18/06/2022

Schrötter shines with sensational 2nd row start at home GP

In temperatures of over 35°C, Marcel Schrötter of the German LIQUI MOLY Intact GP team managed to score a coup at his home Grand Prix weekend by grabbing fifth on the grid. Team-mate Alcoba, meanwhile, faces his biggest challenge yet at the Sachsenring, starting from P30.

Despite a strong start on Friday, with P16 things did not go well for 29-year-old Marcel Schrötter in FP3 on Saturday morning. Being outside the Top 14 meant that he had to take part in Q1. But the unfavourable circumstances in the morning could not harm the local hero and so, after overcoming the Q1 hurdle, he dropped the hammer by securing fifth place on the grid for his home Grand Prix at the 3.7 km Sachsenring in front of a sold-out crowd. The experienced Moto2 rider was separated by just 0.420s from pole setter Sam Lowes. Strengthened by the thunderous applause of the fans, the Bavarian wants to make his dream of a victory on home soil come true on Sunday.

Jeremy Alcoba is also going into the tenth round of the season with unbroken motivation, after the Spaniard did not feel best on his bike during this heated and extremely challenging Sachsenring weekend. Together with his crew, he set everything back to zero before the qualifying day and even though the feeling improved a little, the 20-year-old lost a lot of time, especially in the tight corner passage of the famous "Omega". The LIQUI MOLY Grand Prix of Germany will be his biggest challenge yet, but for his team, the sponsors and fans at the Sachsenring, he will do everything he can to make up many important positions starting from P30.

The Moto2 race kicks off at 12:20 (CEST) on a sold-out race day.

Results

FP3
1. Filip SALAC/ CZE/ KAlEX – 1'23.640
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'23.853 (+0.213)
3. Augusto FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'23.957 (+0.317)
4. Bo BENDSNYDER/ NED/ KALEX – 1'24.014 (+0.374)
5. Pedro ACOSTA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'24.052 (+0.412)
16. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'24.358 (+0.718)
28. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'25.784 (+2.144)

Q1
1. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'23.786
2. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'24.013 (+0.227)
3. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'24.044 (+0.258)
4. Tony ARBOLINO/ITA/ KALEX – 1'24.149 (+0.363)
16. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX –1'25.572 (+1.786)

Q2
1. Sam LOWES/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'23.493
2. Albert ARENAS/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'23.765 (+0.272)
3. Augusto FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'23.825 (+0.332)
4. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'23.897 (+0.404)
5. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'23.913 (+0.420)

Marcel Schrötter

P5 - 1'23.913 (+0.420)

"If you have to go to Q1, that's not ideal, of course, but there are situations where you can also take advantage of that. Especially when the conditions are difficult. But the danger is also quite big because the tyres are good for one or two laps, so you want to push there, but in those moments mistakes can easily happen. But I think this was one of my best qualifying sessions, especially as we have not been in a position yet this season to be at the front of the pack in qualifying. But then to do that coming out of Q1 at the home Grand Prix, where everyone has high expectations, is even more rewarding. I'm really happy with my performance, even though it wasn't perfect laps, as I was held up by Beaubier among others. I think we can be absolutely satisfied because this is an ideal starting position for Sunday. We did a good job, but this morning we were just unlucky with the yellow flag. For me, the heat has not been a problem so far, because it was always just a matter of getting three or four laps right. It's exhausting, of course, but manageable. I will now have a good rest to start tomorrow's race with plenty of energy."

Jeremy Alcoba

P30 (Q1) - 1'25.572 (+1.786)

"Today's Qualifying went pretty bad after yesterday was difficult already. For some reason, I don't feel comfortable on the bike which is why we had a team meeting where we decided to do a reset as we are trying to find a solution but sadly, we still didn't find it. We chose the set-up from Portimao because there I felt better than anywhere else. So today was basically a start from scratch. In FP3 I improved a little bit but it wasn't enough to go much faster. I can't explain why I'm slow or can't set one fast time because my pace isn't much slower than normal. Still, the bike felt better today and in some sectors, I have good control but there are corners which I control with the gas and that's where I struggle. I need to improve that aspect in order to not lose about a second in just four corners. Starting from last is surely not easy for me and the team, especially with Marcel doing such a good job this weekend. The race will be really long and difficult to pass people, as the track is pretty narrow. I will try to do my best especially because it's the home GP of my team. We will try to figure out how to manage the race ideally and then we will see what is possible for us."

Pictures – LIQUI MOLY GERMAN GP

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