Practice report

MotoGP German GP: Vinales on record pace in FP2 as Marquez suffers huge crash

New lap record for Vinales at the Sachsenring, as Marquez among a long list of riders to suffer crashes

Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales topped second practice for the MotoGP German Grand Prix with a new lap record, as a massive crash left Marc Marquez out of Q2 in 13th.

Cooler conditions than expected for the time of year at the Sachsenring coupled with its unique layout led to a crash-strewn hour of practice that was red-flagged briefly.

Gresini Ducati rider Marquez, who fell off his GP23 in FP1, suffered a monster accident through the downhill right-hander at Turn 11 just seven minutes into the second session.

Marquez tucked the front going through the corner, before the rear gripped as he tried to save the accident that spat him into a highside.

He would return to the circuit soon after on a second bike that had encountered issues all day to go fastest with a 1m20.384s with just over half an hour remaining.

Completing just six laps, Marquez then went to the medical centre for checks. Although the Spaniard was declared fit by the doctors, he is understood to have fractured a finger on his left hand while also reporting some pain in his ribs and right hand.

But he wouldn’t return to the session and found himself knocked out of the direct Q2 qualifying places in 11th.

The session was red-flagged with just under 40 minutes remaining after VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio popped the air fence in a crash at Turn 1.

Di Giannantonio initially looked to have injured a collarbone in the incident, but medical centre checks revealed no fractures and he was able to return to finish ninth.

VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi was the first faller in the session, coming off at Turn 11 where Marquez crashed.

Ducati’s Enea Bastianini was the next to go down at that corner late in the session, while there were also tumbles for Takaaki Nakagami (LCR), Joan Mir (Honda), Pedro Acosta (Tech3), Augusto Fernandez (Tech3), Remy Gardner (Yamaha) and Johann Zarco (LCR).

Having had a strong FP1 session, Vinales on the factory Aprilia produced a lap record of 1m19.622s with just under 10 minutes to go.

Nobody got close to Vinales come the chequered flag, with championship leader Jorge Martin second on his Pramac Ducati – albeit 0.340 seconds adrift.

Miguel Oliveira was third on the Trackhouse Racing Aprilia, while Alex Marquez was fourth on the Gresini Ducati.

Francesco Bagnaia led his factory Ducati team-mate Bastianini in fifth, with Franco Morbidelli seventh on the Pramac-run GP24 ahead of Acosta.

Di Giannantonio grabbed a Q2 place despite his early crash, while the final direct Q2 spot went to KTM’s Brad Binder.

Marc Marquez will join a tough Q1 battle on Saturday morning, with KTM’s Jack Miller only 0.001s outside of the top 10 on Friday afternoon in 11th.

Fabio Quartararo was the top Yamaha in 14th, with Zarco the best of the Hondas in 16th.

MotoGP German GP - Second practice results:

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12	Aprilia	26	1'19.622		164.803
2	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89	Ducati	32	+0.340 1'19.962	0.340	164.102
3	M. Oliveira Trackhouse Racing Team	88	Aprilia	31	+0.362 1'19.984	0.022	164.057
4	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73	Ducati	32	+0.407 1'20.029	0.045	163.965
5	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1	Ducati	30	+0.439 1'20.061	0.032	163.900
6	E. Bastianini Ducati Team	23	Ducati	25	+0.463 1'20.085	0.024	163.850
7	F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing	21	Ducati	28	+0.464 1'20.086	0.001	163.848
8	P. Acosta Tech 3	31	KTM	28	+0.520 1'20.142	0.056	163.734
9	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	23	+0.658 1'20.280	0.138	163.452
10	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	31	+0.662 1'20.284	0.004	163.444
11	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43	KTM	28	+0.663 1'20.285	0.001	163.442
12	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	27	+0.722 1'20.344	0.059	163.322
13	M. Marquez Gresini Racing	93	Ducati	7	+0.762 1'20.384	0.040	163.241
14	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	30	+0.785 1'20.407	0.023	163.194
15	A. Fernandez Tech 3	37	KTM	26	+0.991 1'20.613	0.206	162.777
16	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	27	+1.046 1'20.668	0.055	162.666
17	L. Marini Repsol Honda Team	10	Honda	32	+1.246 1'20.868	0.200	162.264
18	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30	Honda	29	+1.264 1'20.886	0.018	162.228
19	M. Bezzecchi Team VR46	72	Ducati	26	+1.279 1'20.901	0.015	162.198
20	R. Gardner Yamaha Factory Racing	87	Yamaha	27	+1.783 1'21.405	0.504	161.194
21	S. Bradl HRC Test Team	6	Honda	30	+1.952 1'21.574	0.169	160.860
22	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36	Honda	26	+2.225 1'21.847	0.273	160.323
23	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41	Aprilia	0
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