Jorge Martin to start from 7th in Germany, Juanfran Guevara in doubt for race

Moto3 qualifying took place on Saturday at Sachsenring, to decide the grid for the German GP. Danny Kent dominated proceedings, setting the pace and breaking the pole record in the process. Whilst the Briton was the standout in the lower cylinder class, behind him a group of 20 riders were separated by just a second on the timesheets.

Only nine Grands Prix into the season, MAPFRE Team Mahindra rookie Jorge Martin has continually impressed with his constant improvement. Today he took his best grid position of the season to date, with seventh place.

With five minutes remaining in the session, the Spaniard jumped to third thanks to a great lap (1.27.160). A small crash prevented him from pushing on to defend the position, and he was overtaken by several riders. Nevertheless, he is fully prepared to fight in the race tomorrow for top places, starting from the front of the third row.

Juanfran Guevara had a tough day today at the Sachsenring. After starting the German round with a great feeling, on Saturday he fell on the final lap of the practice session suffering a displacement of his coccyx and bruises to his right hand and foot.

After being treated and infiltrated by the circuit medical centre he decided to take part in qualifying, but on his third lap out he again crashed at Turn 5. X-rays reveal that he has a tiny fracture to the fifth metacarpal of his left hand.

Although the MAPFRE Team Mahindra rider wants to try to race tomorrow, the decision is in the hands of doctors in the morning.

7th Jorge Martín 1.27.160 (15 laps):
“This morning we had some problems appeared with the rear but we took a big step to solving them. At the beginning of the qualifying session I was fast, but I was struggling a bit to get up to the best times. Near the end of the session I set a good lap with the intermediate tyres and I found the best lines to try to go even quicker with the softer compound. I managed a good time and then I continued pushing, I opened the throttle too early afterwards and I had a crash, but fortunately I came out of it unscathed. I tried to get back on track but the brake was broken and it was not possible. I feel assured that we are ready for tomorrow. The softer tyre has given us a boost, and I am also convinced that we can still squeeze more performance out of the intermediate. We still have some small chatter in the front, that we will solve in the morning warm up session. The aim is to try out your best and give everything for a good result; we have the pace for it.”

26th Juanfran Guevara 1.28.103 (3 laps):
“Yesterday was quite positive. We had a good pace and we started well. Even this morning the feeling was positive, but at the end of the last free practice I wanted to try something and on the last lap I crashed. It was a spectacular crash at the last corner, which made me go into qualifying a little shaken. I went down again in the afternoon and I suffered a small fracture to my left pinky. The truth is that today was not a good day for us. Now I have to focus on recovering from the pain; what hurts the most is my coccyx and left wrist. Today I will work in the Clinica Mobile, and I will need to pass a medical check tomorrow to see if I am allowed to race.”

Source: Aspar Media