Faultless Marc Marquez has taken the pole for the MotoGP race in Sachsenring, Germany, as rival Jorge Lorenzo suffered a less than ideal day.

The Championship leader cruised to pole ahead of Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) whilst Ducati riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso will both start on row three.

Both Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) had a qualifying to forget with the two Spaniards starting 10th and 11th respectively.

Ahead of Sunday’s race in Germany, Marquez stated that despite claiming pole position, if he didn’t go on to win the race, then it isn’t a big deal.

“If we cannot win, it’s not big drama,” said the 23-year-old. “But we will try and fight for the podium.”

Marquez had claimed his place back at the top of the leaderboard in FP4, whilst he continued his fine form heading into the qualifying sessions.

Just 0.5 seconds separate the top three

The Spaniard has been closely followed by his championship rival, Rossi, who qualified 0.506s behind the pole man, with Barbera sitting between the two.

“We tried many things on the bike, and maybe we lost a little bit of time,” added Marquez. “I have the same feeling tomorrow [like all weekend], Valentino is not far.

“For the race pace, we are very similar.”

Marc Marquez is the man to beat | Photo: Eurosport
Marc Marquez is the man to beat | Photo: Eurosport

After clinching first place on the grid, the Spaniard immediately declared he was happy with the result, and how he performed.

“I’m happy with the result, and happy with the pace,” said Marquez.

The result means that the 23-year-old takes his seventh pole position in a row at the Sachsenring, which is some feat for such a young rider.

A close race can be expected

“It’s a good circuit for me,” - Marquez.

Rain is forecasted tomorrow, and so riders may have a repeat of Assen GP on their hands, which could see the race as wide open as it was three weeks ago.

One thing is clear for certain, the majority of the leaders in the Championship will be hoping the track stays dry, like it did during qualifying.

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