bit more flexible and that helped, although it was very painful. For tomorrow I don’t know, it’s a small track and 30 laps does not help me or my body. I think I will need an injection and painkillers (for the race), but we’ll wait and see what our strategy for the race is.”

More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:

FIRST AND FOURTH ROW START FOR MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP IN GERMANY

Sachsenring (Germany), 6th July 2019

GRAND PRIX OF GERMANY

QUALIFYING

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland from the first and fourth row of the grid, having taken third and eleventh place respectively in today’s qualifying.

3rd MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’20.406 / 10 LAPS

11th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’21.137 / 8 LAPS

Bright sunshine set the scene at the start of today‘s qualifying sessions at the Sachsenring. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales showed great speed in Q2. Despite not being able to set the perfect hot lap, he took third place, on the front row of the grid. Valentino Rossi had to go through the Q1 session, which he dominated, and took the eleventh starting position for tomorrow‘s Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

Viñales left the box as soon as the pit lane lights turned green at the start of the Q2 session. He opted for a hard-hard tyre combination on his first of three runs in total, using a two-stop strategy, and was feeling confident of a top-3 result as he had just finished FP4 in first place.

The Yamaha rider‘s first lap put him in fourth position, and he moved up to third on his next try but found himself in fourth place again as other riders completed their efforts. He then returned to the pits to get some fresh rubber, switching to the soft rear tyre.

After the quick stop, the Spaniard was in fifth. Though he was held up behind another rider, he still reclaimed fourth on his next attempt, but it didn‘t last long. Holding fifth place again, he returned to the pits once more to also give the medium front tyre a try.

Knowing how difficult it is to overtake at the Sachsenring, the number-12 rider was determined to get a front row start. He pushed hard and set a 1‘20.406s on his penultimate hot lap to briefly take second place and ultimately finished the session in third, 0.211s from pole.

Rossi missed the top-10 in FP3 by only 0.007s, meaning he had to take part in Q1 to earn a spot in Q2.

The Doctor let the other riders take a head start, so he could commence his shoot-out without any traffic. He used the medium-hard tyre combination for his benchmark lap, which put him directly into provisional first place. When the pace picked up he was pushed back to third, but the Italian was already on a second fast lap, to take over top billing once more. He improved his time again on lap 3, to a 1‘21.236s, before heading to pit lane holding a 0.144s advantage.

After a quick stop to switch to a soft rear tyre, the Yamaha rider was back on his way. In the final minutes he was pushed back to second place, but the nine-time World Champion had a trick up his sleeve. He posted his first lap under the 1‘21s-mark, a 1‘20.933s, at exactly the right moment. He gained the number one spot and held on to it with a 0.169s advantage until the chequered flag came out.

Unfortunately a crash in the final stages of Q1 meant the crew had a quick repair job to do for the next session. With the help of Maverick’s side of the garage, Rossi was able to participate on his first bike. His initial try in Q2 put him in ninth place, but he soon dropped to tenth. He improved his time but not his placement on the next lap and returned to the box.

On his second run he temporarily moved up to eighth with a 1‘21.137s, but he was unable to further improve on this time on the next two laps and ended the day in 11th place, 0.942s from the top.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

“Maverick has shown good speed all day, not just on one lap, but also his race pace is strong. The aim for him was to get a front row start and he delivered. It‘s a very positive result because this third-place start could be very important for his race tomorrow. It was a shame Vale had to go through Q1, because we were actually quite confident this morning in FP3 that he would be in Q2, but he missed out by just 0.007s. Q1 is always a big fight, but we knew his feeling is not bad anyway, and he topped most of the session. His crash at the end of Q1 did damage to his number one bike, meaning the team had a rush job to do! Thanks to great teamwork and the help of Maverick’s crew we managed to get his bike ready for Q2 again, but all the little setbacks ultimately resulted in him taking 11th. We will work hard tonight to make another step for tomorrow, but we need to keep in mind that the weather and track conditions will be very different from today. Adapting to the circumstances, as well as maintaining tyre life, will be vital in the race.”

