- Takaaki Nakagami, first time winner three weeks ago in Assen, has qualified on pole for the first time since the British Grand Prix in 2013, which was also the last time that a Japanese rider has been on pole in any of the three GP classes.
- Johann Zarco, who is in second place on the grid, finished second last year in Germany just 0.083 seconds behind Xavier Simeon.
- Alex Rins, the Moto3™ race winner in Germany in 2013, is starting from third place on the grid.
- Simone Corsi, who heads the second row, has finished in the top four for the last three years in Germany; second in 2013, third in 2014 and fourth last year.
- In fifth place on the grid is Franco Morbidelli, the Moto2™ lap record holder at the Sachsenring circuit, which he set last year when battling for a podium finish before crashing at the final corner.
- Sandro Cortese, who is in sixth place on the grid, won the Moto3™ race in Germany in 2012 on his way to taking the world title.
- Sam Lowes has qualified down in tenth place on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since the final race of 2015 at Valencia when he was also tenth on the grid.