On first visit to the German track, Fabio Quartararo finishes fourth, with Jorge Navarro twentieth and Maria Herrera thirty-first.
Fabio Quartararo was the Repsol rider to adapt best to the Sachsenring on Friday. On his first time out at the German track – unfamiliar for all three riders – the Frenchman quickly got to grips with the tight and twisty circuit. He set the second fastest time in the morning practice session – 1.27.666 – and was 0.640s off the best time set by Danny Kent. Teammate Jorge Navarro finished fourteenth in the morning and Maria Herrera, thirty-third.
In the second practice session, Quartararo again was very fast. 16 minutes from the end of FP2, he was in second place when he suffered a technical problem that forced him back to the pits. He could not go back out on track and dropped positions in the timesheets, ending up fifteenth – although his morning time allowed him to finish fourth overall.
Navarro ended the day twentieth, although he progressed over the course of the two sessions. As did Maria Herrera, who placed thirty-first.
Tomorrow, with more knowledge of the track, the three Repsol riders will fight for the highest possible positions on the grid. In the morning there will be a third free practice and, in the afternoon, qualifying.
Fabio Quartararo
4th – 1:27.666, 33 laps, 121 km
“The feeling at this track has been good. I like this track and it is different to others where we have ridden. There are a lot of left hand corners. I knew it would be a difficult weekend, especially on Friday, because in the morning it was a little cold and the asphalt lacked a bit of grip – but that’s the same for everyone. In the second practice today a technical problem did not allow us to complete the session, but tomorrow we will go for it.”
Jorge Navarro
20th – 1:28.458, 32 laps, 117 km
“Today has been quite a difficult day for us. In the morning I struggled to learn the circuit and didn’t feel comfortable, but in the afternoon the feeling was a little better. I’ve been trying different settings and, although we have made progress, we still have work to do to come up with the setup we need for this circuit. A few minutes before the end, when I tried to push a little, I suffered a crash which fortunately was just a scare. Tomorrow we will start with a clean slate.”
Maria Herrera
31st – 1:29.199, 31 laps, 114 km
“Today I struggled a bit, especially in the evening as it was very windy. Sachsenring is not a track that suits my way of riding. I’m sure that in the end I will love it, but until I go as fast as I want, I never completely like a track. In the fast areas I do well, but I still need a little more confidence. For tomorrow, we must continue working to achieve a good setup that allows me to improve my times and get increasingly closer to the leading group.”
