Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl were both able to make strong steps forward as they chased the top ten on Saturday in Germany.

There was not even a hint of cloud in the sky as action at the German GP continued on Qualifying day. The heat was again a major factor to contend with, the tight and physical layout of the 3.7-kilometre-long circuit meaning there’s almost no time to rest and recover while on track.

Contending with some lasting pain from FP1, particularly on his left-hand side in the ribs, Pol Espargaro dug deep throughout the day. The blistering times from Friday continued as almost the entire grid set their fastest ever laps of the Sachsenring in a tight FP3. A 1’20.456 saw Espargaro end the morning in 13th, only 0.691s from the top spot and completing his personal best lap of the German circuit to date. Missing the combined top ten, Espargaro entered Q1 and once again put in a heroic performance to miss out on the top two, and a transfer spot, by a heartbreaking 0.004s. Espargaro will start the race from 13th, the #44 ready to get his head down and fight through the pain on Sunday.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Stefan Bradl continued to get back up to racing speed and make further gains. With an impressive 1’20.773, good enough for ninth on the grid in 2021, Bradl kept pace with the field in Free Practice 3. Like Espargaro, Bradl was unable to match his morning time in the hotter afternoon session but rode well to take eighth in Q1 and out qualify the likes of Dovizioso and Morbidelli. An extra boost from the home fans has the German rider eager to get going in Sunday’s race.

Takaaki Nakagami ended the day as the fastest Honda rider, earning tenth on the grid despite a fall late in Q2.

Racing is set to begin at 14:00 Local Time on Sunday, June 19 at the Sachsenring. Conditions look to be even more extreme on Sunday as forecasts predict an ambient temperature creeping towards 40°C.

Pol Espargaro

13th 1'20.604

“It was a really difficult day today speaking honestly, the pain from my ribs was huge today, I am struggling to breath when on the bike. Hurting anything on your left side at the Sachsenring makes the whole weekend difficult with all the left corners. I was the limit today; I couldn’t push to the maximum with the pain. It’s a real shame and then to miss out on Q2 by such a small margin was disappointing. We should be much faster than we are, but this is the situation and tomorrow we will give everything in the race.”

Stefan Bradl

18th 1'20.908

“I am happy with my performance today as we were able to keep improving our speed but it is tough. The lap record of almost every track is being broken every weekend and I am riding the fastest I have ever ridden, even if the final position is not impressive. It’s important to keep focusing on our performance and achieving our objectives each time we head out on the bike. I think we have made a good step with the setup and let’s see what is possible tomorrow, I really want to put on a good race for the home fans.”

MotoGP 2022
Qualifying Round 10   Germany

Qualifying Results - Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

Dry
Humidity
24%
Track Temp
50°C
Air Temp
33°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1'19.931
2 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.076
3 Zarco Johann 5 FRA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.099
4 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.189
5 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.197
6 Miller Jack 43 AUS Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.219
7 Marini Luca 10 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.237
8 Martin Jorge 89 SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.288
9 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.537
10 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 0.631
11 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.662
12 Mir Joan 36 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.801
13 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.297 - Q1
14 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.349
15 Binder Darryn 40 RSA WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 0.450
16 Marquez Alex 73 SPA LCR Honda Honda 0.581
17 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.598
18 Bradl Stefan 6 GER HRC Test Team Honda 0.601
19 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 0.658
20 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.713
21 Gardner Remy AUS 0.782
22 Fernandez Raul SPA 1.015
23 Binder Darryn 40 RSA WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 1.015
Location Information

Car and bike races have been held on closed public roads in the area around the town of Chemnitz, Germany since the 1920s and were still taking place until as recently as 1990. It was decided, however, that the five mile course through such a densely populated area was no… read more.

Length 3.671 kilometres / 2.281 miles
Width 12 metres
Left corners 10
Right corners 3
Longest straight 0.700 kilometres / 0.435 miles
Constructed 1996
Modified 2001 (resurfaced in 2017)

Lerchenstraße, 09337 Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany - View in Google Maps

www.sachsenring-circuit.com

Records

Pole Position 1m19.931s (165.3km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022)
Race Lap 1m21.228s (162.6km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2019)
Race Time 41m 01.087s (161km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2015)
2022 Race Winner Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2023 Sprint Winner Jorge Martin (Ducati)