Marc Marquez opened his quest for a tenth MotoGP victory at the Sachsenring by topping the opening practice session of the weekend.
The eight-time World Champion set an impressive time of 1:20.372, which remained unbeatable throughout the 45-minute session.
Jack Miller was within touching distance of Marquez’s time, ending the session 0.109s behind in second.
Marco Bezzecchi took third for Aprilia with his final lap, while Johann Zarco suffered a crash at Turn 1, but completed the session in fourth.
Maverick Vinales ensured all five manufacturers were in the top five, while Fabio Di Giannantonio ended practice in sixth.
Joan Mir started the weekend strongly in seventh with Fabio Quartararo narrowly behind in eighth.
Francesco Bagnaia concluded the opening practice in ninth as Miguel Oliveira rounded out the top 10.
Brad Binder completed the first practice session by taking 11th ahead of Fermin Aldeguer, who recovered from an early technical issue to take 12th.
Pedro Acosta crashed in the final moments of the session and finished 13th.
Alex Marquez will be reviewed after the session due to injuries sustained in Assen and finished 14th.
Raul Fernandez was 15th ahead of Franco Morbidelli who struggled in 16th.
Luca Marini scored 17th in his first session on his return from injury ahead of Alex Rins in 18th.
Ai Ogura ended the session in 19th as Lorenzo Savadori completed the standings in 20th.
Tech3 KTM announced Enea Bastianini has not travelled to the Sachsenring after suffering from Appendicitis and will not take part in Friday’s action.
