Faultless Marquez takes pole as disaster strikes for Lorenzo2016-07-17 09:17No 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. MotoGP™ Qualifying Results 1 - Marc Marquez (SPA) HONDA 1'21.160 2 - Héctor Barberá (SPA) DUCATI + 0.412 (1st Independent Team Rider) 3 - Valentino Rossi (ITA) YAMAHA + 0.506 Nakagami takes first pole since 2013 Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) Moto2 Front Row 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. Moto2™ Qualifying Results 1 - Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) KALEX 1'24.274 2 - Johann Zarco (FRA) KALEX + 0.240 3 - Alex Rins (SPA) KALEX +0.367 Source: Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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