Qualifying, Sachsenring: Marquez sets the pace, Miller springs a surprise

Following a typical Marc Marquez performance – complete with a crash and a best time that stood for a long while – qualifying for the Liqui-Moly Grand Prix of Germany got underway at 3 pm at the historic Sachsenring – 2027 will mark the 100th anniversary of this iconic venue in motor racing.

As has so often been the case this season, an Aprilia set the pace right from the start. This time it was Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse) who led the field ahead of Marc Marquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Honda rider Joan Mir. Marco Bezzecchi, still slightly hampered by his injuries from the Assen GP, finished eighth in FP1, ahead of championship leader Martin in 10th.

In the one-hour qualifying session, Aprilia continued to lead the way initially. In near-perfect conditions, Marco Bezzecchi set the benchmark with a time of 1:20.646 minutes. In the minutes that followed, Ducati riders Marc Marquez, Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio set out to displace Bezzecchi. However, despite setting several sector best times, all their attempts faltered in the final sector. In the final section of the 3.67 km circuit, the Aprilia factory rider remained untouchable.

The top six after the first ten minutes: Bezzecchi, Marc and Alex Marquez, Raul Fernandez, Pedro Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio. The best rider on a Japanese-built MotoGP bike was Yamaha rider Jack Miller in ninth place. Ai Ogura struggled initially. The winner of the last GP race at Assen was listed in 16th place, just under a second off the pace. Even further back was Toprak Razgatlioglu. Although the Superbike World Champion and Pramac rookie was only 1.2 seconds off Bezzecchi’s time of 1:20.6 minutes, in the current MotoGP landscape that was initially only enough for 21st place, ahead of Cal Crutchlow (LCR-Honda).

Little of note happened in the second run. Rather than focusing on a fast lap, the riders concentrated on gaining an understanding of how a race tyre performs over several laps. For a long time, the top 10 seemed to be stuck. It was only at the halfway point that the session – which determines direct entry to the second qualifying session on Saturday morning – began to pick up pace again.

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Attacke und Bestzeit für Fabio Di Giannantonio

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

The action started again at the Aprilia end of the grid. First, Ogura found a few more tenths, moving him up to third place. Almost simultaneously, Marco Bezzecchi added another tenth, 1:20.535 min. This put Marco Bezzecchi – who had suffered a heavy crash at Assen 12 days ago – 0.192 sec ahead of Marc Marquez.

Veteran rider Cal Crutchlow earned some recognition. With 25 minutes remaining on the clock, the 40-year-old stand-in for Johann Zarco clocked a time of 1:21.121 min, which briefly saw him jump up to 10th place. Shortly afterwards, the fierce battle for the ten Q2 places began. The biggest improvement came from future KTM works rider Fabio Di Giannantonio. The VR46 rider finished more than four tenths of a second ahead of Bezzecchi.

KTM Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini made a huge leap towards the top. After 45 minutes, with Bezzecchi and Bastianini in second and third places, there were two riders from Rimini in the top three. Marc Marquez had dropped to sixth, Acosta was in 12th, and Jorge Martin was still behind Crutchlow in 17th.

With just over ten minutes to go, it was, unsurprisingly, Marc Marquez who took the time chase to the next level. The Sachsenring’s regular champion clocked a lap time under 1:20. Jack Miller also managed this feat, moving up behind ‘MM93’. But things got even faster. Di Giannantonio improved his time and pushed the fastest lap down to 1:19.674, with Alex Márquez just a tenth of a second slower. This meant that two Ducati customer riders and future KTM riders had taken the lead.

Things got tight for Pecco Bagnaia, who had dropped out of the top 10. With just four minutes to go, a time of 1:20.123 was enough for 8th place. But the final three minutes still had surprises in store. Marc Márquez retook the lead, whilst Raúl Fernández overtook ‘Diggia’.

Jack Miller stürmte als einziger Yamaha-Pilot direkt ins Q2

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

Yellow flags were also waved during the final stages. Whilst attempting to fight his way back into the top 10, the Tech3 rider crashed in the fast corner. The Italian was uninjured, but his session was over. And Jorge Martin? A fast lap was enough for the championship leader to secure 8th place behind his team-mate Marco Bezzecchi. Jack Miller’s position was undoubtedly the biggest surprise. From the KTM camp, only Pedro Acosta made it straight into Q2 in ninth place. Bastianini missed out by 0.013 seconds. Pecco Bagnaia also failed to secure a Q2 place in the heated final, finishing 13th.

Conclusion after Day 1 at the Sachsenring: With Marc Márquez at the top, but also all the Aprilia riders in Q2, everything points to another showdown between the Italian MotoGP powerhouses.