Fabio Quartararo does not consider himself the favourite at the German Grand Prix after his run of poles ended as he qualified in second on Saturday.

MotoGP world championship leader Quartararo was pipped by 0.011 seconds as Johann Zarco secured his place at the front of the grid.

That denied the Monster Energy Yamaha star a sixth consecutive pole position, with Marc Marquez (seven between 2013 and 2014) the last rider to enjoy such a streak.

Quartararo will still be expected to challenge for the victory on Sunday, though, having tied his career best with three top-category wins already this season.

The 22-year-old crashed out of his only previous appearance at the German GP in 2019 but is enjoying a run of eight races without a retirement.

But when asked about his chances, Quartararo instead backed Miguel Oliveira and said: "I think we will struggle a bit."

Oliveira, who qualified in sixth, just behind Marc Marquez, won the Catalan Grand Prix last time out for his second consecutive podium for the first time.

Quartararo added: "We are not feeling so great on that track. We can see the others struggling also quite a lot.

"But I give 100 per cent and I'm happy because it's not that far from pole position. Our pace is not that bad, so I will give my all tomorrow."

Première ligne pour demain / P2 on the grid for tomorrow's race pic.twitter.com/UNHjvZ1cO6
— Fabio Quartararo (@FabioQ20) June 19, 2021

Zarco is still waiting on his first MotoGP win despite 11 podiums – including four this year.

He also discussed the difficulty of the circuit at the Sachsenring, having crashed in Q2 after setting his fastest lap.

"I'm all fine and pretty happy," Zarco said. "The emotion was particular, with the pole but then the crash.

"You have so much adrenaline in the body that then I need a bit of time to bring everything down to get my spirit clean. I'm okay now and pretty happy, because it will be important to start in pole tomorrow.

"It's a difficult track, but I'm finding the confidence on it and I hope tomorrow to get also this pleasure for all the race to play with the others and get a nice rhythm."

Marquez has won on all seven of his previous appearances in Germany, but he also started from pole on each occasion.

"I cannot pretend tomorrow to fight for the victory, because we are not ready," he said. "But to finish in the top five can be an optimistic and realistic result."

Provisional classification

1. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 1:20.236
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.011s
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.211s
4. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.272s
5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.331s
6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.353s
7. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.381s
8. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +0.423s
9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.574s
10. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.575s
11. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.713s
12. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) +0.899s