MotoGP practice results as Marc Marquez sets the pace at German GP but Francesco Bagnaia in Q1

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Ducati racer Marc Marquez topped the pre-qualifying practice timesheet at the 2026 MotoGP German Grand Prix this Friday, but teammate Francesco Bagnaia goes in Q1.

A raft of crashes had set the early trend during FP1 earlier on Friday at the Sachsenring, with even Ducati racer Marc Marquez making it to the gravel trap after he got caught out through Turn 3. A bump in the middle of the road at Turn 3 appeared to catch an array of riders out.

There were no such crashes during the early stages of practice on Friday afternoon, though, as Aprilia pilot Marco Bezzecchi also started to find his footing at the German GP. The Italian had endured a difficult start to the day as he came P8 while Raul Fernandez set the pace.

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Trackhouse rider Fernandez set the pace in FP1 at the German GP with a 1:20.829 lap, which did not take the field long to beat in practice despite the hotter conditions. Bezzecchi set the first benchmark lap with a 1:20.605 in the early minutes – enough to pip Marquez by 0.122s.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 German Grand Prix, plus the Sachsenring forecast

Pedro Acosta, on the other hand, was not enjoying himself amid the early stages of practice at the German GP, with the KTM rider visibly frustrated by VR46 rival Franco Morbidelli. The Spaniard was caught on camera gesturing angrily as the Italian backing out had blocked him.

The stewards quickly put Morbidelli under investigation for riding slowly on the racing line and blocking Acosta, which they later announced merited a three-place grid penalty for the German GP. Morbidelli has often drawn the wrath of his rivals and of race control for similar incidents, including last time out at Assen when he also merited a three-place grid penalty.

Despite his incident with Morbidelli getting under Acosta’s skin, the KTM rider still managed to produce a fairly competitive lap time during the high-fuel runs. Yet Bezzecchi was the one to beat and he lowered the pace to 1:20.535, as Ai Ogura of Trackhouse also found a groove.

Faster lap times came thick and fast inside the last 25 minutes of practice at the German GP, though. LCR Honda stand-in rider Cal Crutchlow lit the blue touch paper with new soft front and rear tyres, but VR46 racer Fabio Di Giannantonio was the first frontrunner on the move.

Di Giannantonio dropped the benchmark pace to a 1:20.104, shortly before KTM Tech3 star Enea Bastianini teased the RC16’s potential by moving into third place with 20 minutes left. Alex Marquez of Gresini also climbed up the order, only to fall out of the top 10 just as fast.

Diggia also set a 1:19.674 soon after to remain at the top of the order after seeing Ducati’s Marc Marquez and even Pramac Yamaha racer Jack Miller deliver fast lap times in practice. Miller has been the biggest surprise package of the day as the sole Yamaha rider going fast.

Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia knew he needed to go even faster entering the final five minutes of practice at the German GP, in contrast. The Italian entered the final minutes down in P12 and facing another Q1 berth, and he improved to just P8 with his first attempt.

Jorge Martin of Aprilia, VR46 racer Morbidelli aboard his GP25 and Trackhouse’s Fernandez then pushed Bagnaia back out of the top 10, and he was down to P13 before he knew it. At the same time, a 1:19.394 edged Marc Marquez back above Fernandez atop the timesheet.

Bagnaia’s hopes for an automatic Q2 place then took a further dent, as Bastianini dropped his Tech3 KTM RC16 in the gravel at Turn 8 after folding the front end. The Italian’s fall also put factory KTM rider Brad Binder in trouble, as the yellow flags paused his late flying run.

But Binder going through Q1 at the German GP is hardly a shock based on his lack of form so far this season. Bagnaia will have to join Binder in Q1, as well, despite his factory Ducati teammate Marc Marquez setting the pace in practice by 0.166s over second place. Bagnaia is also the only Ducati rider on the Desmosedici GP26 who must go through Q1 on Saturday.

Full 2026 MotoGP German Grand Prix practice timesheets at the Sachsenring