MotoGP Training Sachsenring 2026: Marc Marquez Fastest at the End

– Marc Marquez (Ducati) set the fastest time in Friday practice for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring. The big surprise was Jack Miller (Pramac-Yamaha) in fifth place, while Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) missed direct entry to Q2, finishing 13th.

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Optimal weather conditions continued in the afternoon. The sky was slightly cloudy, and with 24 degrees Celsius and a light breeze, the temperatures were pleasant for the riders as well as the many fans in the stands.

Initially, preparations for the two races were the focus. Almost all riders started the session on the hard front tire, as it was expected to be significantly warmer on Saturday and Sunday.

Shortly before the halfway point of the session, a tight situation occurred in the second sector in the left-hand corners. Pedro Acosta (KTM) caught up to Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati) and felt held up.

After his heavy crash two weeks ago in Assen, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) posted good times. At halfway, he stayed on the used hard front tire, fitted a new soft rear tire, and temporarily set the best time.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR-Honda) started the qualifying attempts 25 minutes before the end of the session. The 40-year-old improved to tenth place, but could not hold it for long as more lap times came in.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) initially set the pace, being two tenths faster than Alex Marquez. The Gresini Ducati rider improved in his next lap, reducing the gap to 0.090 seconds.

Fifteen minutes before the end of the session, Marc Marquez left the pits with new tires. With 1:19.841 minutes, the world champion set the first lap under 1:20 minutes this weekend. He had a 0.263-second lead.

Moments later, Miller crossed the finish line with the new V4 Yamaha with exactly the same lap time as Marc Marquez. But the time attack was far from over.

Di Giannantonio then beat the time of Marc Marquez and Miller by 0.167 seconds and took the lead again. Afterwards, Alex Marquez improved to second place.

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For the final attack, everyone picked up a new soft rear tire in the pits. Marc Marquez catapulted himself to the top with 1:19.395 minutes. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia) also made a step forward to second place.

Two minutes before time expired, Enea Bastianini (Tech3-KTM) caused yellow flags with a crash in turn 8. Shortly before, Joan Mir had gone off track but stayed seated on his Honda in the gravel and continued.

The further placements

That decided the outcome. Behind Marc Marquez and Fernandez were Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez in fourth and fifth places. Miller caused the big surprise by finishing fifth.

Assen winner Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia) finished sixth, half a second behind. Aprilia teammates Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin followed in seventh and eighth.

Acosta was the only KTM rider to make direct entry to Q2 with ninth place. Morbidelli secured the last Q2 spot in tenth. Bastianini narrowly missed out as eleventh after his late crash.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) was seven tenths off the pace, ending Friday in 13th and having to start in Q1 on Saturday. Honda was the only brand without a rider in the top 10.

Luca Marini was the best Honda rider in 14th place, eight tenths behind. Overall, 17 riders were within one second.

The final practice starts on Saturday at 10:10 am, immediately followed by qualifying at 10:50 am. The 15-lap sprint starts at 3:00 pm.

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