German MotoGP: Iannone, Suzuki lead Sachsenring FP1
UPDATE: Franco Morbidelli withdraws from the remainder of the weekend and will be replaced by local star Stefan Bradl.
Andrea Iannone put Suzuki at the top of the timesheets duri🉐ng opening practice for the German MotoGP.
Marc Mar🌄quez, winner at Sachsenring for the past eight years, dominated for 37 of the 45-minutes, but when Iannone reversed his previous tyre choice - switching to a new medium front and new soft rear - the Italian pushed 0.390s clear of the Honda rider.
UPDATE: Franco Morbidelli withdraws from the remainder of the weekend and will be replaced by local star Stefan Bradl.
Andrea Iannone put Suzuki at the top of the timesheets during op🐲ening practice🥃 for the German MotoGP.
Marc Marquez, winner at Sachsenring for the past eight years, dominated for 37 of the 45-minutes, but when Iannone♏ reversed his previous tyre choice - switching to a new medium front and new soft rear - the Italian pushed 0.390s clear of the Honda rider.
Marquez, who💯 leads the world championship by 41 points after victory at Assen, stuck with the same medium-soft tyres for the whole session.
V☂alentino Rossi made it three manufacturers in the top three by lapping 0.132s slower than Marquez on his final run.
The Movistar Yamaha rider had used soft front-medium rear tyres for most of the session, but his tyre choice during the spee💜dy final run r✤emained a mystery due to 'missing data' from the Michelin transponders.
Te▨am-mate Maverick Vinales also ran soft-medium tyres, with his best time of the morning coming on the 13th lap of a long 14 lap opening run.
Andrea Dovizioso was the quickest Ducati rider in fifth (+0.819s), the first of four De♍smosedicis on the timesheets, just ahead of Pramac riders Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller, plus factory team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
ꦜPetrucci ꦏswitched to a new hard rear for his best time, with Miller repeating that tactic to leap into the top ten on his final lap. Lorenzo used one set of soft-medium tyres throughout.
Scott Redding enjoyed a strong session with ninth place (+1.011s) on the Aprilia, albeit after fitting new soft tyres😼 front and rear for this final run. Monster Yamaha Tech3's Johann Zarco complet🐻ed the top ten, at a track where former team-mate Jonas Folger took his only MotoGP podium a year ago.
Dani🐟 Pedrosa, who announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of this season, was 14th (+1.163s) with fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow even further down the order, in 19th (+1.515s).
Pedrosa's best time came on new medium tyres front and rear, while Crutchlow kept the same medium-mediu𒉰m rubber for the whole session.
Three riders - Alex Rins, Alvaro Bautista and Tito Rabat - fell in quicওk succession, in separate accidents, during the middle st🦩ages. All were unharmed.
Franco Morbidelli was 🌜22nd quickest (+1.937s) afterꦏ completing 19 laps on his return from a hand fracture.
KTM wild-card Mika Kallio was 24t♏h out of the 25 rid🍌ers, ahead of only Xavier Simeon.
The infamous Turn 11 downhill plunge ha𝔉s been named the 'Ralf Waldmann Corner' in memory of the late German Grand Prix winner, ahead of this year's event.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at 💖the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury ✅issues.
