Sachsenring, FP1: Marc Marquez crash and Aprilia sets fastest time!

At 10.45 am sharp, the 21 MotoGP riders began the first free practice session for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring in near-perfect conditions. Gresini had already announced in Hohenstein-Ernstthal before the weekend that he would be fielding only Alex Márquez. Fermin Aldeguer was forced to withdraw due to injury following his crash at Assen.

LCR stand-in rider Cal Crutchlow got off to a bad start to the session and was forced to retire his Honda RC213V on the very first lap. It was due to a technical fault. Crutchlow returned to the LCR pit to switch to his spare bike.

Marc Marquez crashes on his first stint!

World Champion Marc Marquez caused the first crash of the MotoGP race weekend. After just a few minutes, the number 93 Ducati slid into the gravel at the exit of Turn 3 at low speed, losing the front wheel. Marquez was uninjured, and his factory Desmosedici also sustained only minor cosmetic damage.

VR46 rider Fabio di Giannantonio set the pace at the start of FP1, trading the lead with his Ducati team-mate Alex Marquez. Lap times were in the low 1:21s. By way of comparison: last year’s pole time was 1:19.071 minutes, whilst the fastest time in FP1 was 1:20.372 minutes.

Maverick Viñales wrecks his KTM RC16

Tech3 rider Maverick Viñales caused the first crash in Turn 11 after 13 minutes. Whilst leaning into the right-hand bend, Viñales slid off the track over his front wheel, but emerged uninjured. However, the Spaniard’s KTM RC16 rolled over several times and was badly damaged.

After a brief repair break, Marc Marquez resumed the session and, after 21 minutes, moved into second place behind his brother Alex. Shortly afterwards, the defending champion clocked the weekend’s first sub-1:20 lap and moved to the top of the timesheets. Fabio di Giannantonio also clocked a time under 1:21 minutes and took second place.

Twelve minutes before the end of the 45-minute session, VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli crashed at Turn 3. The Italian hit a bump at the exit of the long right-hand bend and suddenly lost control of his Ducati Desmosedici. This bump had previously caused Marc Marquez to crash and given Francesco Bagnaia a moment of panic.

Raul Fernandez overtakes Marc Marquez at the top

In the final minutes, the order was shaken up as several riders returned to the track on fresh tyres. The gap at the top narrowed. However, with five minutes to go, Marc Marquez’s lap time of 1:20.880 still topped the timesheets.

This time was narrowly beaten by Raul Fernandez three minutes from the end. The Trackhouse rider lapped the Sachsenring in 1:20.829 minutes and took the lead. This time was threatened by Marc Marquez on his final attempt. Marquez set a new absolute best time in the first sector, but lost a few tenths of a second in the second part of the lap. Fernández remained in the lead, with Márquez second, 0.051 seconds behind.

Fabio di Giannantonio finished the opening practice session in third place, a good tenth of a second behind. In fourth place was Honda works rider Joan Mir, who set some strong lap times in the closing stages and ultimately finished just 0.115 seconds behind.

Yamaha springs a surprise: Miller and Rins in the top 7

Pramac Yamaha rider Jack Miller caused a surprise in the opening session by finishing fifth. His Yamaha team-mate Alex Rins confirmed his strong form by finishing seventh. Fabio Quartararo was listed in 15th position, with Toprak Razgatlioglu in 16th.

The two factory Aprilias made it into the top 10. Marco Bezzecchi had an uneventful session and was listed in eighth place. Team-mate Jorge Martin finished in 10th place. Franco Morbidelli also held his own in the top 10 despite a crash.

KTM works rider Pedro Acosta finished FP1 in twelfth place, making him the second-fastest RC16 rider behind Maverick Viñales, who moved up to eleventh place despite a high-speed crash at Turn 11.

Assen winner Ai Ogura was clearly overshadowed by his Trackhouse team-mate Raul Fernandez and was listed in 17th place, 0.921 seconds off the pace.

The one-hour MotoGP qualifying session gets underway at 15:00.