MotoGP: Bagnaia takes pole, Marquez crashes three times
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia took pole in a dramatic MotoGP German Grand Prix qualifying as Honda rider Marc Marquez suffered three crashes and ended up seventh.
Crashes, pitlane sprints and serious skills were on show as MotoGP qualifying at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland threw up plenty drama.
It will be Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) starting from pole position as the Italian’s 1:21.409 saw him beat Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) by 0.078s, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completing a front row split by just 0.083s.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) claimed a third row start despite three crashes across Q1 and Q2. It is obvious he is trying to carry an inferior Honda bike and he keeps crashing as a result.
Either that or he is simply washed up and needs to retire. Marquez made it out of Q1 to get into Q2. He lost control of his bike in both Q1 and Q2. Marquez has always dominated at Sachsenring, so it underscores just how bad the current Honda bike is.
😰 Nueva caída de Marc Márquez.
Esa Honda es un peligro con mayúsculas.pic.twitter.com/0W0icCmHBg
— Fórmula Directa (@FormulaDirecta) June 17, 2023
Qualifying Results
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Laps | Time | Behind | Gap |
| 1 | 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 10 | 1m21.409s | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 10 | Luca Marini | Ducati | 9 | 1m21.487s | 0.078 | 0.078 |
| 3 | 43 | Jack Miller | KTM | 9 | 1m21.492s | 0.083 | 0.005 |
| 4 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati | 7 | 1m21.765s | 0.356 | 0.273 |
| 5 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Ducati | 7 | 1m21.936s | 0.527 | 0.171 |
| 6 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Ducati | 10 | 1m21.995s | 0.586 | 0.059 |
| 7 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 6 | 1m22.013s | 0.604 | 0.018 |
| 8 | 73 | Alex Marquez | Ducati | 10 | 1m22.044s | 0.635 | 0.031 |
| 9 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM | 9 | 1m22.047s | 0.638 | 0.003 |
| 10 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 9 | 1m22.222s | 0.813 | 0.175 |
| 11 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati | 10 | 1m22.239s | 0.830 | 0.017 |
| 12 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 10 | 1m22.421s | 1.012 | 0.182 |
| 13 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia | 8 | 1m27.269s | 2.614 | 1.588 |
| 14 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Ducati | 7 | 1m27.692s | 3.037 | 0.423 |
| 15 | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | KTM | 7 | 1m27.734s | 3.079 | 0.042 |
| 16 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | Aprilia | 8 | 1m27.882s | 3.227 | 0.148 |
| 17 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | 9 | 1m27.908s | 3.253 | 0.026 |
| 18 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | 9 | 1m28.404s | 3.749 | 0.496 |
| 19 | 25 | Raúl Fernández | Aprilia | 10 | 1m29.119s | 4.464 | 0.715 |
| 20 | 94 | Jonas Folger | KTM | 8 | 1m29.712s | 5.057 | 0.593 |