The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team rider Pol Espargaro will lunge forward from the middle of the second row of the grid after delivering a spirited qualifying performance today in Germany. The young Spaniard started the day by notably finishing FP3 in 5th after setting a rapid time on his penultimate lap out of 23, which was under a tenth of a second from third. The result confirmed his appearance in the all-important Q2 session and when it began, Espargaro continued his form. By the time the chequered flag fell, he had produced a personal best that saw him only 0.072 from the front row and tomorrow the 25-year-old will seek to undertake a rocket start and then win the top independent rider battle.

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith pulled off a determined showing in Saxony today and will begin his quest to complete the first part of the year with a strong finish from 14th on the grid. This morning, Smith got straight to work and built up his speed but in the final moments of the practice, he was running at a hot pace, which was only 0.3 from the top time, but he unfortunately made a mistake in the last sector. This cancelled his lap, meaning that he had to compete in Q1. Here, the Briton gave his all in what was an ultra competitive 15-minute shootout, but despite his best efforts, he just missed out on the qualifying 2 session and will commence the 30-lap sprint from the 5th row.


Pol Espargaro - Position: 5th Time: 1'21.738 Laps: 7

"Qualifying today went really well and the result is close to our season's best, plus it definitely helps to start from the second row at this track, because it's not easy to overtake at the Sachsenring due to it being so tight. Therefore, this grid position hopefully gives us the chance to create a small gap to the pursuing satellite riders and my aim is to battle with the Ducati's, which are strong here. Our pace today has been consistent and I feel quite comfortable on the bike, so I'm really looking forward to the race, even though it will be long and demanding. I aim to deliver a performance and score the top satellite position again to close what has been a positive opening half of the 2016 season. We will wait and see what happens with the weather, but I am ready and excited for the challenge."

 Bradley Smith - Position: 14th Time: 1'21.994 Laps: 10

 "Unfortunately, today didn’t quite go to plan and even though I have made it a bit more challenging for myself by qualifying in 14th, I will do my absolute best in the race. At the end of FP3, I made a small mistake in the last sector, which cost me entrance into Q2. Looking back, we can see that we had the pace to do a good job in Qualifying 2, because, with the 1’21.9 lap time that I rode in QP1, I would have been just outside of the top ten. We all know that this year the class is super competitive and it’s vital to find every tenth possible, as this amount of time can equal three or four positions on the grid. Tomorrow we still need to work on the bike because, even though I’m feeling quite comfortable with the setup, we had a few small issues with the hotter conditions this afternoon. The team and I also need to improve our entry speed a bit more, and in the warm-up we will experiment with a few different settings so that we can have more confidence in that area. I feel content with riding the bike on a full fuel load and also when the tyres have completed race distance. Yet, it will be important to get a strong start from 14th because it’s tricky to pass at this track. We know that some riders will be unable to match their race pace with their qualifying performance and 30 laps is a long race, so I will push hard to regain some valuable positions and try not to make any mistakes."