Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati rider Marc Marquez astounded Neil Hodgson during qualifying for the German Grand Prix, after adopting an unusual strategy to get pole position at the Sachsenring.
Marquez once again proved why he is the King of the Sachsenring on Saturday, after beating his brother Alex Marquez of Gresini to top qualifying in Saxony by just 0.061 seconds. Works Ducati racer Marc Marquez even set a new lap record for the Sachsenring with his 1:19.041.
VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio had held MotoGP’s outright lap record for the Sachsenring, after setting a 1:19.071 aboard a Ducati GP25 during practice at the 2025 German GP. But a superb lap during qualifying this Saturday saw Marquez score pole for the 2026 German GP with a new lap record on the GP26, while Di Giannantonio qualified P3 with a 1:19.188 lap.
Marc Marquez takes pole, but who was your star of qualifying at the German Grand Prix?
Neil Hodgson loved Marc Marquez’s ‘old school’ bike switch during qualifying in Germany
Ducati pilot Marc Marquez threw down an early marker during Q2 at the 2026 German GP, but VR46’s Di Giannantonio and Gresini’s Alex Marquez quickly took the fight to the seven-time MotoGP champion. It even seemed like Diggia or Alex might deny Marc pole position.
READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 German Grand Prix, plus the Sachsenring forecast
Trackhouse racer Raul Fernandez aboard his Aprilia RS-GP also joined the fight for pole this Saturday at the Sachsenring. Yet Marc Marquez continually made the difference in the final sector to get pole, but it was his decision to swap bikes mid-session that stunned Hodgson.
After Marquez had what Hodgson called a “strange” wobble on his first-choice GP26, as the front end lifted and sent the Spaniard wide, he pitted for his back-up bike and still took pole with a new absolute lap record. Hodgson could not believe that Marquez would swap bikes in the middle of qualifying, given the risk that Ducati would not have built them identically.
Hodgson stated on TNT Sports 2 (11/07, 10:33): “Oh, we’ve gone proper old school. I can’t believe it! I love to see it. And that really then underlines just how impressive it is, because both bikes never – and I mean never – feel exactly the same.
“There’s always something that feels slightly different. And that’s just underlining that the great riders can ride the bike. It doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect.
“I knew I was not a great rider. I hated jumping on my spare bike. I’d jump on it and I’d think, ‘oh, my clutch lever is three mil lower’, or the seat foam feels slightly stiffer.”
Marquez did not miss a beat after swapping bikes in the middle of Q2, though, and scored a phenomenal pole position for the German GP. It also helped that the Spaniard had saved an extra soft rear Michelin tyre during practice this Friday, despite him finishing the day on top.
But qualifying for the German GP proved to be very costly for Marquez’s title rival, Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia. A highside into Turn 7 and a violent trip through the gravel trap during Q2 has resulted in Bezzecchi withdrawing from the German GP as he now requires surgery.
MotoGP medical director Dr Angel Charte has declared Bezzecchi unfit for the German GP, as he has sustained what Aprilia describe as a “complete” and displaced fracture of his left shoulder. Bezzecchi will fly to Italy as soon as possible to have an operation on his shoulder.
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