2018 Sachsenring MotoGP FP1 Result: Iannone Threatens The Monarchy

The moment the green flag waved, Marc Marquez was back on home soil – he might not be German but he definitely feels at home on top of the standings at the Sachsenring. The opposition was led by Andrea Iannone, who negotiated his way around the track (on his own for a change) and picked up the lead by nearly four tenths of a second from the world champion with seven minutes left of the session.

While Marquez continued to run on used rubber in the mid-1:22s, most of his rivals put on new tyres to attempt an attack but only the Suzuki proved successful in dethroning the lead Honda. With Marquez second on the timesheets, Valentino Rossi climbed into third, half a second off his leading compatriot and closely followed by teammate Maverick Viñales – who did not join the late time attack and made an impressive start race pace wise.

The Ducati peloton took over positions five to eight, with Andrea Dovizioso leading the group eighth tenths down on Iannone and ahead of the two Alma Pramac Racing bikes of Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller, as well as teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who was the final man within a second of the top Suzuki. Scott Redding got some screen time from ninth position, while Johann Zarco completed the top ten.

With his teammate leading the session, Alex Rins could only manage 12th after a tumble halfway through the session, while Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow were slower to warm up in the Sachsenring morning and will have to work their way up from 14th and 19th positions. Franco Morbidelli was back after missing out on the race in Assen due to injury and made a low-key start in 22nd position.

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