MotoGP Germany, FP1 classification: Fernandez on top, Marquez crashes then gives everyone a scare

Aprilia Trackhouse on top, but Marquez and Diggia are on it: Bezzecchi over half a second off the leader, Bagnaia struggling.

MotoGP FP1 of the 2026 German Grand Prix rewards Raul Fernandez, who set the fastest time in 1'20"829. The Trackhouse Spaniard was among those who fitted new tires at the end; specifically, he mounted the soft front and the medium rear.

Marc Marquez crashed at the start of the session at Turn 3, then pounded out laps with a good pace and finished with the second-best time. Only 51 thousandths behind Fernandez. He ran the whole time on the same tires (double medium), so his result is very significant. The Sachsenring is known to be one of his favorite tracks, so he can be considered the man to beat this weekend.

Fabio Di Giannantonio also ran on used tires, third just over a tenth behind Marquez. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 rider also looks in good shape on his Ducati. Fourth quickest for Joan Mir’s Honda, one of those who fitted fresher rubber at the end of FP1.

Marco Bezzecchi, banged up after the nasty crash at Assen, ended up eighth. Jorge Martin, leader of the overall MotoGP standings, is tenth. All the KTMs are outside the top 10, as is Pecco Bagnaia, only nineteenth and dealing with some issues.

Michele Masini, interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, did not indicate a return date for the absent Fermin Aldeguer, but explained why the BK8 Gresini team chose the Mir-Holgado pairing for 2027: "The priority was to have a complete project at a time of transition, including regulations. The 850 bike with Pirelli tires will be a whole new world to discover; it should be more manageable and ease the step up for Moto2 riders. We’ve been targeting Holgado for some time; we consider him a very talented rider and very professional in his approach to work. On the other side, we wanted a top rider—Joan Mir is one—even if he’s not in an easy phase of his career. He still has a lot to give in the right conditions, which I hope we will provide".

Mir has spent difficult years at Honda, so moving to a more familiar environment like Gresini could help him relaunch: "As soon as we offered him this opportunity," explains team manager Masini, "a good future outlook opened up for him. He feels very competitive. Recreating a family-like environment for a rider is a key that works very well in a satellite team, where there’s less pressure but still plenty of hunger to win. When you change riders, often the first year is about getting to know each other, but Joan already knows Frankie Carchedi and another mechanic on the team. This makes it easier to help the rider give his best right away".

Paolo Bonora spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP about Aprilia’s expectations for this German GP: "This is definitely a unique track, very technical, with many left-hand corners. You need to keep both temperature and wear under control. We have to be careful at Turn 11, which is the first right-hander after a series of lefts. Weekend temperatures should rise compared to today, which should help keep the tire warm and avoid major issues. Last year we did fairly well with Bezzecchi; I don’t think there are tracks that are more or less favorable to a bike anymore. It’s more about tracks that a rider likes or doesn’t like".

Aprilia’s race manager explains that the Sachsenring might not be exactly the best circuit for the RS-GP26, but the goal is to achieve great results: "We prefer faster tracks with wider corners, but we expect to do well with both riders starting today. We are very fast and stable in particularly fast, wide corners; at the Sachsenring the layout is narrower with a succession of direction changes. There’s the Sector 2 area that requires great stability and also a strong mindset from the riders, who must be very careful in keeping the rear tire under control, avoiding overheating it".