Márquez masters the Brickyard

Second place starter Simone Corsi led the outset of the race, but it was Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol rider Márquez who took the control of the Moto2 race, making his pass on Italian Ioda Racing Project rider on lap eight and riding unchallenged thereafter. The Moto2 rookie now stands just 28 points in the Championship behind his German rival Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing).

Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) and Pol Espargaró (HP Tuenti Speed Up) both claimed their first podiums in the Moto2 class following a half race chase for second, with 20 year old Espargaró riding across the finish in front of his fellow countryman in second position.

Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing) took fourth position, with fellow Brit Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) behind him in fifth after making his way from 11th on the grid into sixth in the first four laps, then briefly leading in front of Smith on lap 14 of the race.

Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) skillfully made his way through the field after starting from the 22nd position to take sixth, holding onto his Championship lead. Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) followed in seventh, with Mattia Pasini (Ioda Racing Project), Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) and Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40) completing the top ten finishers.

The hot track temperatures proved detrimental to some, with tires deteriorating and slowing riders like Corsi, who ended the race in fourteenth, and fellow front row starter Andrea Iannone (Speed Master), who had maintained second until beginning to drop back with 12 laps to go, ending the race in eleventh.

American rider Kenny Noyes (Avintia-STX) had an early crash and was unable to rejoin the race, while fellow countrymen JD Beach (Aeroport de Castello) finished 29th and wildcard Jake Gagne (GPTech) finished in 31st.

Simoncelli on second row for Sachsenring

“Super Sic” was edged off the front row by just 0.010 seconds and as such is confident that he can run with the leaders in Sunday’s race. The Italian emerged relatively unscathed from a high speed crash this morning, when he suffered a blow to his right elbow. Hiroshi Aoyama is looking to tomorrow's warm-up as he continues to search for more confidence and feeling with his bike.

Marco Simoncelli: 

“I am little bit disappointed today because we managed to solve our problems this morning but then took a step backwards in the afternoon. In any case, I am confident because our race pace is up there with the top three and I think I can have a good race. The main problem today was that I lost my confidence with the front so I was struggling under braking and in the corners.”

Hiroshi Aoyama: 

”We tried to improve the set-up of the bike but we didn't make any major progress, especially in the final stages of qualifying. Tomorrow we will try and find some solutions that will give us more pace in the race and allow us to make up some positions. Obviously, I am still struggling from the Assen injuries so with this being a long race here at Sachsenring I hope it's not too painful.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini press release.

Lorenzo lands on front row for German Grand Prix

The Yamaha Factory Racing rider was the fastest man on track in the morning’s final free practice, setting an impressive 1’22.112 to top the time sheets. The afternoon qualifying heat saw him again quick onto the pace, again fastest man on track mid way through the session. Unfortunately, he was not able to take any great advantage from the softer tyre compounds available and had dropped out of the top four until the last moments. As the final minutes ticked down, he broke under the 1’22 mark to beat Marco Simoncelli for the final spot on the front row by just 0.010 seconds.

Ben Spies was on much better form than the day before, a good night’s sleep had shaken off most of his head cold and the Texan was keen to attack the track. The crew made some major set up changes midway through both the morning practice and afternoon qualifying to help deliver an optimum bike package for the twisty Sachsenring circuit. Clear improvements were evident, with Spies climbing from seventh in the morning with a 1’22.772 to fifth on the grid in qualifying with 1’22.056, just 0.375 from pole.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“It’s been a strong weekend so far. I’ve never felt great on this track, but this weekend I’m riding fast and feeling comfortable. It was a pity at the end of qualifying that the soft tyre didn’t improve anything much. In the end, I couldn’t make pole position but I think third position on the front row is a good place to start tomorrow for the race; I got it by just 0.010! Casey is very strong but I hope to be ready to fight for the victory with him. I think the fans will see a great race as there are a lot of riders who can fight for the win.”

Ben Spies: 

“Today was definitely better. I’m still not 100% but I’m feeling a lot more clear headed on the bike. We were able to make the bike a bit better and I was able to ride better today to get into the top five. I made a mistake on my last lap, totally my fault, two corners to go I lost the rear, then saved it but then lost the front as well which cost me a tenth. It might have made us a little closer to the front, but we’re still in the middle of the second row so we can put a good race together tomorrow.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release