Marc Márquez fifth and Pol Espargaró eighth in #GermanGP qualifying

Marc Márquez went directly through to Q2 after setting the ninth best time in the FP3 for the German Grand Prix. He worked hard all morning to set a good lap in that session, which allowed him to earn a place as high up on the grid as possible.

Finally, the Repsol Honda Team rider set the fifth best time of the day, with a 1:20.567. The result is his best in qualifying so far this season.

Pol Espargaró had to go through Q1, after suffering a crash at Turn 8 during FP3 that prevented him from completing a lap in which he was on course for the Top 10.

Espargaró set the second best time in Q1, just 0.0056s off the quickest lap. In Q2 he finished eight, with a best lap of 1:20.659. He was under half a second off pole position.

The MotoGP German GP takes place at 2pm CEST.

Marc Márquez

“The focus was not on taking pole today, we know our situation and what is realistic because over one lap we are struggling. Qualifying was acceptable, we did a good first lap and then it was hard to improve with all the yellow flags. Our race pace isn’t too bad, we are closer to the front than at other circuits, but I still think they have a little something extra at the moment. It’s a lot of laps and it looks like it will be very hot again, I’m feeling less physical limitations than before so I don’t think this will be a big issue for us – it will be demanding for everyone.”

Pol Espargaró

“The lap where I crash in FP3, I was certainly on to challenge for Q2. Pushing with two tyres in Q1 and one new tyre in Q2 was difficult, we had to risk a lot. I am going to do whatever it needs to be on the top, I finished eighth in Qualifying and one tenth off Marc but I can’t be happy with eighth. Sure we came through Q1, but I want more and I want to be on top. It’s not a bad day overall, let’s see what happens tomorrow in the race as everyone is very close.”