Factory Ducati’s Andrea Iannone topped the opening MotoGP free practice session at the Sachsenring this morning which saw Scott Redding, Jorge Lorenzo and Stefan Bradl crash before the heavens opened with half an hour left to go.
Redding was the first victim of the notorious turn 11, losing the front Michelin very early in the corner but the Pramac Ducati man bounced well and ran back to his garage. Lorenzo was next, four minutes later, and Bradl followed him ino the gravel as marshals rushed to clear the Movistar Yamaha. The Spaniard went to the Clinica after wacking his left hand in the gravel but was cleared of any fractures.
Iannone, meanwhile, set the quickest time on his sixth lap, posting a 1’3.702 at the same time as Lorenzo went down with Marc Marquez second on a 1’24.116 and Danilo Petrucci third with a 1’24.157, set a lap before the leader’s time.
The pack collectively returned to the pitlane as rain added to stone-cold tarmac meant no useful work could be carried out. As the rain intensified. Alvaro Bautista went out for an exploratory lap on wets but returned to his garage.
Britain’s Cal Crutchlow also went out on wets with four minutes left to run but returned to the pits after one lap. Bradl returned to the track on his spare Aprilia, equipped with wets, and was followed around by team-mate Bautista in order to get some TV space and complete practice starts.
