MotoGP: Under 0.2s splits Ducati and Honda in Q2 as the rain plays a pivotal role in MotoGP qualifying at the Sachsenring
The wet weather has come to play on Saturday at the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany, but that didn’t stop Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) from clinching pole position. It was a tight affair though, as Q1 graduate Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) pushed the #93 to the wire in a Saturday morning scrap that saw Marquez win by just 0.151s. That means it’s Ducati leading Honda on the front row at the Sachsenring, with Aprilia Racing also there after Marco Bezzecchi’s fine rain dance in Q2.
Q1 – ZARCO COMFORTABLE AS MORE RAIN FALLS
As anticipated, wet weather was the order of play as we entered MotoGP Q1 and after a dry line began to appear in FP2, more rain fell to see that lighter grey line on parts of the circuit start to disappear again. And it made for fascinating viewing in the opening 15-minute qualifying stint.
French GP winner Zarco was the pacesetter with just over five minutes to go, his best time was a 1:28.370, over half a second quicker than second place Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3). P2 was then Raul Fernandez’s (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), but the Spaniard’s stint in the top two was brief because Viñales went P1 with two minutes to go, before Zarco returned to the summit.
Could anyone climb into the top two? The answer was no. Zarco and Viñales sailed into Q2, with Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) missing out by a couple of tenths in P3.
Q2 – EARLY DRAMA AS POLE FIGHT GOES TO THE WIRE
And for one of those riders, there was immediate drama. Viñales, on his out-lap, was thrown off his Tech3 KTM at Turn 4. Thankfully, the Spaniard was quickly on his feet, but that was far from an ideal start to Q2. And then, at the same corner, Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) was down in almost identical fashion.
The Australian was straight back on his feet too, but it was another rear-end crash as conditions were visibly trickier than Q1. The first reference lap time was a 1:31.419 set by Brad Binder (Red Bull KT Factory Racing), before the South African then dipped into the 1:29s for the first time. It was Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was jumped to P1 though, the Italian’s time was a 1:29.776.
This was all about who was prepared to push the boat out and take some added risks. The lap times were dropping every time and with eight minutes to go, Marc Marquez led Q2 for the first time. A 1:28.730 was landed by the championship leader and despite a moment at the top of the Waterfall on his next flyer, Marquez went quicker again by 0.4s.
At this stage, the #93 was 1.3s clear in the chase for German GP pole position, make that 1.5s after his latest attack. Zarco got that back to under a second shortly after, with Bezzecchi provisional P3 with five minutes left on the clock.
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) was chipping away and raised himself to P6, with both Zarco and Bezzecchi now 0.8s away from Marc Marquez’s table-topping effort. That was then 0.5s for Bez, and the same could be said for Morbidelli as the Italians closed in.
Then, we lasered in on Zarco. Through split three, the Frenchman was just 0.002s off Marquez’s time and across the line, it was a slender 0.065s. Close, very close, but not enough for provisional pole position.
But this wasn’t done. Marc Marquez was improving by 0.2s through sector three, Zarco was chasing hard, but the Ducati star’s lap was good enough to beat Zarco’s final effort by a tenth and a half, and after setting a red split through the second sector, Morbidelli’s pole position attempt ended with a crash at Turn 8.
And with that, MotoGP pole position number 73 was clinched by Marc Marquez, with Zarco and Bezzecchi making it three manufacturers on the front row.
YOUR TOP FOUR ROWS FOR THE GERMAN GP
Morbidelli spearheads the second row ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and the impressive Alex Marquez as the latter aims to limit the potential championship damage while nursing that fractured left hand.
P7 on the grid will be Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), he’s joined on Row 3 by Friday pacesetter Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Miller, with Binder, a disappointed Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Viñales completing the top 12.
COMING UP: THE TISSOT SPRINT
The Sachsenring King gets his Saturday off to the perfect start, but with the wet weather set to stick around, who knows what will unfold in the 15-lap Sprint later on.
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