It was undisputed King of the Ring Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who took Friday honours at the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland but despite finishing over three tenths clear of the chasing pack, the reigning World Champion only holds the outright advantage in one sector.
In sector one, it’s Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller who is currently fastest. The Australian, on board his Desmosedici GP19, set the best time of 17.957 through the first split to go 0.039 quicker than Marquez, with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) the third-best through sector one.
Sector two belongs to Marquez, but only just. The number 93’s 23.103 as the riders tackle Turn 3 and the start of the long sequence of left-handers is a slender 0.006 quicker than Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) third fastest with a 23.206 – over a tenth slower than Marquez.
Quartararo then claws back time in the third sector with an 18.800, with Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins the man closest to the flying Frenchman through that split. 0.025 is Quartararo’s advantage over Rins, with Marquez appearing in the top three again with a best T3 sector time 0.029 slower than the Yamaha rider.
As we plunge down 'The Waterfall' into the last sector we see Pol Espargaro’s Red Bull KTM Factory Racing bike top of the times, the Spaniard’s 20.703 is by far and away the best through there. Rins’ 20.772 is as close as the competition can get to the KTM through Turns 12 and 13, with Marquez setting the exact same time as Rins through the last split.
Marquez maybe sitting pretty at the top, but the sector times go to show there are several riders on several manufacturers who, after studying the data, might be able to find improvements in the sectors they’re not as quick in. Competition is fierce in the premier class and we’re set for a super Sachsenring Saturday – action comes your way with FP3 at 09:55 local time (GMT+2) before qualifying kicks off at 14:10.