MAVERICK VIÑALES

“I‘m really happy because we achieved today‘s objective. It‘s true that we could have done better, but we are improving the bike quite a lot. I didn‘t expect to be that close in qualifying, because the gap was bigger in FP3. We need to keep working like this. I feel great on the bike, especially my rhythm is good, but it will be very important to make another step this evening. We are going to try our best to go for the win. Managing tyre degradation will be crucial tomorrow, so we‘re going to try to make that work for us. I don‘t know which tyre I will use yet, because the weather will be very different from what we had today.”

VALENTINO ROSSI

“My team did a great job! They were able to recover the bike in just ten minutes between Q1 and Q2, because that was the bike I felt better on. In Q2 I was able to finish at the top, but unfortunately after that I had a small crash, and I lost the feeling a little. It was a shame I couldn’t make the same lap times during Q2 as I did before, so I have to start a bit further down the grid. My pace is not so bad, but on a hot lap I suffered a bit, I didn’t feel fantastic, especially at the last part of the race track. We’ll see tomorrow, also because it looks like the conditions for tomorrow will be different from today.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:

CRUTCHLOW IN GOOD SHAPE FOR SACHSENRING RACE

Cal Crutchlow secured a spot on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s German Grand Prix, the ninth round of this year’s MotoGP World Championship. The LCR Honda CASTROL rider was on the pace throughout on a scorching Saturday at the Sachsenring and ultimately claimed sixth position in qualifying, just as he did at Assen last weekend.

The Briton again made light of the knee injury he picked up prior to the race weekend as he posted the fourth quickest time in the morning’s FP3 session to easily progress to Q2. Although he then struggled in FP4, Crutchlow produced in qualifying with his penultimate flying lap good enough to earn him a place on the front two rows for Sunday’s race.

Cal Crutchlow – 6th

(1’20.857 – lap 7 of 8)

“Yeah, I’m happy enough. I qualified there in Assen, sixth there and sixth here. I think that’s about our pace this weekend, it’s going to be a really long difficult race and obviously the heat today didn’t help anybody’s tyres, but overall we’re happy enough. I’ve no idea (about tyres for the race), I used the really used rear tyre in FP4 and it was very difficult to manage, but that’s what it’s going to be like in the race. Marc (Marquez) has the pace compared to everybody else, we can see that, but we just don’t know how our rear tyre performed in that session because we used it from the morning. We’ll see, I believe that we have the pace to do a good job tomorrow, potentially fight for the podium or potentially fight for tenth. It’s always a good race here and a real battle.”

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:

ESPARGARO DASHES INTO MOTOGP Q2 AGAIN AT THE SACHSENRING WITH BRIGHT 8TH PLACE

MotoGP 2019 – Round 9, Sachsenring (GER)

The tight and curving demands of the Sachsenring did not stop Red Bull KTM’s Pol Espargaro continuing his excellent rate of progression and speed with the KTM RC16 in 2019 MotoGP as the Spaniard again rode straight into the Q2 cut-off for the seventh time this season. The 28 year old sealed 8th position on the grid (his second highest standing this term) for the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland and round nine of nineteen.

Breezy but bright conditions greeted a busy Sachsenring circuit for the second MotoGP Grand Prix in one week and just a few days after the paddock had departed Assen in the Netherlands. The compact and elongated corner sections of the track (with ten left-handed turns) meant the Sachsenring was again an unusual and technical test for the Grand Prix elite.

Pol Espargaro began the weekend well with the 5th fastest lap on combined times after Free Practice 1 and 2 on Friday. The German layout was significantly kinder on his sore right wrist compared to some of the harder braking demands in Assen the previous weekend. With an effort just over a second away from Marc Marquez’s pace-setting effort Espargaro went straight into Q2 and with his fifth attempt marked the chrono that will see him fill a space in the middle of the third row.

Red Bull KTM teammate Johann Zarco veered between set-up for a time-attack and a solution for more race competitiveness. The Frenchman finished FP3 just one second away from the top spot and in Q1 faced stiff opposition with the likes of Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso among others in the same group. Zarco, battling illness, ended up 19th.

Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo Hafizh Syahrin and Miguel Oliveira will form-up in 18th and 20th positions respectively.

