1. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia): “This was my best day at the Sachsenring since I started racing in MotoGP. Being so competitive on a slow track like the Sachsenring is important for the team. I already felt extremely good in free practice. I also had an excellent race pace in practice, although I also tested a few things with a view to the race to see what would work well.”
2. Jorge Martin (Pramac): “There was a lot of wind in the morning, and also in the afternoon, so we had to get used to the conditions. I felt very comfortable from the start, so I could focus on the electronics and the mappings and not on the setup. I felt very comfortable and managed to be one of the few riders who could improve in the afternoon. I am confident and believe that I have the potential to continue to improve.”
3. Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse): “I had a good feeling today. I didn’t change a lot of things, just worked a lot on the electronics and that seemed to work quite well. The time attacks went great, everything ran smoothly; I rode super clean, no mistakes, good pace so hopefully we can fight for a good place in Qualifying 2 tomorrow. This was the best Friday I’ve had in a long time. I think one of the reasons is that after Assen I had a meeting with the team and Aprilia to explain what I was missing and it was pretty clear. We had to make a few changes to the bike – they were small but made a big difference. It seems to be working.”
4. Alex Marquez (Gresini): “It was a positive day, even though the wind and conditions were not particularly conducive. We tried out different setups and found some interesting solutions. Despite the many adjustments we made, we have not lost the feeling that we have improved compared to Assen and can fight for a place in the first two rows tomorrow. We still have to work on the race pace, but we are on the right track.”
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati): “Compared to Assen, we had a lot of work to do today and we are not yet completely happy with the feeling of the bike. In terms of race pace, we were the fastest today, but we missed something in the time attack. We couldn’t make the most of the fresh tyre as I lost a lot of traction. We need to figure out how to fix that, but we already have some clear ideas about the direction we need to go in. That’s why we are not worried.”
6. Enea Bastianini (Ducati): “All in all, it was a pretty positive day, despite the crash in the afternoon. I’m particularly happy because I was able to improve lap by lap and I had a good feeling this afternoon too. We tried something new that worked well in some areas of the track and not in others. So we have to do a good job tomorrow to put everything together in the best possible way. The pace is very, very good, we’re just missing a bit of one-lap performance.”
7. Franco Morbidelli (Pramac): “It was very windy and cold. Nevertheless, we moved straight into Q2, which is very good. Tomorrow and Sunday we expect sun and higher temperatures, which would help to improve and increase the rhythm. I already felt good with the bike today and I’m looking forward to Saturday. I want to take another step forward and get good results.”
8. Pedro Acosta (GasGas): “I felt better today in the 40 laps than I did all weekend in Assen, so at least we can say it was a positive day for us. I crashed twice, two stupid crashes from my point of view, but I’m happy with the steps we made between Free Practice 1 and Practice. The pace was quite easy to find, we were consistently fast. We tried the time attacks with different tyre options, but once we found the right one I felt very good. I’m more than happy to have qualified directly for Q2!”
9. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46): “I’m better now, but it was a hard impact! I have pain in my collarbone, but otherwise everything seems fine. At the end of the straight I lost the front: maybe the tire wasn’t ready, maybe I braked too hard. A strong impact in the gravel trap, but the medical check ruled out injuries. I’m back on the track, I didn’t expect this lap time, but I’m happy. We’re not in a bad position in terms of pace, but we need to take a step forward with the electronics in the last sector. Now there’s physio and data analysis to be fit for the sprint.”
10. Brad Binder (KTM): Statement follows
11. Jack Miller (KTM): Statement follows
12. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse): “Today was quite difficult, especially at the beginning of the practice I didn’t feel good with the bike. We went a bit off track and also in this weather it was hard to work well. In the right-hand corners it was difficult for me to control the temperature of the tyre. When the temperatures are so low and we have to use the soft front tyre, like in my case with the old bike, it’s hard to deal with it. Our aero package is not as good as the one on the 24 bike and we saw that Maverick and Miguel did a really good job, with really fast laps, but in my case I hope the weather will be warmer tomorrow so we can use the harder compound and I can compensate better. The team did a great job and I got the maximum out of it – I was really close to going straight into Q2, so our pace was quite good. Basically I’m happy, but we need to have some luck with the weather tomorrow.”
