Marc Marquez claimed yet another pole position at the German Grand Prix as Jorge Lorenzo crashed twice in qualifying.
Marquez lived up to his qualifying favouritism while Hector Barbera proved an unlikely front row starter for Avintia Ducati.
Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi completed the top three.
The Espargaro brothers pushed hard from the outset, lapping in the 1:22s bracket as Pol led Aleix.
Barbera jumped to the top of the timesheets next time around as he sat in Marquez’s slipstream before the Honda rider moved into provisional pole as the first runs drew to a close.
The top three remained the same through the second runs to the chequered flag, with Marquez’s pole time the fastest lap of the weekend.
“I’m very happy to have another pole here in Sachsenring,” said Marquez as he reflected on his seventh straight pole across all classes at the German track.
“I’m especially happy with the pace but anyway Valentino (Rossi) is very close.
“I know that in the race tomorrow he will be there, and the weather can be another opponent tomorrow.”
Barbera’s second placing marks a career-best MotoGP qualification for the Avintia Ducati rider, with his only previous front row start at Mugello in 2012.
Danilo Petrucci’s late effort saw the Pramac Ducati rider qualify fourth after coming through Q1, edging Pol Espargaro (Tech 3 Yamaha), while Maverick Viñales (Suzuki) made the second row after the chequered flag.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) and Andrea Iannone (Ducati) made up the third row as Dani Pedrosa (Honda) slumped from sixth to 10th position late in the piece.
Lorenzo’s forgettable weekend was made worse when he was forced to come through Q1 for the first time after finishing FP3 in 15th spot.
The Movistar Yamaha rider barely cleared the first hurdle when he crashed in the final minute of Q1 as Cal Crutchlow threatened.
While the LCR Honda rider ultimately fell 0.046s short of bumping Lorenzo, more frustration was to follow for the defending world champion when he went down again late in Q2.
The Spaniard, who also crashed at the infamous Turn 11 during FP1, will start 11th on the grid for Sunday’s 30-lap race, which commences at 2200 AEST.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Jack Miller will start from 16th position for Marc VDS Honda.
Result: MotoGP German Grand Prix Qualifying
| Position | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1:21.160s | – |
| 2 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Ducati | 1:21.572s | +0.412s |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1:21.666s | +0.506s |
| 4 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Ducati | 1:21.666s | +0.506s |
| 5 | Pol Espargaro | Tech3 Yamaha | 1:21.738s | +0.578s |
| 6 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | 1:21.784s | +0.624s |
| 7 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1:21.858s | +0.698s |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | 1:21.883s | +0.723s |
| 9 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | 1:21.890s | +0.730s |
| 10 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1:21.892s | +0.732s |
| 11 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 1:22.088s | +0.928s |
| 12 | Yonny Hernandez | Aspar Ducati | 1:22.346s | +1.186s |
| 13 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | 1:21.783s | +0.623s Q1 |
| 14 | Bradley Smith | Tech3 Yamaha | 1:21.994s | +0.834s Q1 |
| 15 | Scott Redding | Pramac Ducati | 1:22.236s | +1.076s Q1 |
| 16 | Jack Miller | Marc VDS Honda | 1:22.382s | +1.222s Q1 |
| 17 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia | 1:22.493s | +1.333s Q1 |
| 18 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar Ducati | 1:22.567s | +1.407s Q1 |
| 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | 1:22.670s | +1.510s Q1 |
| 20 | Loris Baz | Avintia Ducati | 1:22.860s | +1.700s Q1 |
| 21 | Tito Rabat | Marc VDS Honda | 1:23.075s | +1.915s Q1 |
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