The first day of the German Grand Prix has just concluded on the Sachsenring track. The weather disrupted the hostilities this morning, particularly during the first free MotoGP and Moto2 sessions, during which rain was present.
A look back at what to remember from this Friday.
The favorites behind… except Marquez and Viñales
The track temperature did not exceed 26°C this Friday and, in these conditions, the grip is put to the test. If Suzuki and Ducati are doing well, Honda and Yamaha, in particular, have suffered, “This day was difficult for the Yamaha riders,” says Valentino Rossi, 14th at the end of the day. “We struggled in particular to find the feeling at the front and maintain the ideal temperature on the front tire. The softest tire is a little too hard and we didn't have the feeling or enough confidence to push as hard as possible, especially at turn 11.. "
During FP2, Red found himself stuck in traffic and was unable to exploit the benefit of a clear turn, “I'm really far away,” he adds. “I hope we will have better weather tomorrow and Sunday as well as more sunshine. This could help us a lot. "
For his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, 16th, the day started with a heavy fall at the unfortunately famous turn 11, “It seems like these are very cold and slippery conditions, and you have to be very careful with the tires,” explains the Majorcan. “This morning I crashed on the descent and to be honest, I didn't have enough confidence on all the curves of the route. I felt very slow. All Yamahas suffer in these conditions and I am the slowest. We will see if we can improve our pace tomorrow.” After a visit to the Mobile Clinic in FP1 to assess the condition of his left hand, the reigning Champion clarified that he is fine and that it will not be a problem on Sunday.
Note that this morning before his fall, Lorenzo used a Yamaha M1 equipped with the tank at the rear, “Today was not the right day to try it. You may feel a difference, but we haven't decided. The difference is not huge." Red Didn’t try it today, “I don't know Jorge's program, but I know I want to try it again. I want to try different things, but I continue with motorcycle, my program. I will continue to work more on the settings and I think we will continue like this for the rest of the weekend."
Bradley Smith is also outside the Top 10, but remains satisfied with his day, “I'm disappointed, but we're not that far from our goal and my teammate is only a small step ahead. It looks like we have room for improvement and we will wait for better conditions and better temperature. The front and rear tires are performing well, but overall I'm happy with our start.«
Dani Pedrosa ranks third among Hondas and 16th in the combined standings, “The track was critical today. I don't remember such a difficult track in the past,” he confides. “We struggled with the settings and I didn't find the feeling to push it. I was more careful than usual today. I hope we can find a solution tomorrow."
Marc Marquez concludes the day with the third beat, “It's been a good day, although it started a little strange,” he explains. “The second session was more or less normal, even if the temperatures were very low and the track very cold. I feel good on the bike. We want to continue to make progress on a few points tomorrow, because the temperature forecast for tomorrow will increase very significantly. This Grand Prix will be interesting due to the weather and on Sunday we will be in the same situation as today, with rain threatening at any time."
Yet it is the Suzuki GSX-RR of Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales which occupies the head of the ranking of the day, “The start was good, the position is positive, but we still have work to do. The track is narrow and we started using a setting that guarantees agility. We still need to find the balance of the bike in order to find better stability in certain sectors. It won't be easy, because as always, progressing in one direction makes you lose in another."
Turn 11, asymmetrical tires and temperature
For this ninth meeting of the season, Michelin is offering different asymmetric tires front and rear for the first time. This type of tire was only tested a few weeks ago by the Suzuki team during a private session in Valencia. The rest of the grid therefore did not know what to expect during this Friday.
Turn 11 of the Sachsenring track is renowned as one of the most difficult on the calendar to tackle. Today, several drivers were trapped at the entrance to this curve: Lorenzo, Bradl, Viñales, Rabat and even Redding. Eugene Laverty fell at turn 1 (one of three right-hand corners on the track).
For many, the asymmetrical tires performed well, “These tires aren't too bad,” he told us. Loris Baz. “It was really too cold this morning and I think they were a little too hard."
In 2014, several drivers had evaluated a different version of turn 11 which was not retained, “We tested a modified version of the curve a few years ago," explain Pedrosa. "Ultimately, it was not preserved. Perhaps we will discuss this shift during the Safety Commission this evening for the next few years. There have always been crashes in this corner in MotoGP. Conditions were bad today, but the asymmetric tire didn't behave strangely. "
"I think this shift will be like that, with Bridgestone, Michelin or any other manufacturer,” adds Mark. "He is critical. Of course we can improve, but the conditions were extremely cold today. I don't remember temperatures this cold. It was also windy, which added an additional difficulty. There were already a lot of falls last season."
For Lorenzo, his crash at turn 11 was a combination of unfavorable factors, “It was very cold and I entered faster than my previous lap, and the front crossed. I was slower than last year by almost 20 km/h, but the conditions and the tires are not the same, especially in the morning.”
Likewise Vinales, leader of the day, does not explain the reasons for his fall, “To be honest, I can't explain this fall. I just lost the front for no reason. Turn 11 is always tricky. I need to check the data to see if I expanded more than normal, or if there was something different from the previous round. It may also be a temperature issue. At turns 1 and 3 I felt good. Turn 11 is much further away and it's difficult to keep the temperature on the right side."
For its part, Red justifies these falls by the temperature. “Last season, on the Bridgestones, the weekend was good. By Friday, the temperature was good and conditions were dry. This season, the asphalt temperature was less than 20°C. This is the main problem. You have to try to keep the tire temperature high, but it's not enough, even after six or seven laps. If we had had the soft tire it would have been much better, but they (Michelin) had to make a choice, unfortunately a bad one. If the temperatures are better tomorrow, the situation will be simpler.”
This evening, many pilots such as Lorenzo, Marquez et Red joined the Safety Commission to discuss, among other things, this specific point.
