The Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland welcomed riders back onto track on Saturday morning in the Moto3™ World Championship, as riders battled for position to be seeded straight into Q2 later on. With the top 14 into Q2 decided, it was the frenetic final five minutes of FP3 which saw the most dramatic changes, leaving Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) to take charge with his final flying lap, setting a 1’26.317 to go just 0.092s clear ahead of revelation Stefano Nepa (BOW Owlride) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power).
All change on the final flying laps! ????@M16NO tops the session while @37_pedroacosta squeezes through to Q2! ????#Moto3 | #GermanGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/Hk0zuk5v9v
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 19, 2021
Who has made it into Q2?
After only a few riders improved on their times in the afternoon session on Friday, times really tumbled on Saturday morning, with a whole host of riders improving with around 15 minutes left to go. Migno was outside of the top 14 until his fast lap at the end, whilst Nepa continued to impress by slotting into second, having originally gone top- The Japanese contingency was strong, with Kaito Toba and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) lying third and fourth ahead of qualifying. Filip Salac (Rivacold Snipers Team) made it fifth ahead of a mightily impressive Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse); Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) was seventh.
Having been fastest on Friday, John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) slipped to eighth on Saturday morning, one place higher than Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) and Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), with the veteran Italian completing the top ten. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) was exactly half a second off in 11th, ahead of Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing), Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3), who completed the Q2 runners.
We now have a Japanese 1-2! ????????@KaitoToba with the fastest lap of the weekend! ????#Moto3 | #GermanGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/ebVvAbWaTy
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 19, 2021
MISSING OUT
Needing to work a bit harder, Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) all missed out and will have to fight it out in Q1. Turn 3 continued to be a crashing hot spot, with Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) highsiding on the exit. He was able to get up onto his feet but was taken to the medical centre and didn’t return to the track – he was 18th overall. Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) also crashed in the closing stages at the same corner but was OK and on his feet, although the yellow flags did come out.
Dramatic start to the morning for @gabrirodrigo2! ????
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 19, 2021
The @GresiniRacing rider is back on his feet! ????#Moto3 | #GermanGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/JcBPG2NVTY
Moto3™ Q1 kicks off at 12:35pm local time (GMT+2), so make sure you don’t miss out!
Top 10 combined after all Free Practice sessions:
1. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) 1’26.317
2. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) +0.092
3. Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) +0.142
4. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) +0.271
5. Filip Salac (Rivacold Snipers Team) +0.314
6. Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) +0.359
7. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) +0.382
8. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) +0.395
9. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) 0.413
10. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) +0.440