• Fabio Di Giannantonio is third with the Ducati of the VR46 Racing Team ahead of Alex Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP), fourth
The Ducati Lenovo Team completed the opening day of action for the Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring. Marc Márquez topped the Practice session, while Francesco Bagnaia – thirteenth – will have to go through Q1.
Second quickest in FP1 despite an early crash, Márquez stayed consistently among the frontrunners throughout Practice. After becoming the first rider to break the 1’20s barrier, Marc further improved his lap time with three minutes remaining to ultimately top the timesheets. Bagnaia made his way back into the top ten twice in the closing stages of the afternoon session but eventually finished thirteenth – only one tenth of a second adrift of tenth place.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT +2) for Free Practice 2, which will be followed by Q1 (10:50), Q2 (11:15) and the eleventh Sprint of the season, contested over 15 laps from 15:00.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“I’m happy and I feel quite good. We looked for a good set-up and some consistency, but we still have some margin for improvement. Both feeling and performance were very similar in the two sessions, the only differences being the amount of rubber on the track and the temperatures, which both increased throughout the day. The goal is to qualify on the front row and then we’ll see what we’ll be able to achieve in the Sprint as well as in the race. Regarding the tyres, I feel like there’s very little choice at this track.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 13th
“I knew I would have struggled, but I was still hoping for something different. This year, unfortunately, all the long-radius corners have been difficult because I lack rear grip and, as soon as I try to push a bit more, the rear steps out. You really make the difference in the middle two sectors here, and today I nearly highsided several times. We’ll go back to our base set-up tomorrow, as we’ve already tried four different adjustments in an effort to find more grip. We’re analysing the situation by comparing our data with those who have more grip and working on the electronics.”
Michael Le Pard (“Mr. Totalmotorcycle”) is the Founder of Total Motorcycle, the world’s largest motorcycle information site, trusted by over 430 million riders since 1999. With over 34 years of experience in motorcycles, gear and rider culture, he has built a global community dedicated to empowering and inspiring motorcyclists.
Total Motorcycle remains his passion project. Combining expert research, hands‑on knowledge and a commitment to helping riders make informed decisions about bikes, gear and safety worldwide.
