During the first free practice session, Johann achieved a decent seventh in the dry, which came in handy in the afternoon when it rained. He will thus qualify for Q2 if it rains on Saturday morning during the third session.
In the afternoon during the second session, Johann completed numerous laps in the wet to experience his Yamaha on the soggy asphalt at the Sachsenring with the new surface and the rain Michelins. He rode so much that for a long time he and Dani Pedrosa were the only ones on the track.
It unfortunately ended in a fall, but luckily there was no damage to the pilot. Zarco was then able to return to the track with his second motorcycle. He was content with the eighteenth time in the wet, which was logical due to his fall, but could conclude with a satisfactory result because he qualified for Q2 if it rains tomorrow morning, and having accumulated a lot of experience on the wet.
For Johann Zarco, “ I am satisfied with our first day in Germany. This morning I was happy to learn the track with the MotoGP machine and in the end I finished 7th using the soft tire.
“That means if it rains tomorrow I'll be in QP2 and that's nice. Also, the grip level was quite good here when it was dry. In the afternoon the session started wet, then it dried before it started raining again.
“I drove on the track to get an idea of the asphalt, whose grip is astonishing when it is wet, to have some references. I have to say it was great to feel how much you can push the bike here in these conditions.
“Unfortunately I had a crash, these things happen sometimes, but luckily I'm fine and there's no pain anywhere. After that, I went back to my second bike so I could forget about my accident and get my confidence back. I accomplished that and that's the most important thing, even though I'm a little further down the timesheet from where I'd like to be. »
Results of the first day:
1- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – 1'21.599
2- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.038
3- Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team - Honda RC213V - + 0.190
4- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Gresini Racing Team – Aprilia RS-GP – + 0.233
5- Alvaro Bautista – Pull & Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.241
6- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.299
7- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.374
8- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.393
9- Jack Miller – Marc VDS 0.0 EG – Honda RC213V – + 0.469
10- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.476
11- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.576
12- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.610
13- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V – + 0.641
14- Hector Barbera – Royal Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – 0737 +
15- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 0.866
16- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.936
17- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 0.994
18- Karel Abraham – Pull & Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1.013
19- Alex Rins – Ecstar Team Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 1.043
20- Tito Rabat – EG 0.0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 1.146
21- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1.289
22- Loris Baz – Royal Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1.390
23- Mika Kallio – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1,619
24- Andrea Iannone – Ecstar Team Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 1.700
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 115 points
2 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 111
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 108
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 104
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 87
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 77
7 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 62
8 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 60
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 58
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 51
11 Jack MILLER-Honda 40
12 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 34
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 33
14 Loris BAZ-Ducati 31
15 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 28
16 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 23
17 Tito RABAT-Honda 23
18 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 21
19 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 20
20 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 11
