The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team started the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring circuit today in tropical temperatures. Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales got a good number of laps in during FP1 and continued to up their speed in FP2, finishing in second and third place respectively in the combined free practice timesheets.
Quartararo had a bit of a rugged start to the German GP. He had a crash ten minutes into FP1 in Turn 12, but he was still able to find a good pace in the first session of the Sachsenring round. Once back aboard his YZR-M1 he had no problem clocking a 1‘21.828s on lap 13/20 to secure second position, 0.168s off the best time.
The Frenchman was eager to show the same strong pace in the afternoon. He spent the majority of the available time preparing for Sunday's race before kicking up the pace another notch in the mini time attack at the end of FP2. On his final run, he set a 1‘20.910s on his penultimate lap to take second place in the FP2 and the combined timesheets, 0.220s from the top.
Following the positive Catalan Test, Viñales was motivated to find a competitive setting on German soil in the morning session and soon positioned himself inside the top 5. He kept working on the balance of his bike and showed the progress he had made when setting a 1‘22.253s on lap 14/25. He ended the session in tenth place, 0.593s from first.
Top Gun continued building positive feelings at the Sachsenring in FP2. He focused on fine-tuning his bike‘s settings, knowing full well that the pace would quicken in the final stages of the session. During his usual mini time-attack, the Yamaha man showed confidence, setting a 1‘21.023s. He ended the day in third place, 0.333s from the front, both in the FP2 and the overall Friday Sachsenring results.
