He left his charge late, but a 1’24.174 from Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) saw the Japanese rider claim pole position for the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Nakagami only had one chance to set the time after traffic and mistakes had plagued all of his previous qualifying laps. It’s the first time he’s been on pole since the British GP in 2013, the same year where he took four straight second place finishes. The pole position was of little surprise to Nakagami who has been getting more and more confident since the Italian GP. Sunday's race will be all about tyre management and the weather, Nakagami more confident of his pace in the dry than in the wet.
Takaaki Nakagami: “In Assen I got my first victory and this has helped the team. My attitude and mentality is always very strong. From Friday we have been competitive in all the sessions. In Qualifying I did quite a good last lap. During the session there was a lot of traffic and a lot of mistakes. I knew I had one lap to make a good lap and finally, there were some mistakes, but I got pole position. This is a good thing for the team and me. But the most important day is tomorrow. Many people are saying the weather forecast doesn’t look so good. If it’s a dry race for sure we can go well. I will try my best and see the result!”