For the 11th round of the 2025 MotoGP season, the championship heads to the Sachsenring. FP1 confirmed one thing: Marc Márquez is already looking right at home.

Tire-wise, most of the grid started the session on medium compounds at the rear. Front tire choices were more varied. While softs were popular, others, such as Ducati, made a different call. Marc Márquez was sent out with a medium front, likely with longer runs in mind.

One name absent from the session was Enea Bastianini. After spending the week suffering with a fever, the Italian was hospitalized and diagnosed with appendicitis. He will miss the German GP entirely. 

Session Starts: Early Strike for Márquez

With rain threatening the session, riders did not waste time getting out on the track. Pedro Acosta led the field out of pit lane, while Fabio Quartararo was the last to join. 

On the opening flying laps, Raul Fernandez put in a 1’22.715 to lead Johann Zarco, Quartararo, Márquez, and Luca Marini. 

Just seven minutes into the 45-minute session, title leader Marc Márquez was already at the top of the timesheets with a 1’20.749 lap. 

Gresini’s Alex Márquez was seen gesturing at his teammate Fermin Aldeguer after spotting a puff of smoke coming from the back of the rookie’s bike.

By the end of the first run, Marc Márquez had already taken control. He held a clear six-tenths gap over Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and the rest of the grid. Alex Márquez, racing again after being cleared fit from injury, was 14th.

Johann Zarco had a scare early in his second run, sliding out in Turn 1. Fortunately for the Frenchman, the crash was minor. He rejoined without major damage and went straight back to work.

The Final Push

Later into the session and with seven minutes left, the final rush began. Zarco, Miguel Oliveira, Marco Bezzecchi, Jack Miller, Joan Mir, Maverick Viñales, and Alex Rins all returned to the track on fresh rear tires. This triggered the usual late-session shuffle.

Zarco briefly jumped up places before being pushed down again to fourth place by Jack Miller, who climbed into second. The Australian even managed to cut Márquez’s lead down to just a tenth in the final minutes.

As the clock wound down, Pedro Acosta suffered a small crash in Sector 2. Fortunately, there were no consequences.

Despite the late surge from riders on new tires, no one could dislodge Marc Márquez. Additionally, with Zarco in fourth and Viñales just behind in fifth, all constructors are represented in the top five.

The MotoGP session ended with the following: