2019 Sachsenring MotoGP FP2 Result: Marquez Takes Back Control

The welcome for FP2 was a bit warm and a bit breezy but Marc Marquez resumed control of the Sachsenring, preparing the fastest time of the weekend with little warnings in turn 1. His new brigade of rivals, comprising Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo, tempted him with new rubber throughout the session but Marquez didn’t take the bait and continued his dance on worn hard tyres. The Honda man was also busy comparing his two chassis options: the carbon reinforced one first, before switching to his standard one and his times were equally impressive on both, in the low to mid 1:21s.

Rins was the one who kick-started the provisional top ten shootout but ran out of steam somewhat and settled for second best, over three tenths of a second behind the leader and his pace on medium tyres not quite as impressive. Quartararo looked ready to challenge his Spanish nemesis but his attempts were hindered by traffic on his final run and the young rider wasn’t shy in expressing his disdain. As for long runs, the Frenchman could not decide between the medium and hard rear tyre but rode both with decent pace. Factory colleague Maverick Viñales seemed to be in the same boat but maybe a step down on speed, the Spaniard nearly half a second off the leader.

After knocking at the gates of the top ten in FP1, Pol Espargaro successfully checked into fifth spot in FP2, ahead of Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller. Danilo Petrucci made slight progress to jump ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso but both Ducatis plus the Yamaha of Valentino Rossi ended up around eight tenths of a second down the timesheets.

A still convalescent Aleix Espargaro had a strong start to his session but failed to improve in the final time attack and dropped to 11th position, ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Joan Mir. Meanwhile, Pecco Bagnaia missed FP2 due to a precautionary trip to the hospital following his crash in FP1.

Results: