Pol Espargaro led Marc Marquez in Friday practice ahead of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring but both experienced problems on an eventful day in Germany. The first session was run in dry conditions before intermittent rain played havoc with the second, allowing Espargaro's FP1 time to stay unbeaten.
Marquez was the first to hit trouble with a crash at the waterfall corner late in the morning session. The championship leader lost the front end of his Suter at the right-hander and slid for several yards down the track. Fortunately he escaped unhurt with the only damage being done to his motorcycle and he was fit to ride in FP2.
It was then that Espargaro encountered difficulty, again at the waterfall, as his Kalex started to slow with a mechanical problem. The descent in the road allowed him to crawl to the Sachsen curve but the no.40 couldn't make it up the incline which brought the riders to the final corner. As a result, Espargaro was forced to push his bike uphill to the pitlane, leaving him breathless when he finally returned to the garage.
Behind the top two, Bradley Smith showed Tech 3's best form of the season so far to go third quickest, a third of a second back, just ahead of Mika Kallio on the Marc VDS Kalex. Alex de Angelis was fifth fastest with title contenders Andrea Iannone and Thomas Luthi sixth and seventh while Dominique Aegerter all-but-matched his compatriot in eighth.
Yuki Takahashi showed signs of turning the corner after a desperate start to the season with the ninth fastest time with Simone Corsi completing the top ten. Scott Redding could only manage eleventh in an incredibly tight session with Gino Rea down in 27th, despite being only two seconds off the lead.
eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland: Combined Friday Practice Times
Pos | Rider | Constructor | Team | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | 1:25.179 |
2 | ![]() |
Suter | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | +0.048 |
3 | ![]() |
Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +0.333 |
4 | ![]() |
Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.427 |
5 | ![]() |
FTR | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +0.604 |
6 | ![]() |
Speed Up | Speed Master | +0.605 |
7 | ![]() |
Suter | Interwetten-Paddock | +0.725 |
8 | ![]() |
Suter | Technomag-CIP | +0.735 |
9 | ![]() |
FTR | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +0.815 |
10 | ![]() |
FTR | Came IodaRacing Project | +0.831 |
11 | ![]() |
Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.838 |
12 | ![]() |
Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +0.840 |
13 | ![]() |
Suter | GP Team Switzerland | +0.864 |
14 | ![]() |
Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +1.006 |
15 | ![]() |
Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +1.053 |
16 | ![]() |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +1.066 |
17 | ![]() |
Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team | +1.068 |
18 | ![]() |
Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +1.146 |
19 | ![]() |
Suter | Technomag-CIP | +1.159 |
20 | ![]() |
FTR | Blusens Avintia | +1.210 |
21 | ![]() |
Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team | +1.231 |
22 | ![]() |
Suter | Thai Honda Gresini Moto2 | +1.379 |
23 | ![]() |
Kalex | Kiefer Racing | +1.385 |
24 | ![]() |
AJR | Arguiñano Racing Team | +1.560 |
25 | ![]() |
Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +1.770 |
26 | ![]() |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +1.947 |
27 | ![]() |
Suter | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | +2.138 |
28 | ![]() |
MZ-RE Honda | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | +2.234 |
29 | ![]() |
Bimota | Desguaces La Torre SAG | +3.171 |
30 | ![]() |
Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +3.316 |
31 | ![]() |
IAMT | Kiefer Racing | +3.462 |
32 | ![]() |
FTR | SAG Team | +3.824 |
33 | ![]() |
Speed Up | S/Master Speed Up | +4.659 |
34 | ![]() |
Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +5.593 |