Ducati was in dominant form in Germany with six of the top nine MotoGP riders on Bologna machinery, headed by Lenovo's Pecco Bagnaia.
The Italian’s 1’20.018 penultimate lap of the opening day not only topped the standings but brought with it another all-time lap record in the bargain. A positive start at a tight and twisty track the GP22 seems to be surprisingly well suited.
“Today was good, I'm happy!” Bagnaia confirmed from the top of the Sachsenring timesheets. “It’s one of the best Friday I did this year or the best Friday I did this year. From the start of FP1 I feel great with my bike and we've done a good job with used tyres so I'm quite happy.
“I would like to improve my pace for tomorrow, that is already great but still missing something,” he continued. “The time attack was great. I enjoyed a lot and was a great day.
“I don't want to touch anything on the setting, just ride and it's great that it's like this.
“Tomorrow the conditions will be different, the temperatures will be higher, and the FP4 session will be fundamental to understand what kind of pace we can have in the race in the heat."