Pol Espargaro: “I was expecting a good weekend. It was a little bit harder than last year because everyone was flying but we also went faster in FP3 and the qualifying. I’m happy with that position on the grid and it’s good to be near the top. The third row is a decent position for us. I think we have a good set-up and ideas for the race tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it. My wrist is better here simply because there are so many left corners. I still need a few painkillers but otherwise it is OK.”

Johann Zarco: “I expect to fight in the points tomorrow. I’ll be happy with this. I had a good feeling in the morning but in the afternoon a few more problems with the warm weather. We lost some grip and it became a bit more complicated. We’ll work hard for tomorrow and try to find a solution. I still need to change my smooth style. There are some good things going on and we just need to hold onto those through the race.”

Hafizh Syahrin: “I’m really happy with Qualifying but we had a crash in FP4 with the first bike, which had some good parts. The guys were not able to repair the number one bike in time. So, I had to jump on the second one, which also had some more kilometres on the engine. I just tried my best and was quite surprised to be so fast. I hope I have a good pace for the race tomorrow.”

Miguel Oliveira: “We did a quite good Saturday: a very good FP3, a fantastic FP4 with a very good race pace but we couldn’t make it in the Qualifying. Three riders improved their lap times directly behind me. I got no warning that I was being followed. It’s a costly mistake that puts us very far back on the grid, having the potential to be much more in front. We will see tomorrow. It’s going to be a hard race. We know it’s not easy to overtake at this track, but we will do our best.”

Moto2 & Moto3

In a closely matched Moto2 qualification session Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jorge Martin rode well to classify 7th and just two tenths of a second from pole position. Brad Binder registered 17th position; an early crash in Q2 causing problems. Moto2 saw over twenty riders split by just one second through the Free Practice and Qualification sessions.

Ayumu Sasaki took his first ever Pole Position in Moto3 as Jakub Kornfeil was the top-ranking KTM in 6th. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Can Öncü scored his best qualification position of the season in 12th (his previous highest being 16th in Catalunya).

Races: July 7th, 2019 – Moto3 11.00 | Moto2 12.20 | MotoGP 14.00 CET

Results Qualifying MotoGP Sachsenring 2019

1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda 1:20.195

2. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Yamaha +0.205

3. Maverick Viñales (ESP), Yamaha +0.211

4. Alex Rins (ESP), Suzuki +0.336

5. Jack Miller (AUS), Ducati +0.495

8. Pol Espargaro (ESP), Red Bull KTM +0.828

18. Hafizh Syahrin (MYS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:21.465 (Q1)

19. Johann Zarco (FRA), Red Bull KTM 1:21.637 (Q1)

20. Miguel Oliveira (POR), Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:21.683 (Q1)

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:

SUZUKI DUO QUALIFY 4TH AND 9TH FOR SACHSENRING GP

Alex Rins: 4th – 1:20.531

Joan Mir: 9th – 1:21.061

• Alex Rins looking strong just off the front row in 4th.

•Joan Mir learns difficult Sachsenring quickly, takes 9th.

•Team ready to take on tomorrow’s 30 lap race.

Saturday morning’s FP3 session saw a fight for direct passage for Q2 as many riders began to improve their lap times. Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s duo worked hard to keep themselves within the Top 10 with consistently quick laps. They persistently came back when knocked back, Rins closing the session in 5th, and Mir in 9th.

In FP4, Rins and Mir confirmed that they were feeling positive, finishing the 30-minute session in 3rd and 4th spots, both less than four tenths of a second behind the top spot.

As Q2 rolled around, Rins was ready to push for the front row. A run-off at the start of the session wasn’t going to hamper him, and with his favoured medium-hard tyre combination, he set a strong 1:20.531 lap. However, the front row was just out of reach, and he will start from 4th tomorrow.

Mir chose the same tyres as his team-mate and also put in a decent lap, a 1:21.061, to finish 9th.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“It’s been a positive qualifying day. Alex lost the front a bit on the last lap so perhaps it could have been even better, but we’re still satisfied. Joan also did a good job and he will start in 9th; he’s been fast all weekend so we’re feeling confident with both riders. We’ll be aiming for the top group and we’re looking forward to the race. Tyre choice and the weather will play a part, though.”

