MotoGP Sachsenring, FP1: Dovizioso sets the pace in the first free practices, Rossi only 16th

German GP MotoGP Free Practice 1 – The first free practice session of the MotoGP class at the Sachsenring has been extended to 55 minutes and this will also be the case for Free Practice 2.

This is because the circuit was recently resurfaced, but no one, not even Michelin, was able to try. Precisely for this reason the riders will have an extra tire available both at the front and at the rear. Find out more about the tires carried by Michelin click here.

Given the weather, which threatened rain, all the riders immediately took to the track in search of the best performance.

Valentino Rossi's session didn't start in the best way. His Yamaha M1 with the new chassis (but rumors in the paddock say that it is the 2016 one, basically that of the Team Tech3 riders), fell silent and the rider did not want to "abandon" it, accompanying it for several meters until to the stewards, who loaded it to take it to the pits. It was obviously the bike with the frame preferred by Rossi, who would have liked to continue the session with it.

Andrea Dovizioso set the best time in this first free practice session, which in the final minutes saw a veritable "rain" of "red helmets", with the Ducati setting a time of 1: 21.599.

The world championship leader preceded the Yamaha of Maverick Vinales by just 38 thousandths, in turn ahead of four compatriots, Dani Pedrosa on Honda, Aleix Espargarò on Aprilia, Alvaro Bautista on Ducati and Marc Marquez on Honda.

Seventh time for Team Monster Yamaha Tech3 rookie Johann Zarco, who precedes the Pramac Racing Ducati of Danilo Petrucci from Terni (GP17), the Honda of Jack Miller and the second Ducati of Team Pramac (GP16) of the British Scott Redding.

Session to forget for Valentino Rossi, who after the problem described above, did not go beyond the sixteenth time (+0.936s). An uphill start for the Yamaha champion, who after the victory in Assen expected a completely different "story". Jorge Lorenzo is also out of the Top Ten, exactly in twelfth position (+0.610s). Another uphill start for the Majorcan too, but there is still time to recover.

Of note is the last position of Andrea Iannone, a distant relative of the rider admired in Ducati. The rider from Vasto has no feeling with the Suzuki and also crashed at the "infamous" Waterfall, turn 11, where Alvaro Bautista and Scott Redding also ended up on the ground without consequences.