Marc Marquez kept up his undefeated MotoGP qualifying record at the Sachsenring intact after snatching pole position in the dying seconds on Saturday. The reigning champion was forced to produce the fastest ever two-wheeled lap of the Sachsenring to deny Danilo Petrucci in a thrilling conclusion to Q2 in Germany.
Earlier in the day, final practice had already produced a surprise with Andrea Dovizioso missing out on the top ten, forcing him to navigate his way through Q1. Despite close competition from Aleix Espargaro, the Italian advanced to the pole position shootout while another impressive run from LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami saw the rookie follow Andrea through.
The early stages of Q2 were every bit as close as predicted with Jorge Lorenzo taking provisional pole, only for Maverick Vinales to pip the no.99 Ducati by two thousandths of a second. Meanwhile, Marquez was opting for a three-run strategy around the shortest lap on the calendar but as the Honda man ventured out for the last of them, he still trailed Vinales.
With three minutes remaining, Lorenzo regained provisional pole with a 1:20.327 but with Petrucci locked onto his rear wheel, Jorge had unwittingly towed the Pramac rider to a faster lap than his own. Danilo’s 1:20.295 looked to have secured his maiden MotoGP pole position but a final flourish from Marquez saw him miss out by 0.025s.
Lorenzo rounded out the front row with Vinales joined on row two by Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi. Cal Crutchlow heads row three ahead of Andrea Iannone and Alvaro Bautista while Dani Pedrosa starts his final German GP from tenth spot.
2018 Pramac Motorrad Grand Prix von Deutschland: (Qualifying)
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