Alex Rins:

“I had a bit of a scary moment on the last corner of the last lap, I was setting a really quick time and I had to make a save with my elbow! But nevertheless, I’ve finished today on the second row and that’s within my target. Tomorrow I’ll try to get a good start, because I feel like I have strong pace.”

Joan Mir:

“I’m happy, but I expected a little bit more because my pace in FP4 was really good, so I thought I could go even quicker with a new tyre in qualifying. Anyway, I will start on the third-row tomorrow, and I’m pleased with that. I’m ready to try hard in this final race before the summer break.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Quartararo runs Marquez close but the King of the Sachsenring takes pole

A tenth pole in a row for the reigning Champion sees him head Fast Fabio by two tenths, with Viñales close in third

Saturday, 06 July 2019

It started in the 125 World Championship, it continued in Moto2™ and now it’s seven times in a row in MotoGP™: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) continued his stunning form to make it ten successive Sachsenring pole positions in the HJC Helmets Grand Prix Motorrad Deutschland, escaping the clutches of rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) by two tenths and on course to challenge for a tenth win in a row at the track on Sunday. Quartararo was once again a key challenger despite a big wobble in FP3 that partially dislocated the Frechman’s shoulder – on top of his ongoing recovery from arm pump surgery, with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completing the front row and missing out on second by just 0.006.

The drama started early as Q1 saw Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lead Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) into Q2 to fight for the top 12, and that had some serious consequences for Championship challenger Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) as he was knocked out by just a few thousandths. He’ll face a fight back on Sunday from P13.

Meanwhile, at the front, Marquez was the first man to set a benchmark time in Q2, the number 93 slamming in a 1:20.575. But there was more to come, with an advantage of two tenths then becoming half a second as the Repsol Honda rider set a new all-time lap record. A 1:20.215 moved the goalposts 0.553 clear of his nearest challengers as the undisputed King of the Ring laid down the gauntlet for the riders to try and match. And slowly but surely, that half a second gap started to shrink, down to 0.185 as both Quartararo and Marquez headed onto their final flying laps – the 20-year-old just behind Marquez on circuit.

Both riders set a red first sector, Marquez was superior in the second, Quartararo then went through his favoured third split in the red…but so did Marquez. It all came down to the final sector of the session – would Marquez hold on for a tenth straight pole or would Quartararo steal it from the seven-time Champion’s grasp? Marquez did set a slightly faster lap and a couple of seconds later, Quartararo crossed the line but it wasn’t to be. But two tenths off Marquez in Q2 at the Sachsenring whilst not exactly fighting fit is a warning shot regardless.

Viñales finished just 0.006 off Quartararo to lineup in P3, his fourth front row start of the season, as Rins spearheads the second row of the grid in P4. By far the leading Ducati rider in qualifying, Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) had a great session to launch from P5, he’ll sit next to the brave Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) – the Briton qualifies sixth for the German GP despite suffering a torn ACL and a small fracture to the top of his tibia ahead of this weekend.

Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Franco Morbidelli leads Row 3 ahead of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and the duo will line up with Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) alongside them. The Spaniard was involved in an incident with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) after it appeared the Suzuki rider held up the Italian on the entrance to ‘The Waterfall’ and on the exit of Turn 12…

Just behind that drama, Takaaki Nakagami qualifies P10, with the Japanese rider beating fellow Q1 graduate Valentino Rossi by 0.033 to turn the tables on ‘The Doctor’ in Q2. To continue a more turbulent session for Petrucci, not long after his words with Mir the Italian then suffered a huge crash at Turn 9 as the front washed away. He headed to the medical centre for a checkup, and will race from P12…just ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) was 14th as he replaces the injured Jorge Lorenzo, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) close behind in P15.

That’s it from Saturday and it’s 10 in a row for the sublime King of the Sachsenring, but pole position didn’t come easy and judging by race pace, Marquez might not quite have it all his own way on Sunday either. Can Quartararo, Viñales or the likes of Rins upset the applecart? And will the likes of Rossi and Dovizioso fight through the pack? The MotoGP™ class go racing at 14:00 local time (GMT+2).

