Marquez takes record ninth Sachsenring pole as Bezzecchi suffers injury
Marc Marquez secured a record ninth premier-class pole at Sachsenring with a new lap record in German MotoGP qualifying. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi crashed heavily, broke his left collarbone and will miss the rest of the weekend.
BERLIN: Marc Marquez will start Sunday’s German MotoGP from pole position after the Ducati rider set the quickest time in qualifying at Sachsenring on Saturday, while Marco Bezzecchi was ruled out for the remainder of the weekend after breaking his left collarbone in a heavy crash.
The Spaniard, described as the reigning world champion, claimed pole at the German circuit for the ninth time in the premier class, becoming the first rider to reach that mark at Sachsenring. He sealed top spot on the grid with a new all-time lap record of 1min 19.041sec.
Marquez, known as The King of the Ring, will now target a 13th victory at the German circuit on Sunday, which would also be his 10th MotoGP win there. A Grand Prix victory this weekend would draw him level with two records held by Italian great Giacomo Agostini: most wins at a single event with 13 and most victories at the same circuit in the premier class with 10.
Speaking after qualifying, Marquez said:
Front row was the target but pole position and especially the lap record here in Sachsenring.. is something really good.
Marquez finished ahead of his younger brother Alex Marquez, who rides for Ducati satellite team Gresini, while Italy’s Fabio Di Giannantonio took third for the VR46 team owned by Valentino Rossi. Raul Fernandez of Aprilia-Trackhouse qualified fourth, followed by his Japanese teammate Ai Ogura and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo of France.
Alex Marquez said he was initially disappointed not to secure top spot, but was pleased to see both brothers leading the session.
The session was overshadowed by another serious fall for Aprilia rider Bezzecchi. The Italian had posted the eighth-fastest time before crashing after losing his back wheel at more than 130 km/h. He was thrown over the handlebars and bounced several times in the gravel.
The accident came two weeks after Bezzecchi had crashed at nearly 200 km/h in the Netherlands without sustaining injuries. This time, however, his team announced that the 27-year-old had broken his left collarbone and would travel back to Italy for surgery.
It was also a difficult qualifying session for Aprilia overall, with championship leader Jorge Martin of Spain managing only the ninth-fastest time.
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