Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). Pole position. Sachsenring. Rings a bell, doesn’t it? The King of the Ring does it again in qualifying with a new all-time lap record to boot, but it was tight. The World Champion’s 1:19.041 was a smidgen 0.061s clear of second place Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) less than a tenth and a half away to complete an all-Ducati front row, as Aprilia Racing endures a tough 15-minute stint.
World Championship leader Jorge Martin qualified ninth, and Aprilia Racing teammate Marco Bezzechi suffered an even tougher session. The 72 went down at Turn 7 and was later confirmed to have broken his collarbone, set to return to Italy as soon as possible for surgery and missing the rest of the weekend, forfeiting his place in P8.
Q1: Two World Champions leap into Q2
The biggest hitter in Q1 was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), and it was the Italian who climbed to P1 immediately with a 1:19.954, with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) just 0.034s off his fellow MotoGP World Champion in P2 after the first stint.
On his first attack on a fresh rear Michelin soft, Bagnaia got down to a 1:19.753 to extend his advantage to 0.235s over Mir, who was then shuffled out of the top two by Fabio Quartarararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The Frenchman found a 1:19.864, and it was a P2 time that went unbeaten in the closing stages of Q1. Mir and teammate Luca Marini couldn’t respond, so sailing into Q2 were Pecco and Quartararo.
Q2: Ducati turn the screw as Bezzecchi endures another crash
And so, the looming question heading into the pole position shootout: can anyone stop Marc Marquez from clinching pole at the Sachsenring? The chief contender was maybe Di Giannantonio, and it was the Italian who shot to P1 by 0.055s thanks to a 1:19.512, with Marc Marquez in P2.
Then, more drama for Bezzecchi as the rear end let go and the Italian rolled into the gravel. The good news was Bezzecchi was on his feet and on the back of a scooter in short enough time, but he was later confirmed to have broken his collarbone.
Elsewhere, Fernandez had pounced to provisional pole by 0.168s over Alex Marquez. The benchmark for the rest was a 1:19.262, and with seven minutes to go, Marc Marquez got close – but not enough. The reigning World Champion – who was on a two-stop strategy – fired himself up to P2, 0.089s shy of Fernandez’s pace.
Then, with five minutes to go, it was Di Giannantonio’s turn to sit P1. A 1:19.188 was the Italian’s time, and with three and a half minutes to go, with Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) jumping to P3, Marc Marquez found himself off the front row in P4.
However, the 93 was on the prowl. Three red splits were followed by a classy Sector 4 to see the King of the Sachsenring go provisional pole, a 1:19.041 acting as a new lap record too. Alex Marquez then made it a 1-2 for the siblings, and Quartararo slotted in a great lap to shuffle onto the second row. This meant, with less than a minute to go, World Championship leader Martin was P9, one place behind teammate Bezzecchi in P8. And that was that for Martin. No final time attack was incoming for the 89, signalling a disappointing session for the factory Noale squad.
Not so disappointing for Marc and Alex Marquez though. Was it ever really in doubt? Probably not. Marc Marquez will launch from pole position alongside Alex Marquez and Di Giannantonio, with Fernandez and Ogura having to settle for P4 and P5 on the grid. Aprilia with work to do; Ducati turning up the wick in Germany.
Quartararo, as ever, showed his class over one lap to stick the Yamaha in P6, ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in P7, who will move back to P10 for the Grand Prix following his three-place grid penalty.
With Bezzecchi out, then comes Martin, as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) takes over in P9. Pecco, having come through Q1, will be frustrated with a P10 starting slot for the Sprint and P9 for the GP, as Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) completed the Q2 runners in P12.
COMING UP: Sachsenring Sprint
That sets us up nicely for the Tissot Sprint then, doesn’t it? Ducati and Marc Marquez have the upper hand so far in Germany, as an intense fight looks like it’s brewing at the Sachsenring. Don’t miss it.