Marquez heads Moto2™ front row covered by a tenth

Marquez, Marini and Schrötter set up a showdown to remember at the Sachsenring

Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) is on pole position for the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, coming through Q1 and setting a 1:23.585 to beat fellow Q1-protagonist Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) to the top by just 0.079. Home hero Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) completes a front row at the Sachsenring covered by 0.082, setting us up for another Sunday to remember in the intermediate class.

Marquez and Marini moved through Q1 along with Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up), who set a new all-time Sachsenring lap record in the session. He came out to set the early pace in Q2, a 1:23.944 the provisional benchmark, but the Spaniard later crashed at Turn 13, the same place he did in FP3 – rider ok. His session was over and while over a tenth under in the first sector, Free Practice pacesetter Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) also crashed out of contention at Turn 3 while sitting P13.

Marquez then went to the top of the times ahead of rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up), with Schrötter taking P2 and Marini then taking second with 30 seconds to go. Ultimately,nNo one could topple Championship contender Marquez, who takes his first pole position since Malaysia 2018.

Di Giannantonio held onto P4 to get his best qualifying in the intermediate class, with the Italian spearheading the second row of the grid ahead of Assen winner Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) and the leading KTM of Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM). 0.283 covers the top two rows. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a good session to finish seventh, the reigning Moto3™ World Champion enjoying his best Saturday afternoon Moto2™ result, with Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) completing the top ten.

Championship leader Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), meanwhile, had a disappointing session and the Swiss rider has work to do from P12 as main rival Marquez launches from pole. Navarro is the man just ahead of him in P11, with Lowes just behind him. And Binder? His crash sees Friday’s fastest facing a fight back from P17.

Marquez is in a prime position to make up for the disappointment of Assen and try and take back that Championship lead. Can Lüthi stop him and move up from P12? A spectacular intermediate class race awaits as a top 18 covered by 0.8s get set for lights out on Sunday at 12:20 local time (GMT+2).

Sasaki strikes for first career pole at the Sachsenring

Petronas Sprinta Racing rider leads a Japanese 1-2 as he takes pole ahead of Toba

Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) will start from a maiden pole position in the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, taking the honour from compatriot Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) by just 0.057 at the Sachsenring. It’s 18 years since the last time there was a Japanese 1-2 in the lightweight class, with Youichi Ui and Nobby Ueda heading the field in the the 2001 South African GP. Sasaki will also be the first Japanese rider to start from pole position in the lightweight class since Youichi Ui in 2003, with compatriot Hiroki Ono taking the honour in his home Grand Prix in 2016 but later receiving a grid penalty. Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) completes the front row.

Another key headline sees Championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) start from P22, his worst qualifying in over two years, after exiting pitlane for his second and final time attack too late, missing the chance at another flying lap. He’ll start from the eighth row and faces a fight back on Sunday if he’s to keep the points lead.

But before all that, a sunny Sachsenring greeted the grid once again on Saturday, and in Q1 it was rooke Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) who topped the session to moved through, joined by Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46), Assen podium finisher Jakub Kornfeil (Redox Prüstel GP) and Le Mans winner John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing). By that stage Canet was already out, as was fellow Championship challenger Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), giving Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) the opportunity to capitalise.

Dalla Porta did, and behind Sasaki, Toba and Ramirez, the Italian starts fourth and heads up Row 2. He’s joined by Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers Team) just 0.032 in arrears, and although the veteran had a laptime cancelled, it remains his best qualifying performance since his return to the class. Jakub Kornfeil, from Q1, completes the second row.

Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) took P7 and has Dennis Foggia for close company, with Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) locking out the third row. McPhee took P10 from Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) by an infinitesimal 0.001, with rookie Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) pushed down to 12th by just 0.006 after a solid weekend so far for the Turk.

Filip Salac (Redox Prüstel GP) continued his roll of improved pace into qualifying and starts P13, ahead of Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and rookie Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), who was one of the fastest on Friday. Ogura is next up, ahead of Antonelli, who looks to make some serious moves forward on Sunday to take some solid points and at least gain on Canet in the standings despite missing out on the chance to make the most of it.

What will race day bring? Sasaki and Toba lead the troops into Round 9 at 11:00 (GMT +2), with the likes of Canet, Arbolino and Antonelli looking for a quick way through the pack.