Marquez slides to German MotoGP pole in wet

Marc Marquez has maintained his German MotoGP domination at Sachsenring with a flying final lap to pinch pole position from Danilo Petrucci.

The Repsol Honda rider claimed his eighth consecutive pole position in Germany counting back in all classes to deny Petrucci his maiden pole position in MotoGP by just 0.160s in the pouring rain which saw the Q2 session run in tricky conditions.

Dani Pedrosa secured a front row start but over half a second off of team-mate Marquez, while Cal Crutchlow made it three Hondas in the top four on the LCR machine. Jonas Folger impressed on his home debut in MotoGP on the Tech 3 Yamaha to take the middle of the second row and ahead of the resurgent Jorge Lorenzo on the factory Ducati in sixth.

Pol Espargaro landed Red Bull KTM its best qualifying result since stepping up to MotoGP with seventh place while his brother Aleix Espargaro also impressed to take eighth for the factory Aprilia squad.

Assen winner last time out Valentino Rossi starts from the back of the third row but ahead of championship leader Andrea Dovizioso and Movistar Yamaha team-mate Maverick Vinales as Alvaro Bautista completed the top 12 contenders in Q2.

Jack Miller became the unlucky rider in 13th to narrowly miss out on Q2 on the Marc VDS Honda, but it was a frustrating day for Johann Zarco who starts down in 19th.

Full qualifying results for the German MotoGP:

Qualifying 2:

1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 27.302s [Lap 10/10] 274km/h (Top Speed) 

2. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 27.462s +0.160s [5/10] 284km/h 

3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 27.949s +0.647s [5/10] 267km/h 

4. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 28.089s +0.787s [7/10] 282km/h 

5. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 28.210s +0.908s [8/10] 278km/h 

6. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 28.383s +1.081s [8/11] 280km/h 

7. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 28.402s +1.100s [7/10] 275km/h 

8. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 28.526s +1.224s [10/10] 279km/h 

9. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 28.669s +1.367s [9/9] 280km/h 

10. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 28.703s +1.401s [8/10] 282km/h 

11. Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 28.823s +1.521s [7/10] 281km/h 

12. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 28.968s +1.666s [9/10] 277km/h 



Qualifying 1:

13. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 27.967s 280km/h

14. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 27.979s 280km/h

15. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 28.015s 278km/h

16. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 28.103s 281km/h

17. Mika Kallio FIN Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 28.285s 274km/h

18. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 28.404s 276km/h

19. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 28.444s 280km/h

20. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 28.625s 280km/h

21. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 28.659s 278km/h

22. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 29.504s 281km/h

23. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 29.578s 275km/h

24. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 30.028s 277km/h