Marco Bezzecchi led MotoGP Free Practice Two (FP2) and overall Friday at Sachsenring, in Germany. Riding his Mooney VR46 Racing Ducati Desmosedici, the young Italian lapped the 2.28-mile (3.67 km) road course in 1:20.271 to top the field of 20 riders. Just 0.851 second covered the top 16 riders in FP2.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Bezzecchi heads Martin as drama unfolds for Marc Marquez on Day 1
Bezzecchi, Martin and Aleix lock out the top three, but some huge talking points come from a dramatic day for Marc Marquez as the 11-time Sachsenring winner faces Q1
Friday, 16 June 2023
Two red flags, a massive save, a dramatic Turn 1 crash and a late flurry of times – they’re just a few notes from Day 1 at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, and they don’t tell the whole story. Talking times it’s Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) who ends Friday fastest with a 1:20.271 as the Italian is chased close by Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), but plenty of the headlines will go the way of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) after he was at the heart of the talking points.
The calm before the storm
Despite wet weather making its presence known in the Moto3™ and Moto2™ Practice 2 sessions, the premier class ventured straight out on slick tyres for their one-hour Friday afternoon stint. Some early time improvers were Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) as the Portuguese rider rose to P3, and Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) as he moved forward.
There were just over 20 minutes left on the clock when we saw some fresh soft rear rubber laid on the Sachsenring, and the push for laptimes began in earnest. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) popped up to P2 to get the Practice 2 time attack ball rolling, and Aleix Espargaro then quickly returned to P3.
A whirlwind end to P2
he’d been close to the top in P1, but while pushing for an improvement in the afternoon, Marc Marquez had a huge moment at Turn 11. The eight-time World Champion did very well to stay on board – and in the aftermath, the #93 made his feelings towards the moment clear.
In the meantime, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) were chipping away at their personal best times, before Augusto Fernandez propelled himself to P4 with 11 minutes to go. But in the blink of an eye that was soon P9 as the rapid times started to be slung in, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) going P1 ahead of former teammate Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Then, huge drama unfolded at Turn 1. First, Viñales was down but ok. Then, moments later, Marc Marquez’s front end washed away at the start of a lap at Turn 1 as Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) was coming out the pitlane. Subsequently, Marquez’s stricken Honda clattered into Zarco’s Ducati in a crash that brought out the red flags. Riders ok and able to get back out on track once the session was restarted, but talking point most definitely made. Marquez wasn’t able to get out in time to complete a lap, however, and that saw him finish outside the top 10, facing Q1 in Germany.
Back at the top, Aleix Espargaro went P1 near the end of the session, before Bezzecchi produced some late magic to pinch top spot away from the Spaniard, and Martin then pinched second from the Aprilia roo.
At the end of a breathless final 10 minutes, it’s Bagnaia who claims P4 behind the fastest trio, with Miller completing the top five. Quartararo will be into Q2 for the first time since the Americas GP, the Frenchman bagging P6, as Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Zarco pocket automatic spots in Q2.
So…11-time Sachsenring winner Marc Marquez faces Q1 in Germany, not something we thought we’d be saying. Title-chasing Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is another big name missing out on the Q2 cut, too, so there’s everything to play for on Saturday.
SHOWTIME
With some huge names in Q1, the stage is set for Qualifying and then the Tissot Sprint. Here’s when it all gets underway in GMT+2:
MotoGP™ FP: 10:10
MotoGP™ Q1: 10:50
MotoGP™ Q2: 11:15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00
Acosta on top in dry P1, Arbolino heads damp P2
A wet afternoon at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland means the Moto2™ Friday classification is decided by the Practice 1 times, which sees Italian GP winner Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) end the day fastest with a 1:23.979. Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) – a late crasher in Practice 2 – is 0.237s off his compatriot in P2, while Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp) heads into Saturday as the rider in P3.
On a damp but drying Sachsenring for Practice 2, however, World Championship leader Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) set the pace but the afternoon outing didn’t count for much more than getting a feel for the tricky conditions – despite slick tyres making a brief appearance in the closing stages.
Behind the leading trio, Filip Salač (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) and Jake Dixon (Polarcube GASGAS Aspar Team) are inside the top five after the first two Practice sessions, while Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) is P6 ahead of Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team). Eighth place is where we find Arbolino on the combined times, the Italian is one place ahead of teammate Sam Lowes. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) rounds out the top Friday top 10 in the intermediate class.
Moto2™ Practice 3 starts at 09:25 local time (GMT+2), before qualifying from 13:45!
Sasaki top with new lap record as rain slows play in P2
Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) will head into qualifying day as the rider to beat after heavy rain in the afternoon saw no riders improve on their times from P1 at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. The Japanese rider set a new lap record in P1 and was two and a half tenths clear of Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) completing the overall top three.
It was Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) who led the way in the wet Practice 2 conditions after Scott Ogden’s (VisionTrack Racing Team) Turn 8 crash briefly brought out the red flags in the afternoon due to the Brit’s Honda damaging the air fence, rider ok. Then, heading into the closing stages, Öncü suffered a crash at the rapid Turn 11 right-hander. The Turkish star was declared fit after a check up, however, and will be back out on Saturday.
At the conclusion of the day then, it’s the dry times that count towards the provisional Q2 places. Behind Sasaki, Öncü and Masia, Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) and Ryusei Yamanaka (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar M3) sit inside the top five. World Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was sixth in Practice 1 ahead of Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team), Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Bertelle.
Make sure you tune into Moto3™ P3 at 08:40 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday morning to see who will head straight into Q2, and then it’s qualifying from 12:50!
