There is a new speed champion at the Sachsenring as Fabio Di Giannantonio placed first in the MotoGP Practice session. The Italian broke the all-time lap record of Jorge Martin with a 1:19.07.
Di Giannantonio beat out Álex Márquez and Marc Márquez by over three-tenths of a second. His Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing teammate Franco Morbidelli finished in sixth.
One Hour Countdown Begins
Á. Márquez had his second medical review after the earlier Free Practice 1 session, and he was deemed fit to race for the rest of the weekend. We were left without Enea Bastianini, with no confirmation if he will make it for the rest of the weekend with his appendicitis diagnosis.
Straight away, fast laps were put on the board by M. Márquez, showing that he means business this weekend to make more records. Hidden within the crowd of Ducati riders on the timesheet was Joan Mir on his Honda in fourth. Marco Bezzecchi crashed out within the first ten minutes on the last corner, losing the front end as is a usual incident at that turn.
Out For The Second Run
Miguel Oliveira made a poor choice in tyres at the beginning of the session. He returned to the pit lane early to come back on something that would give him a bit more grip. It still placed him just outside the top ten. KTM came out with renewed vigour as Pedro Acosta placed himself in the top three.
M.Márquez seemed to be the only rider who could get past 1:20, with Di Giannantonio nearly two tenths behind him. The Ducati Lenovo rider did have a tiny moment in Turn 10, sliding in at the wrong angle but still upright.
Back-to-Back Off The Track
Despite M.Márquez’s supreme control, he did come off the main straight to overshoot Turn 1. Unfortunately, it came at the exact moment that Fermin Aldeguer crashed in the same spot a couple of moments before. With the yellow flags out, the FIM stewards may review the situation to determine if it warrants an unsafe riding infringement.
The Final Runs On Track
Acosta was finally able to crack M.Márquez’s time and place himself in the top spot. But with only ten minutes to go, every rider started to find their throttle. It wasn’t long before the #93 snagged first place back. His brother managed to take third off Jack Miller. It wasn’t his for long, as the positions behind M.Marquez changed rapidly in the final minutes of the session.
Fabio Quartararo ended his Practice with a minute left, running out of fuel and hoping his spot for Q2 would hold. With the wave of the checkered flag, Aldeguer crashed once again in a fast off, costing Maverick Viñales a lap for Q2. Johann Zarco also ended his session in the gravel of Turn 8.
Q2 Advancers
It’s not often we’ve seen the Márquez brothers beaten. With the win count M. Márquez holds at the German GP, it seems like his for the taking. However, just like Moto2 and Moto3, all bets are off if the rain forecast is to be believed. One thing is for sure: the Sachsenring has many more stories to tell on Saturday and Sunday.