13. Marc Marquez (Gresini): “The feeling with the bike was good, but it’s obvious that the afternoon crash had a big impact on this first day here at the Sachsenring. The fracture in my finger is not a concern for me, but the bruise on my chest is certainly what bothers me the most and also prevented me from continuing the session. Now it’s time to rest and tomorrow morning we’ll see how my physical condition is.”
14. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha): “It was very windy. I think that was one of the reasons why there were so many crashes: the wind was pushing so hard on the front. But today’s temperatures have nothing to do with the difficulties we are having. I expected that we would have problems here, but we seem to be struggling in other areas than I thought. In some places I expected more. So it is difficult. In the end we are a tenth away from Q2 and that is a bit frustrating. To be fair, this is a short track so a tenth is still quite a lot. I had the opportunity to ride behind some other riders and make a comparison. That is good information for Yamaha. We will try to make the best of what we have and then we will see.”
15. Augusto Fernandez (GasGas): “It was a good Friday for us, probably the best of the season so far. We saw some light, we were a bit more competitive, closer to the guys and I think it was possible to get into the top 10 today. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to improve my lap times in the second time attack so I ended up P15. But it was a really positive day for us, we know which direction we need to move in for tomorrow and hopefully we can make a step to fight for Q2.”
16. Johann Zarco (LCR): “The start of the afternoon was great; I could finally smile under the helmet. The positive thing is that I was in the top 5 for many laps in practice and was able to keep up with the fastest guys. Our pace was consistent. However, we made a mistake in strategy and then I crashed, so I didn’t manage to get into Q2. We improved today; let’s keep working and see what we can achieve tomorrow.”
17. Luca Marini (Repsol): “We made a good step today compared to where we started, but there is still a lot of work to do. There was a lot of wind today, which made everything quite tricky. You have to stay very focused every lap. Corner entry is an area where we can still improve, so that will be one of the focuses for tomorrow.”
18. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR): “As the air temperature is quite low, we are struggling to warm up the tyres, especially the right side, as the track is anti-clockwise. We saw a lot of crashes today and I was one of them; I ended up in the gravel at Turn 1. We tried different geometries, I didn’t have a good feeling and I lost the front. We are working hard to see if we can make progress for tomorrow’s sessions and the sprint.”
19. Marco Bezzecchi (VR46): “Perhaps one of the most difficult days of the season: this morning I didn’t feel bad, while in the afternoon the gap was bigger. I crashed, had a hard impact, gravel landed in my helmet and I hurt my face on the asphalt. Then in training the usual problems came back, I struggle with the first touch on the throttle, the bike doesn’t turn, I lose speed and often go wide. It wasn’t my day, I hope to make a step tomorrow, let’s not give up.”
20. Remy Gardner (Yamaha): “In FP2 I obviously struggled a bit to get used to the Michelins and the bike. Before practice we did a bit of data checking and electronics resetting and actually it wasn’t that bad. I think the gap is not too bad, considering I only spent two hours on the bike it’s not terrible. Maybe if I hadn’t crashed at the end and managed to do the whole lap we could have done a 1’20.9 or something like that, which I think is respectable. On the last lap I came into Turn 13 a bit too fast and the slipstream caused me to lock the front tyre and I went down quite early on braking. I wasn’t expecting that. Unfortunately my little finger got caught under the handlebars for a split second and I lost a bit of skin but I’ll be OK. I think a point finish this weekend is maybe a bit too much to ask for. If I can compete with other drivers, have a good fight in the race and have fun, that’s the most important thing in the end.”
21. Stefan Bradl (Honda): “Riding at the Sachsenring is always a pleasure for me. I immediately feel the support of the fans and as the only German in MotoGP I want to offer them a good weekend. As always, we have some points to work on. Let’s see what we can do, there is still a lot to do but we can see the potential of the bike with the other riders.”
22. Joan Mir (Repsol): “To be honest, today was a really tough day for us. We went the wrong way with the set-up – it was a risk that unfortunately didn’t pay off. In the afternoon we found a better setup but I had a crash when I started to really push and that disrupted the last part of the session. The goal for tomorrow is to be more competitive, at least keep up with the other Honda riders and get back to what we did in the races at the beginning of the year.”