Marc Marquez beats Stefan Bradl to Sachsering Moto2 pole
Marc Marquez denied his Moto2 title rival Stefan Bradl a home pole position in qualifying at the Sachsenring
After running outside the top 10 at first, Marquez surged to the front and then held off a late challenge from Bradl with a 1m24.733s lap - 0.129 seconds ahead of the points leader.
Aleix Espargaro (Pons) sat on provisional pole for a spell before ending up third, ahead of Gresini's Michele Pirro.
Julian Simon announced his return after breaking his leg at Catalunya with a superb fifth place on the grid on the Aspar Suter.
Home rider Max Neukirchner looked set to fight for pole for a while for MZ, before sliding to 11th as others improved.
Practice pacesetter Yuki Takahashi crashed early and had to miss most of the session, leaving him 13th.
Other incidents included a massive crash for Jules Cluzel, who immediately got up but required assistance from the marshals while in the gravel, and a late fall for Bradley Smith. The Briton had managed to keep upright through a wild gravel trip early in the session, but was not so successful when he went off again on his final lap.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Marc Marquez Catalunya Suter 1m24.733s 2. Stefan Bradl Kiefer Kalex 1m24.862s + 0.129s 3. Aleix Espargaro Pons Kalex 1m24.900s + 0.167s 4. Michele Pirro Gresini Moriwaki 1m25.085s + 0.352s 5. Julian Simon Aspar Suter 1m25.189s + 0.456s 6. Alex de Angelis JIR Motobi 1m25.223s + 0.490s 7. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 1m25.235s + 0.502s 8. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Suter 1m25.271s + 0.538s 9. Bradley Smith Tech 3 1m25.304s + 0.571s 10. Yonny Hernandez Blusens FTR 1m25.310s + 0.577s 11. Max Neukirchner MZ 1m25.379s + 0.646s 12. Thomas Luthi Paddock Suter 1m25.434s + 0.701s 13. Yuki Takahashi Gresini Moriwaki 1m25.443s + 0.710s 14. Pol Espargaro Speed Up FTR 1m25.453s + 0.720s 15. Randy Krummenacher Kiefer Kalex 1m25.456s + 0.723s 16. Jordi Torres Aspar Suter 1m25.465s + 0.732s 17. Jules Cluzel Forward Suter 1m25.495s + 0.762s 18. Esteve Rabat Blusens FTR 1m25.510s + 0.777s 19. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 1m25.515s + 0.782s 20. Kenan Sofuoglu Technomag-CIP Suter 1m25.579s + 0.846s 21. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR 1m25.613s + 0.880s 22. Mike di Meglio Tech 3 1m25.616s + 0.883s 23. Scott Redding Marc VDS Suter 1m25.637s + 0.904s 24. Ricard Cardus QMMF Moriwaki 1m25.723s + 0.990s 25. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Suter 1m25.788s + 1.055s 26. Kenny Noyes Avintia FTR 1m25.806s + 1.073s 27. Claudio Corti Italtrans Suter 1m25.851s + 1.118s 28. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter 1m25.870s + 1.137s 29. Alex Baldolini Forward Suter 1m25.872s + 1.139s 30. Valentin Debise Speed Up FTR 1m25.900s + 1.167s 31. Anthony West MZ 1m26.130s + 1.397s 32. Ratthapark Wilairot SAG FTR 1m26.211s + 1.478s 33. Mattia Pasini Ioda FTR 1m26.340s + 1.607s 34. Robertino Pietri Italtrans Suter 1m26.482s + 1.749s 35. Santiago Hernandez SAG FTR 1m27.166s + 2.433s 36. Steven Odendaal MS Suter 1m27.591s + 2.858s 37. Tommaso Lorenzetti Castello FTR 1m27.816s + 3.083s 38. Mashel Al Naimi QMMF Moriwaki 1m28.412s + 3.679s
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