Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha) at the press conference for the German Grand Prix on Thursday evening. The Catalan has been a MotoGP lucky bag for years – will he be able to show his best side again on Sunday?

First day full of falls in Hohenstein-Ernstthal

Pol Espargaró was the man who made it into the gravel trap twice on Friday. But at least the Catalan managed the fourth-fastest time in FP1 in the morning. In front of you only a Yamaha and with Marc Marquez and Takaaki Nakagami two brand colleagues. This is likely to be the final end to a fairy tale that has been claimed over and over again for over a year, which presented the Honda as the most problematic bike of all. The father of this fictional story was Stefan Bradl and a plethora of journalists and commentators, who continually picked up on this nonsense whenever the opportunity arose. On the narrowest and shortest of all routes on the calendar, you need maneuverability and a top chassis, and this is exactly what the Honda has, along with one of the undisputed most powerful engines in the field, as demonstrated by countless top results from Marquez in Spielberg.

The “King of the Sachsenring” in top form – is Marquez the favorite for the race on Sunday?
It was impressive how comfortable the Spaniard seemed to feel again from the first moment at the Sachsenring. Since 2013 there has been no other winner than Marc Marquez in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Even after Friday morning, you can dare to say that if he doesn’t crash, he can fight for pole position and victory. One of the riders who fell was Luca Marini, who a little later set the second-best time 20 minutes before the end of FP2. But not the Italian, but probably more drivers like Miguel Oliveira, Fabio Quartararo or Maverick Viñales are the names that should dispute the Repsol Honda hope for pole and race victory. The Frenchman had a fall in the first free practice, but Quartararo is still considered the world championship leader among the most serious challengers in qualifying and on Sunday. Marini’s half-brother Valentino Rossi was also one of the pilots who tested the gravel bed, with the old master it was in FP2 turn 1, where he exceeded the limit.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) between Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati, far left) is the man who, after 4 falls in the last races, finally has to show his performance on one of his favorite tracks.

The times of the Friday practice of MotoGP

Below are the times from the second free practice and in italics the drivers who are currently not qualified for Q2. However, it is to be expected that many pilots in FP3 will be able to improve their times on Saturday morning. With two Honda riders still in the top ten, it is currently clear that there seems to be absolutely no manufacturer who might have problems with the set-up for the Sachsenring.

P, No, Rider, Km/h, Time/Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 88, Miguel OLIVEIRA, 298.3, 1’20.690,
2, 20, Fabio QUARTARARO, 293.4, 1’20.910, 0.220 / 0.220
3, 12, Maverick VIÑALES, 293.4, 1’21.023, 0.333 / 0.113
4, 42, Alex RINS, 294.2, 1’21.077, 0.387 / 0.054
5, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 296.7, 1’21.108, 0.418 / 0.031
6, 30, Takaaki NAKAGAMI, 291.8, 1’21.131, 0.441 / 0.023
7, 41, Aleix ESPARGARO, 295.8, 1’21.143, 0.453 / 0.012
8, 5, Johann ZARCO, 298.3, 1’21.181, 0.491 / 0.038
9, 43, Jack MILLER, 298.3, 1’21.192, 0.502 / 0.011
10, 21, Franco MORBIDELLI, 289.5, 1’21.228, 0.538 / 0.036
11, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 293.4, 1’21.282, 0.592 / 0.054
12, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 296.7, 1’21.291, 0.601 / 0.009
13, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 296.7, 1’21.293, 0.603 / 0.002
14, 89, Jorge MARTIN, 297.5, 1’21.398, 0.708 / 0.105
15, 33, Brad BINDER, 299.1, 1’21.426, 0.736 / 0.028
16, 36, Joan MIR, 295.8, 1’21.453, 0.763 / 0.027
17, 27, Iker LECUONA, 295.0, 1’21.568, 0.878 / 0.115
18, 10, Luca MARINI, 292.6, 1’21.595, 0.905 / 0.027
19, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 295.0, 1’21.702, 1.012 / 0.107
20, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 289.5, 1’21.878, 1.188 / 0.176
21, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 291.1, 1’21.968, 1.278 / 0.090
22, 63, Francesco BAGNAIA, 299.1, 1’22.211, 1.521 / 0.243

>GP Germany preview: see separate report on this page.

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