Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez usurped Ducati rival Marc Marquez to set the fastest lap of the Sachsenring during FP1 at the 2026 MotoGP German Grand Prix this Friday.
It did not take long for the first incidents to occur during FP1, as stand-in LCR Honda star Cal Crutchlow had to make the lonely walk back into the paddock after an apparent mechanical problem. Marc Marquez, too, soon had to make the walk back to the paddock after a crash.
Works Ducati rider Marquez slid out through Turn 3 mere minutes into the opening practice session of the 2026 German GP weekend. The Spaniard seemed to lose the front end of his Desmosedici GP26 the moment he tapped the inside kerb at full lean in the right-hand turn.
Predict the podium at the German Grand Prix this weekend 🔮
Marquez’s early misfortune left the door open for VR46 ace Fabio Di Giannantonio to be the initial pace setter during FP1 at the German GP. The Italian moved his GP26 to the top of the order with a 1:21.183 lap, before Gresini’s Alex Marquez posted a 1:21.002 aboard his GP26.
Gresini are only a one-rider team with the younger Marquez brother at the Sachsenring this weekend, as Fermin Aldeguer is sitting out the German GP to focus on his recovery from the T7 vertebra fracture he sustained after crashing in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen.
READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 German Grand Prix, plus the Sachsenring forecast

Another crash set the tone for the start of FP1 at the German GP, as well, as KTM Tech3 ace Maverick Vinales found the gravel at Turn 11 and destroyed his RC16. Vinales lost the front end through the downhill dip and his bike flipped several times after digging into the gravel.
Turn 1 and Turn 3 also nearly caught Toprak Razgatlioglu of Pramac and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia out. Razgatlioglu had a brief brush with the gravel at the first corner on his Yamaha YZR-M1, before a ripple in the tarmac at Turn 3 made the rear end of Bagnaia’s bike kick out.
Marc Marquez, meanwhile, started to find his groove after his early crash and built into FP1. The reigning champion opted against rushing into trying a flying lap and built his speed over a number of laps, before eclipsing his brother as the first rider in the 1:20s with a 1:20.880.
Di Giannantonio followed Marquez into the 1:20s, but the VR46 rider could not find the last 10th of a second to dethrone the Spaniard. Across the VR46 garage, meanwhile, the team’s engineers were preparing to repair Franco Morbidelli’s bike after he fell victim to T3’s bump.
Full FP1 Sachsenring timesheets at the 2026 MotoGP German Grand Prix
| POS | RIDER | TEAM | GAP |
| 1 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse | 1:20.829 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | Ducati | +0.051s |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | VR46 | +0.107s |
| 4 | Joan Mir | Honda | +0.115s |
| 5 | Jack Miller | Pramac | +0.171s |
| 6 | Alex Marquez | Gresini | +0.173s |
| 7 | Alex Rins | Yamaha | +0.488s |
| 8 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia | +0.541s |
| 9 | Franco Morbidelli | VR46 | +0.552s |
| 10 | Jorge Martin | Aprilia | +0.663s |
| 11 | Maverick Vinales | Tech3 | +0.671s |
| 12 | Pedro Acosta | KTM | +0.756s |
| 13 | Brad Binder | KTM | +0.760s |
| 14 | Enea Bastianini | Tech3 | +0.764s |
| 15 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | +0.856s |
| 16 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Pramac | +0.897s |
| 17 | Diogo Moreira | LCR | +0.921s |
| 18 | Ai Ogura | Trackhouse | +0.921s |
| 19 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | +0.936s |
| 20 | Luca Marini | Honda | +0.960s |
| 21 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | +1.754s |
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