Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez dominated the opening practice session ahead of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.
Marquez, whose streak of consecutive wins at the Sachsenring stretches back to 2010 in the 125cc class, has struggled for results so far since his return from injury – but anticipated that the counter-clockwise, left-hander-dominated German venue would be kind to his physical condition.
He took a big lead right away in FP1, and his early 1m21.660s would prove out of reach for the rest of the 45-minute session, although as many as 18 riders lapped within a second.
Points leader Fabio Quartararo had a rare crash in the opening minutes of FP1, tumbling through the gravel at speed at the Turn 12 left-hander.
He initially looked to have taken a knock on his right shoulder, but ultimately escaped without serious injury, returning to the circuit later in practice.
Quartararo ultimately wound up best of the rest, 0.168s behind Marquez, having broken up a Honda 1-2-3 that had been propped up by LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and Marquez’s works team-mate Pol Espargaro.
This was despite Espargaro falling in the opening minutes as well.
The other Espargaro, Aleix, completed the top five for Aprilia, with Jack Miller leading Ducati’s efforts in sixth.
Suzuki rider Alex Rins, returning from an injury caused by a bicycle crash with a van, was seventh, followed by Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati), Rins’s team-mate Joan Mir and Maverick Vinales (Yamaha).
Pramac Ducati rookie Jorge Martin had an early tumble at Turn 12 like Quartararo, and wound up 19th, albeit still ahead of the likes of Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamah), Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM) and Brad Binder (KTM).
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1m21.66s | ||
| 2 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.168s | +0.168s | 1m21.828s |
| 3 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.108s | +0.276s | 1m21.936s |
| 4 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.074s | +0.35s | 1m22.01s |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.03s | +0.38s | 1m22.04s |
| 6 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.011s | +0.391s | 1m22.051s |
| 7 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.025s | +0.416s | 1m22.076s |
| 8 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.072s | +0.488s | 1m22.148s |
| 9 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.024s | +0.512s | 1m22.172s |
| 10 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.081s | +0.593s | 1m22.253s |
| 11 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.007s | +0.6s | 1m22.26s |
| 12 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.064s | +0.664s | 1m22.324s |
| 13 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.04s | +0.704s | 1m22.364s |
| 14 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.017s | +0.721s | 1m22.381s |
| 15 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.096s | +0.817s | 1m22.477s |
| 16 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.06s | +0.877s | 1m22.537s |
| 17 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.075s | +0.952s | 1m22.612s |
| 18 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.034s | +0.986s | 1m22.646s |
| 19 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.032s | +1.018s | 1m22.678s |
| 20 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.013s | +1.031s | 1m22.691s |
| 21 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.037s | +1.068s | 1m22.728s |
| 22 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.241s | +1.309s | 1m22.969s |
