Fabio di Giannantonio delivered a late flyer to shatter all-time Sachsenring lap record in Friday afternoon’s German MotoGP practice.
The Italian rider delivered a lap of 1:19.071 on his VR46 Ducati Desmosedici GP25, shattering the previous all-time lap record set by Jorge Martin in 2024.
The afternoon practice began under the looming threat of changing weather, and riders wasted no time taking to the track aware that every minute could be crucial for securing a direct pass to Q2.
The opening stages saw championship leader Marc Marquez quickly establish himself at the top of the timesheets with a series of consistently fast laps, demonstrating why he remains a formidable force at Sachsenring, where he has an illustrious history of victories.
Marquez’s early benchmark of 1:19.812 stood unchallenged for much of the first half of the session. However, the closing 13 minutes marked a pivotal shift as KTM’s Pedro Acosta fired in a 1:19.772, signaling the beginning of the final qualifying runs.
It was during this critical window that Fabio di Giannantonio emerged as the session’s protagonist. Having shown flashes of speed throughout the session, the Italian rider timed his attack to perfection on a fresh set of Michelin tires, ultimately breaking all-time Sachsenring lap record with a 1:19.423.
The significance of this achievement was underscored by the fact that di Giannantonio’s nearest rival, Alex Marquez also dipped beneath the previous record but found himself 0.337 seconds adrift.
Cleared to ride only after a thorough medical evaluation, the Gresini Ducati rider defied expectations by delivering a 1:19.408 to outpace his elder brother Marc who completed the top three.
Notably, Marc Marquez opted to remain on a medium rear tire for his final run, a strategic decision that may have influenced his final position but also highlighted his focus on race pace rather than outright qualifying speed.
Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo delivered a strong showing to secure a direct Q2 spot for Yamaha in fourth while Pedro Acosta rounded out the top five for KTM Factory Racing.
Di Giannantonio’s VR46 teammate Franco Morbidelli secured sixth place ahead of Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and Jack Miller as the latter maintained perfect form following morning practice.
Francesco Bagnaia finished ninth while Brad Binder completed the top ten. Maverick Vinales narrowly missed out on an automatic Q2 spot in 11th while Johann Zarco finished 12th after a late-session crash.
The Trackhouse Racing duo of Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez finished 13th and 14th respectively, with Ogura leading his teammate by a mere 0.001 seconds as Honda’s Joan Mir completed the session in 15th.
Fermin Aldeguer endured a challenging session marked by two crashes, ultimately finishing 16th for Gresini while Miguel Oliveira and Luca Marini – the latter returning from injury – finished 17th and 18th respectively.
Alex Rins struggled to find the optimal setup and ended the session 19th while Lorenzo Savadori rounded out the field in 20th.
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