Photography by Gold & Goose
Repsol Honda Rider Marc Marquez set a fastest lap time of 1’21.621 to finish on top today in Germany, despite not yet equaling the 1’20.937 lap he set to claim pole at the German GP last year.
Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished in second on the combined sheets, 0.119 seconds off Marquez’s pace. He recently told motogp.com that he feels much more comfortable with the 2015 M1 than he has with previous iterations, feeling faster and more consistent pretty much instantly. This certainly shows today.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) came in third, only 0.084 sec slower than Smith, leaving Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) in fourth.
Fifth went to Marquez’s team mate Dani Pedrosa who put in a lap time 0.268 sec off the pace set by his Repsol Honda colleague. Honda has a good record in Germany – since the introduction of the 4-stroke MotoGP class in 2002, the Japanese manufacturer has been the most successful at the Sachsenring with 9 wins in total.
Aleix Espargaró – who is racing in a striking retro livery today celebrating 30 years of the GSX-R – came in sixth place for Team Suzuki Ecstar. He finishes just 0.007 sec quicker than Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha).
Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS), Yonny Hernández (Octo Pramac Racing) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) complete the top ten.
Meanwhile it’s all change further down the MotoGP timesheets this weekend, with three new riders lining up to do battle at the Sachsenring:
Claudio Corti replaces Stefan Bradl for Athiná Forward Racing due to his broken scaphoid. Bradl was obviously disappointed to miss the German round: “It’s really a shame to be forced to miss my home Grand Prix, but doctors have advised me not to rush the recovery in order not to jeopardize the rest of the season.”
AB Motoracing’s injured Karel Abraham has been substituted for Hiroshi Aoyama. The Japanese rider said: “It’s a strange feeling to be back again, I’m very sorry for Karel, but I’m very excited to jump on his bike.”
Michael Laverty also makes his return to MotoGP, permanently taking Marco Melandri’s ride in the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. It’s a tough challenge replacing a rider mid-season, but Laverty is no stranger to the Aprilia: “I have been riding with the Aprilia test team so I am comfortable with the Aprilia RS-GP machine and the Bridgestone tires.”
MotoGP FP2 Times from the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring – July 10, 2015
1 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 291.3 1’21.621
2 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 293.7 1’21.740 0.119 / 0.119
3 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Ducati Team Ducati 296.0 1’21.824 0.203 / 0.084
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 290.2 1’21.886 0.265 / 0.062
5 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 293.4 1’21.889 0.268 / 0.003
6 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 283.3 1’22.095 0.474 / 0.206
7 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 288.9 1’22.159 0.538 / 0.064
8 45 Scott REDDING GBR EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 287.9 1’22.170 0.549 / 0.011
9 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 290.8 1’22.196 0.575 / 0.026
10 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 298.2 1’22.340 0.719 / 0.144
11 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 291.2 1’22.413 0.792 / 0.073
12 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR CWM LCR Honda Honda 292.0 1’22.425 0.804 / 0.012
13 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 293.0 1’22.436 0.815 / 0.011
14 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 285.7 1’22.507 0.886 / 0.071
15 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 291.0 1’22.546 0.925 / 0.039
16 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 282.6 1’23.008 1.387 / 0.462
17 63 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 286.4 1’23.185 1.564 / 0.177
18 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 284.8 1’23.286 1.665 / 0.101
19 76 Loris BAZ FRA Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 284.5 1’23.344 1.723 / 0.058
20 43 Jack MILLER AUS CWM LCR Honda Honda 286.3 1’23.427 1.806 / 0.083
21 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM E-Motion IodaRacing Team ART 280.3 1’23.821 2.200 / 0.394
22 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN AB Motoracing Honda 282.4 1’23.925 2.304 / 0.104
23 50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 284.3 1’23.952 2.331 / 0.027
24 70 Michael LAVERTY GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 283.3 1’24.594 2.973 / 0.642
25 71 Claudio CORTI ITA Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha Forward
