Moto3 Germany Qualifying: Pole and record, who can dethrone Izan Guevara this weekend?

The riders in the Moto3 category opened the ball this morning with FP3 of the German Grand Prix on the Sachsenring track, which is very generous in terms of temperatures. This did not prevent the man of the moment, Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28), from improving the Moto3 lap record. The young Spaniard spent most of the session at the top of the timing screens and finished FP3 by setting a new track record with a lap of 1'25.925, just under two tenths of a second faster than Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #71). The very young David Muñoz (KTM, BOE SKX, #44) climbed to third place, ahead of another exceptional performance, that of Scott Ogden (Honda, VisionTrack Racing Team, #19) – the two rookies ahead of Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24) but also and above all the championship leader, Sergio Garcia (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #11), sixth, who seems to be struggling to keep up with his teammate's pace at this stage.

Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #6) was the last rider to set a time less than half a second behind the leader, with John mcphee (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #17), Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) and Jaume Masià (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) just behind him. Friday's leader, Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24), was one of the few drivers not to be faster this Saturday morning, but his benchmark achieved during FP2 was enough to keep him safely in the top 14 combined.

Similarly, Joel Kelso (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #66) secured a Q2 place. Despite a fall at the end of the session at turn 1, Andrea Migno (Honda, Rivacold Snipers Team, #16) retained 12th place on the combined time sheets, Daniel Holgado (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #96) and Carlos Tatay (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #99) joining him in Q2.

However, Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53), 15th and Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20), 17th, will have to go through the repechage. Note that the Frenchman made a mistake at the start of the session.

Who will be in pole position of this German Grand Prix ? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Sachsenring Moto3™	2021	2022
FP1	1'26.739 John McPhee	1'26.459 Izan Guevara
FP2	1'27.090 Pedro Acosta	1'26.363 Tatsuki Suzuki
FP3	1'26.317 Andrea Migno	1'25.925 Izan Guevara
Q1	1'27.481 Darryn Binder	1'26.806 Adrian Fernandez
Q2	1'26.913 Filip Salac	1'25.869 Izan Guevara
Warm Up	1'27.058 Pedro Acosta
Course	Acosta, Toba, Alcoba
All time lap record	1'26.044 Marcos Ramirez (2019)	1'25.869 Izan Guevara

At the start of the afternoon, the air temperature was 31°C and that of the track 46°C. Places are expensive for Q2, because only 4 of the 16 drivers participating in this Q1 will qualify for this 2nd qualifying session, which will take place immediately afterwards. Ivan Ortola (KTM, Team MTA, #48) and Stefano Nepa (KTM, Team MTA, #82) set an example and entered the track first, quickly joined by their competitors, ready to compete in this Q1.

The first quartet of pilots to stand out is made up of Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43), in 1'27.137, followed by Matthew Bertelli (KTM, QJMotor Avintia Racing Team, #18), Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54), Taiyo Furusato (Honda, Honda Team Asia, #72) and Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20), 5th, 0.724s behind the leader, and provisionally first eliminated from Q2, but the session has only just begun.

About halfway through the session, the drivers all returned to the pits, with the exception of Stefano Nepa (KTM, Team MTA, #82) and Ivan Ortola (KTM, Team MTA, #48). Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) took control, in 1'27.068, ahead of Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43), Taiyo Furusato (Honda, Honda Team Asia, #72) and Matthew Bertelli (KTM, QJMotor Avintia Racing Team, #18).

The drivers take a brief break, time to change tires, and quickly set off again to hunt for the time, or rather the right wheel during their launch lap.

We are once again witnessing the classic scenes in Moto3, of drivers who are in slow motion and who let themselves pass to have an aspiration.

Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43) fell in sector 2, he got stuck with Mario Aji (Honda, Honda Team Asia, #64) but is still qualified in Q2 for the moment. Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) regained the lead, in 1'26.616, ahead Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54), Adrian Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #31) and Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43) remains provisionally 4th.

At turn 3, Joshua Whatley (Honda, VisionTrack Racing Team, #70) and Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) fell in turn. The risk for these 2 drivers in the top 4, Red et Artiguas, is not being able to drive in Q2.

At the end of this tumultuous Q1, Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) has already entered the pits but qualifies in Q2, with the best time of this Q1.Adrian Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #31) is second, and the last 2 qualifiers fell: Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) and Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43). Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20) finished in 9th position in this Q1, as for Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27), he fell on his last lap.

Finally, the time of Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) was canceled for exceeding the track limits, so he will be 10th in this Q1. Matteo Bertelle (KTM, QJMotor Avintia Racing Team, #18) is therefore drafted at the last minute, alongsideAdrian Fernandez (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #31), Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) and Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43).

Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) brings his bike back so that his technical team can try to repair it before Q2.

Now for Q2, the 4 fastest drivers from Q1 joining the other 14 fastest from the 3 practice sessions. The drivers reach the Sachsenring slowly, preferring to stay in the shade in the boxes.

The machine Riccardo rossi (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #54) is repaired, he has the opportunity to ride during this Q2. False start for him, he does not come out of the pits and seems very frustrated. His mechanics collect parts from his teammate's motorcycle, Lorenzo Fellon (Honda, SIC58 Squadra Corse, #20), to speed up repairs. Xavier Artigas (CFMoto, CFMoto Racing PruestelGP, #43) is also racing in this Q2, the repairs were quick!

On the track, after the first flying lap, John McPhee (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #17) is provisionally the fastest in 1'26.751, ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #71) and Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #6), but there are more than 10 minutes left to compete for pole position.

Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) falls at turn 6.

Halfway through the session, while many drivers are returning to the pits, the provisional leader is Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #71), in 1'26.299, in front Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24) and Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #6). Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28) has for the moment seen its times canceled by exceeding the limits of the track.

Daniel Holgado (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #96) joins the leaders and provisionally leads in 1'26.189, 3 minutes from the end of the session.

But it was without counting on Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28), who achieved the best time, 1'25.869, in a single flying lap. The Spanish driver will start in pole position, ahead Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) relegated to 0.295s, and Daniel Holgado (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #96), at 0.320 s.

Pole and record for Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28), which seems untouchable this weekend.

Results of Q1 of the Moto3 German Grand Prix at Sachsenring:

Results of Q2 of the Moto3 German Grand Prix at Sachsenring:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com