Second and third rows for Repsol Honda Team at the Sachsenring

Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro continued their forward progress during an overall productive day in Germany as they secured fifth and eighth on Sunday’s grid respectively in a field divided by just tenths.

Temperatures continued to rise at the Sachsenring on Saturday as the MotoGP World Championship grew ever closer, just a tenth of a second separating the top five in some sessions.

Having not put a fresh tyre in for Free Practice 2 on Friday, this was the first order of business for Marc Marquez who immediately jumped into the combined top ten with a low 1’21. Another fast lap latter in the Free Practice 3 session saw Marquez hold onto his place in the combined top ten, advancing directly to Q2 for the second time since his return to racing. Qualifying saw Marquez set a 1’20.567 but unfortunately miss out on improving in the final minutes of the session due to incidents on track. As a result, he will start in fifth. The gap to the front is closer than recent rounds and Marquez is looking to make the most of Sunday’s race.

Espargaro’s day was hit hard by a crash late in Free Practice 3, falling while on his last flying lap of the session. Signs were positive that the lap time would help elevate him to the top ten, but the fall meant it was another trip to Q1. There was no stopping the #44 as he advanced through into Q2 after constantly improving his times. Setting a 1’20.659 late in the session, Espargaro secured eighth on the grid and matched his best Qualifying result as a Repsol Honda Team rider. Again, it was the tightest of margins which divided the field, just a tenth slower than his team-mate but a row further back. Espargaro was left wanting much more from the day and is determined to make further improvements on Sunday.

Now all that remains of the weekend is a 20-minute Warm Up session and then the German Grand Prix itself, 30 laps of Sachsenring rollercoaster-action starting at 14:00 Local Time on Sunday. Who will be the King of the Ring?