World News Martin smashes lap record to take pole at German GP Blog

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MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin broke the lap record at the sunny Sachsenring to secure pole position for the German Grand Prix, while his title rival Francesco Bagnaia was twice denied a fast lap by yellow flags.

Pramac Racing’s Martin was fastest on Saturday with a time of 1:19.423, less than five hundredths of a second faster than Miguel Oliveira, whose Trackhouse Racing teammate Raul Fernandez is third on the front row.

Trackhouse Racing has struggled this season with just six top-10 finishes on its Aprilia bikes, but even Martin, who joins the Italian factory team next season, noticed the improvement over the satellite team.

“I feel really good and confident. I didn’t expect pole position, my lap wasn’t fantastic,” said Martin.

“But overall I feel competitive – Aprilia is super strong,” he added with a grin.

Johann Zarco set the lap record last year with a time of 1:21.225, but this time, in a record-breaking qualifying lap, nine riders finished under the 1:20 mark.

Bagnaia was fourth fastest thanks to his first lap, but the Ducati rider and reigning champion was unable to set a faster time after yellow flags were waved as Maverick Vinales and Alex Marquez crashed in quick succession during the session.

Bagnaia is 10 points behind Martin in the championship standings.

Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez suffered a fracture of his left index finger and a bruised chest in a highside crash on Friday. The Spaniard failed to make it into Q2 after running into traffic in his final attempt to get into the top two.

A visibly battered Marquez was pushed out of the top two in Q1 and when the Gresini rider attempted to set another fast lap he became furious when Stefan Bradl impeded him. The Honda rider later apologised.

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