Miller 20th upon return to Germany during practice.
Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez set a fastest lap time of 1m21.621s to finish on top today, despite not yet equalling the 1m20.937 lap he set to claim pole at the German GP last year.
Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished in 2nd place on the combined sheets, 0.119 sec off Marquez’s pace. 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 place went to Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa who put in a lap time 0.268 sec off the pace set by his Repsol Honda colleague.
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 10. Meanwhile it’s all change further down the MotoGP timesheets this weekend, with three new riders lining up to do battle at the Sachsenring – Michael Laverty, Hiroshi Aoyama and Claudio Corti.
After today’s two free practice sessions the 20-year-old Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda) closed the day with the 20th fastest lap time, but is hopeful of making some big improvements ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session once he and the team go through the data they have gathered.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes topped Moto3 practice at 1m25.027s, with Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Mika Kallio (Italtrans Racing Team) springing a surprise to take second and third respectively. Meanwhile Anthony West was 17th with his best lap just 0.548s off the leading pace.
Leopard Racing rider Danny Kent showed why he’s the current Moto3 championship leader on the opening day of practice for the German GP, setting a 1m26.937s to lead Niccolò Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) and Alexis Masbou (SaxoPrint RTG). In 28th Remy Gardner (CIP Mahindra) ended the day 2.009s off the front.
2015 MotoGP World Championship
Round nine – Sachsenring, Germany
MotoGP results:
1. Marc Marquez 1m21.621s
2. Bradley Smith 1m21.740s
3. Andrea Iannone 1m21.824s
4. Jorge Lorenzo 1m21.886s
5. Dani Pedrosa 1m21.889s
6. Aleix Espargaro 1m22.095s
7. Valentino Rossi 1m22.159s
8. Scott Redding 1m22.170s
9. Yonny Hernandez 1m22.196s
10. Andrea Dovizioso 1m22.340s
11. Hector Barbera 1m22.413s
12. Cal Crutchlow 1m22.425s
13. Pol Espargaro 1m22.436s
14. Maverick Viñales 1m22.507s
15. Danilo Petrucci 1m22.546s
16. Nicky Hayden 1m23.008s
17. Mike Di Meglio 1m23.185s
18. Alvaro Bautista 1m23.286s
19. Loris Baz 1m23.344s
20. Jack Miller (AUS) 1m23.427s
Moto2 results:
1. Mika Kallio 1m25.069s
2. Dominique Aegerter 1m25.097s
3. Jonas Folger 1m25.104s
4. Sandro Cortese 1m25.148s
5. Sam Lowes 1m25.150s
6. Takaaki Nakagami 1m25.191s
7. Randy Krummenacher 1m25.214s
8. Johann Zarco 1m25.230s
9. Thomas Luthi 1m25.266s
10. Xavier Simeon 1m25.336s
19. Anthony West(AUS) 1m25.667s
Moto3 results:
1. Danny Kent 1m26.937s
2. Niccolò Antonelli 1m27.615s
3. Alexis Masbou 1m27.658s
4. Philipp Oettl 1m27.790s
5. Karel Hanika 1m27.805s
6. Efren Vazquez 1m27.940s
7. Andrea Locatelli 1m28.001s
8. Francesco Bagnaia 1m28.006s
9. John McPhee 1m28.066s
10. Isaac Viñales 1m28.126s
28. Remy Gardner (AUS) 1m28.946s