They were said to be beaten on paper… and “Boom!” », the official Ducatis are celebrating on the Sachsenring circuit for this first day of the German Grand Prix: Jorge Lorenzo 1st (see here), Danilo Petrucci 2nd (see here) and Andrea Dovizioso 4th!
And even the “old” GP17s of Jack Miller et Alvaro Bautista managed to do well on the Saxony track by entering the top 10.
What is the origin of this mystery? Andrea Dovizioso, with his experience and wisdom, provides us with one of the keys…
“If the grip conditions change, you have to adapt to them. In my opinion, the grip here is slightly worse than last year. But if you slide entering and exiting the corner, then it's more controllable than last year. So we have advantages and disadvantages. Every year is different, and so is our sport. So you have to change your style, the way you brake and the lines. This is our job.”
He had said it before arriving in Germany (see here), and he confirms it: the tires will be a determining factor for victory on Sunday…
“Tyre wear is very high here. I don't know if this is due to the high temperatures. It's hotter than expected. I don't know the reason. Michelin tires are very special. It's difficult to understand. But I want to avoid further statements about tires: we have to do with this tire allocation. I don't think it's related to our bike, as everyone has similar wear and tear.
Cornering is still not that easy, especially when the tire deteriorates. It's hard to get through them fast enough. But our base is better, so the times are faster. You have to be fast here without destroying the tires. You can't use full power, you have to reduce it. But it’s different, for example, than in Jerez.”
Anyway, the result is here…
“We are definitely better than last year. Two Ducati riders are in the lead at the moment. This is confirmation of what I expected. That's why I'm happy, because we improved a little bit in all areas. Little things across the board ensured a good pace from the start. Like in Assen. Or Jerez. Over the past few years we've had some problems there, but now we have a much better base. This is why we are closer to Marc. Last year he had a much better pace than us. I don't know if we have a chance against Márquez, because he was fast but above all consistent on Friday. Regularity makes the difference here, because the rear tires deteriorate significantly. Stronger than last year. Speed is one thing, being strong for 30 laps on degraded tires is another. This is why we must continue to work for the race. I'm not one hundred percent satisfied with my feelings on the bike. We tried a new configuration which had both positive and negative effects. That's why we don't yet know exactly what we want. But our base is good.”
FP2 MotoGP standings German Grand Prix at Sachsenring:
| Pos | number | Pile | Motorcycle | Chrono | difference | |
| 1 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'20.885 | ||
| 2 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'21.142 | 0.257 | |
| 3 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'21.204 | 0.319 | |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'21.309 | 0.424 | |
| 5 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'21.349 | 0.464 | |
| 6 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'21.384 | 0.499 | |
| 7 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'21.447 | 0.562 | |
| 8 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'21.497 | 0.612 | |
| 9 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'21.540 | 0.655 | |
| 10 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'21.568 | 0.683 | |
| 11 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'21.616 | 0.731 | |
| 12 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'21.680 | 0.795 | |
| 13 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'21.718 | 0.833 | |
| 14 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'21.743 | 0.858 | |
| 15 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 1'21.777 | 0.892 | |
| 16 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 1'21.777 | 0.892 | |
| 17 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'21.784 | 0.899 | |
| 18 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'21.787 | 0.902 | |
| 19 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 1'22.003 | 1.118 | |
| 20 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'22.305 | 1.420 | |
| 21 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 1'22.457 | 1.572 | |
| 22 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'22.555 | 1.670 | |
| 23 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 1'22.767 | 1.882 | |
| 24 | 36 | Mika Kallio | KTM | 1'23.194 | 2.309 | |
| 25 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 1'23.437 | 2.552 |
