Moto2Motorcycles

Marquez Denies Bradl Pole Position on Home Soil

3 Mins read

Marc Marquez spoiled the party for the German supporters by beating Stefan Bradl to pole position on his home turf at the Sachsenring. As expected, the times were incredibly close but Marquez had the upper hand from the moment he hit the front seven minutes from the end, deposing Aleix Espargaro.

The Pons Kalex rider searched for the 0.015s required to propel him back onto pole position but as he was doing that, Marquez went faster still, with his 1:24.733 proving good enough to secure a third pole of the season.

Bradl looked to provide his compatriots with the perfect finale but he took the chequered flag 0.129s shy of his nearest championship rival. His final lap was still good enough to lift him above Espargaro and onto the middle of the front row.

Michele Pirro will line up a career-best fourth on the Gresini Moriwaki while Julian Simon will line-up in the middle of the second row on his first appearance since breaking his leg at Catalunya six weeks ago. Alex De Angelis rounds out the third row after waiting until the very end of qualifying to better his Friday morning time.

Mika Kallio has bad memories of this circuit after tangling with Randy de Puniet in the MotoGP race last year but the Finn will start tomorrow's race from a solid eighth. Either side of him will be two of the Tech 3 Mistral machines with Xavier Simeon impressing again in seventh and Bradley Smith qualifying ninth.

The Briton did get up to fourth at the halfway mark but ran off into the gravel at turn eight on his final flying lap, making light contact with the tyre barrier as he tried to find a way past Mattia Pasini.

Local rider Max Neukirchner will start from a career high of 11th on the grid with Thomas Luthi and Yuki Takahashi right behind him despite each topping an earlier practice session. Simone Corsi was another big name to explore the gravel traps on his way to 21st while Scott Redding will be disappointed with 23rd.

Along with Smith and Corsi, there were also off-track excursions for Randy Krummenacher and Kenny Noyes but the biggest of all came from Jules Cluzel who lost control of his Suter at high speed. Although he escaped serious injury, the Frenchman did limp away after being struck by his errant motorcycle.

 

Qualifying Result:

Pos Rider Nat Bike Team Time/Gap
1 Marc Marquez SPA Suter Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol 1:24.733
2 Stefan Bradl GER Kalex Viessman Kiefer Racing +0.129
3 Aleix Espargaro SPA Pons Kalex Pons HP 40 +0.167
4 Michele Pirro ITA Moriwaki Gresini Racing Moto2 +0.352
5 Julian Simon SPA Suter Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 +0.456
6 Alex de Angelis RSM Motobi JIR Moto2 +0.490
7 Xavier Simeon BEL Tech 3 Tech 3 B +0.502
8 Mika Kallio FIN Suter Marc VDS Racing Team +0.538
9 Bradley Smith GBR Tech 3 Tech 3 Racing +0.571
10 Yonny Hernandez COL FTR Blusens-STX +0.577
11 Max Neukirchner GER MZ-RE Honda MZ Racing Team +0.646
12 Thomas Luthi SWI Suter Interwetten Paddock Moto2 +0.701
13 Yuki Takahashi JAP Moriwaki Gresini Racing Moto2 +0.710
14 Pol Espargaro SPA FTR HP Tuenti Speed Up +0.720
15 Randy Krummenacher SWI Kalex GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing +0.723
16 Jordi Torres SPA Suter Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 +0.732
17 Jules Cluzel FRA Suter NGM Forward Racing +0.762
18 Esteve Rabat SPA FTR Blusens-STX +0.777
19 Axel Pons SPA Pons Kalex Pons HP 40 +0.782
20 Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Suter Technomag-CIP +0.846
21 Simone Corsi ITA FTR Ioda Racing Project +0.880
22 Mike Di Meglio FRA Tech 3 Tech 3 Racing +0.883
23 Scott Redding GBR Suter Marc VDS Racing Team +0.904
24 Ricard Cardus SPA Moriwaki QMMF Racing Team +0.990
25 Andrea Iannone ITA Suter Speed Master +1.055
26 Kenny Noyes USA FTR Avintia-STX +1.073
27 Claudio Corti ITA Suter Italtrans Racing Team +1.118
28 Dominique Aegerter SWI Suter Technomag-CIP +1.137
29 Alex Baldolini ITA Suter NGM Forward Racing +1.139
30 Valentin Debise FRA FTR Speed Up +1.167
31 Anthony West AUS MZ-RE Honda MZ Racing Team +1.397
32 Ratthapark Wilairot THA FTR Thai Honda Singha SAG +1.478
33 Mattia Pasini ITA FTR Ioda Racing Project +1.607
34 Robertino Pietri VEN Suter Italtrans Racing Team +1.749
35 Santiago Hernandez COL FTR SAG Team +2.433
36 Steven Odendaal (WC) RSA Suter MS Racing +2.858
37 Tommaso Lorenzetti ITA FTR Aeroport de Castello +3.083
38 Mashel Al Naimi QAT Moriwaki QMMF Racing Team +3.679
107% Time: 1:30.664
NQ Carmelo Morales SPA Suter Desguaces La Torre G22 No Time

 

Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
Circuit NewsMotorcycles

Pol Tarres breaks own bike altitude world record

1 Mins read
Yamaha’s rally raid ace Pol Tarrés set the world record for the highest altitude climb on a bike when he ascended 6,677 metres up Ojos del Salado on his Ténéré World Raid.
Circuit NewsMotorcycles

FIM ban on Russians, Belarusians to continue into 2024

2 Mins read
As Moscow’s three-day war on Ukraine extends into its 651st day, its riders as well as Minsk’s will remain barred from competing in FIM-sanctioned events through at least the start of 2024.
MotorcyclesOff Road

Gotland Grand National losing Tofta site amid Swedish Army activity

3 Mins read
The Gotland Grand National, the world’s largest enduro race, will no longer be held at Tofta shooting range after 2023 as the Swedish military increases exercises there amid the current global climate.