MotoGP - Strong Start for Lorenzo in Germany

Day one of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit started with an incident fuelled free practice this morning as four riders crashed out on turn 11 of the twisty circuit. Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies managed to avoid the mayhem and spent the morning getting reacquainted with the track.

Lorenzo picked up speed quickly in the morning session, rising to second midway and holding in the top three for the duration of the heat. As the track temperatures rose for the afternoon session so did the Mallorcan’s speed; only being denied the top spot at the end of the second practice by a gap of 0.095 seconds.

Team mate Spies was still looking for the best set up for the Sachsenring track by the end of the afternoon session. The American was fighting off a head cold and struggled to find a perfect pace in either the morning or afternoon practices. He made an improvement of over half a second from the morning but will be looking for a bigger step in the third practice session tomorrow morning.

Jorge Lorenzo

Position 2nd - Time 1.22.320 - Laps 45
"I am pretty satisfied because I have improved my lap times today. I am almost faster than last year and I look forward to making another step tomorrow. We have made some changes and I feel much better on my M1; faster and more competitive! The slow corners are tough, but in the faster ones I take some tenths, especially T3 and T4. I hope tomorrow the temperature can be even hotter and we can fight for the first row."

Ben Spies

Position 7th - Time 1.22.894 - Laps 42
“I didn’t get my best shot at the track today, I’ve got a head cold which has left me a little fuzzy and makes it kind of hard to give it 100% and be on top form. The changing temperature from the morning to the afternoon also meant the track conditions were pretty different to set up for. I’m aiming for lots of sleep tonight and I’ll be ready to come back stronger in the morning.”