2024 German MotoGP, Sachsenring - Friday Practice Results

* Rookie

Official Sachsenring MotoGP Records:

Best lap: Francesco Bagnaia 1m 19.765s (2022)

Fastest race lap:  Johann Zarco 1m 21.225s (2023)

Maverick Vinales leads an incident-packed Friday afternoon practice for the 2024 German MotoGP at Sachsenring.

But among those left outside the top ten this afternoon and heading for Saturday’s Qualifying 1 session will be eleven-time Sachsenring winner Marc Marquez.

The Gresini rider suffered a huge highside at Turn 11 then returned to top the timesheets, before parking his Ducati and heading for medical checks.

Marquez was later declared fit but didn’t return to the track and was pushed all the way down to 13th.

Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini also walked away from accidents at the same fearsome Turn 11 Ralf Waldmann/Waterfall corner.

The session was halted by red flags after 20-minutes to repair an air fence at Turn 1, after a big accident for Fabio di Giannantonio.

The Italian had been holding his right arm in the gravel but was smiling as he went for medical checks and later declared fit to continue. di Giannantonio bravely returned to claim a top ten place.

Marquez meanwhile went straight to the top of the times after the restart - but promptly pitted, changed out of his leathers and headed for medical checks.

Brother and team-mate Alex Marquez then took over at the top. But with new tyres being thrown in for time attacks, the #73 was soon displaced by the Aprilias of Miguel Oliveira and Vinales.

There were more (slow) right-hand accidents for Takaaki Nakagami, Joan Mir, Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez after the restart, then another big Turn 11 accident in the final minutes, this time a lowside for Enea Bastianini.

Monster Yamaha stand-in Remy Gardner was the final faller of the afternoon, at Turn 13, but he finished ahead of Stefan Bradl and Joan Mir.

Aleix Espargaro withdrew from the event this morning, after testing his hand with a few slow laps in FP1. Espargaro was watching the afternoon session from the Aprilia garage.

* Rookie

Official Sachsenring MotoGP Records:

Best lap: Francesco Bagnaia 1m 19.765s (2022)

Fastest race lap:  Johann Zarco 1m 21.225s (2023)

Jorge Martin gets the better of Marc Marquez during first practice for the 2024 German MotoGP at a cool but dry Sachsenring.

11-time Sachsenring winner Marquez did nothing to dampen expectations of a first Ducati win by leading much of the 45-minutes.

But last year’s double winner Jorge Martin also set a strong early pace, then moved to the top of the timesheets.

Martin was forced to miss the final minutes when his airbag deployed under braking for Turn 12!

Meanwhile, Marquez was already in the pits, having crashed at Turn 1, bringing his session to an even earlier end.

Maverick Vinales and fellow RS-GP rider Miguel Oliveira were third and fourth.

Rookie Pedro Acosta, who has his final chance to beat Marquez’s youngest MotoGP race winner record this weekend, set the fifth-best time for Tech3 KTM despite a late fall at the final corner.

Team-mate Augusto Fernandez, Enea Bastianini and Alex Marquez completed the top eight.

World champion Francesco Bagnaia, seeking to extend a five-race win streak, reverted to his usual steady start (after leading FP1 at Assen) with ninth.

Aleix Espargaro, who withdrew from last Sunday’s Assen activities after a hand fracture in the Saturday Sprint, was passed fit to ride but parked his RS-GP after just a handful of slow laps and will take no further part in the weekend.

WorldSBK regular Remy Gardner, riding in place of the injured Alex Rins at Monster Yamaha, completed his first MotoGP track session since Valencia 2022 - and first ever on a YZR-M1 - in 22nd.

Temperatures are expected to soar on Saturday with possible thunderstorms, before dropping again on Sunday.