Marc Marquez takes pole for German Grand Prix, whilst teammate Dani Pedrosa will decide on his participation after big crash today.
The Repsol Honda team riders had mixed fortunes on the second day of practice for the Grand Prix of Germany, in which Marc Marquez set the fastest time of the weekend and Dani Pedrosa –the championship leader– crashed after completing just one Saturday lap. Marc Marquez claimed his third pole position of the year, following those achieved at Austin and Le Mans, and heads the grid alongside Crutchlow and Rossi. Dani Pedrosa, who suffered a heavy blow to the head and a small fracture to his left collarbone, did not participate in the qualifying session and will decide whether to compete in the race tomorrow morning.
The third free practice session started with a light drops of rain falling on the Sachsenring circuit and, after a brief pause, all riders went back out on track. After completing his first lap out of the pits and despite approaching Turn 1 with caution, Pedrosa was thrown from his Honda after losing rear grip. He hit his head and left shoulder in the fall and was examined at Chemnitz Hospital, where a small fracture to his left collarbone was detected.
His teammate, Marc Marquez, finished top in the session with a time of 1:21.903. Third in the short fourth practice session, behind Rossi and Bradl, the Repsol Honda rider claimed a third pole of the season –his 31st in Grand Prix racing. Whilst Marquez will head the grid, should Pedrosa decide to take part he will do so from down in twelfth place –thanks to his times in practice yesterday.
Dani Pedrosa
FP3 – Not Classified
QP – Not Classified
“It was definitely a scary moment and I’m still not totally sure what happened. I hit my head hard and immediately felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and I checked to see if I could feel anything. Thankfully in the medical centre they saw it wasn’t broken but maybe a small fracture, and I was also feeling very dizzy but never lost consciousness. Just to be safe, we flew to Chemnitz Hospital for an MRI scan and then returned to Clinica Mobile at the circuit. They confirmed I had a small fracture in my left collar bone but I am thankful it wasn’t a complete break. Now I will rest tonight and see how I feel in the morning. If I feel strong enough I will have the medical check to clear me for the race.”
Marc Marquez >> Audio
FP3 – 1:21.903, 17 laps, 62 km.
QP – 1:21.311, 10 laps, 37 km.
“I’m very happy with this pole position. It’s important to start from the front row at this circuit, since it’s quite difficult to overtake! I felt very comfortable, especially after the pace I had in FP4. In qualifying I struggled a little to get the most out of the bike, but things went better on our second exit. I think we have done a great job and we will try to do our best, have a good race and fight for the podium, and with a little luck for the victory. After I saw Dani’s [Pedrosa] crash this morning I was definitely a little more cautious going through turn one. I really hope he recovers quickly and can race tomorrow. It will be a difficult race, because Valentino will be fighting also Stefan [Bradl] and Cal [Crutchlow], if he’s okay physically, will be up there as well.”
