Photography by Gold & Goose
Marc Marquez continued his domination of the Sachsenring on Saturday. Marquez qualified on the pole for Sunday’s German Grand Prix with a pole record time of 1:20.336 on the 2.28-mile, 13-turn Sachsenring. It was the fourth pole of the season for Marquez, his 26th-career pole in the premier class.
Marquez now has earned six consecutive poles at the circuit in three different classes dating back to 2010.
Joining Marquez on the front row will be his Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo.
Marc Marquez beat his own qualifying record of last year’s Sachsenring pole time (1:20.937) right off the bat, turning a 1:20.838 on his factory Repsol Honda in the first half of the final qualifying session.
Bradley Smith was forced to pit early for a new windscreen after he was bucked out of the saddle of his Tech 3 Yamaha when he got sideways out of a fast left hander and head-butted the bike’s wind screen.
With just under four minutes to go Jorge Lorenzo became the second rider into the 1:20s when he pushed his MoviStar Yamaha into a time of 1:20.921 to temporarily take second.
Pedrosa gave a long look at Cal Crutchlow for riding on the race line while not at full speed. Pedrosa claimed Crutchlow’s move cost him his fast lap in the first half of the session. After the session Crutchlow sportingly came up and apologized to Pedrosa, seemingly admitting his error.
With about two-and-a-half minutes to go there was a flurry of fast times. Pedrosa briefly took P1 with a 1:20.628, but teammate Marquez was quickly back atop the charts with his pole-winning 1:20.336.
And that’s how it ended. Championship leader Valentino Rossi was the last contender on the track, but he only managed sixth fastest
“The most important thing is the confidence with the bike is really high,” Marquez said after the session. “In this circuit I always get good results but this weekend I feel good and I’m constant. I was also fast over one lap so I’m happy, also happy with the work that we have done. Tomorrow is the most important so we have to keep on like this.”
Pedrosa, who is back on the front row for the first time since the opening round at Qatar was happy with his performance.
“Yeah, I was happy with my first feeling in the first run but Crutchlow didn’t see me and ruined my lap,” Pedrosa said. “Unfortunately I had to stop and change tires and I wasn’t sure if we could do it on the second tire because sometimes you don’t get the same feeling. Actually I produced a good lap and to get the front row at this track is very important. Hopefully we can make a little step tomorrow as Marquez’s pace is very high and we’re still missing a little. Hopefully we can make a good start and make the right tire choice, which will be critical.”
After qualifying Lorenzo sounded like he feels the Hondas could be untouchable on this circuit.
“Impressive, it seems the Honda has no problems,” Lorenzo commented. “They’re able to brake later and accelerate very soon. It will be tough to stay with them. I am the first Yamaha to do a 1’20 in this track so I am very happy with this lap time. I did my best and I didn’t get even close to them. I think our goal is to try to get the podium, the victory will be difficult but you never know. The podium is definitely achievable.”
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) will start from 4th place, with Yonny Hernández (Octo Pramac Racing) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) joining him on the second row in 5th and 6th respectively.
American Nicky Hayden Qualified 19th.
The race will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00am Eastern.
MotoGP Qualifying from the Sachsenring – July 11, 2015
1 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 293.0 1’20.336
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 294.2 1’20.628 0.292 / 0.292
3 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 289.9 1’20.921 0.585 / 0.293
4 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Ducati Team Ducati 294.5 1’21.029 0.693 / 0.108
5 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 292.2 1’21.115 0.779 / 0.086
6 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 290.7 1’21.220 0.884 / 0.105
7 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 282.7 1’21.239 0.903 / 0.019
8 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 293.4 1’21.274 0.938 / 0.035
9 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 293.0 1’21.329 0.993 / 0.055
10 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR CWM LCR Honda Honda 288.3 1’21.409 1.073 / 0.080
11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 297.1 1’21.503 1.167 / 0.094
12 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 289.1 1’21.796 1.460 / 0.293
13 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 290.0 1’21.628 0.295 / 0.062
14 45 Scott REDDING GBR EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 287.1 1’21.632 0.299 / 0.004
15 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 290.4 1’21.760 0.427 / 0.128
16 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 287.8 1’22.049 0.716 / 0.289
17 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM E-Motion IodaRacing Team ART 280.1 1’22.195 0.862 / 0.146
18 43 Jack MILLER AUS CWM LCR Honda Honda 286.7 1’22.225 0.892 / 0.030
19 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 283.3 1’22.362 1.029 / 0.137
20 76 Loris BAZ FRA Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 283.8 1’22.394 1.061 / 0.032
21 63 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 289.6 1’22.441 1.108 / 0.047
22 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN AB Motoracing Honda 287.5 1’22.543 1.210 / 0.102
23 50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 282.5 1’22.693 1.360 / 0.150
24 70 Michael LAVERTY GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 283.5 1’22.947 1.614 / 0.254
25 71 Claudio CORTI ITA Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 281.0 1’23.374 2.041 / 0
