Raul Fernandez opened the 2026 German MotoGP weekend at the Sachsenring by topping Free Practice 1, extending Trackhouse Aprilia's strong momentum after its perfect Assen weekend.
Fernandez moved to the top after fitting a fresh set of tyres in the closing minutes. His lap was enough to displace Marc Marquez, who had led the session after recovering from a small fall at Turn 3 early in practice.
Marquez began an important weekend in his push for a record-equalling 10th German MotoGP victory. Despite the early crash, the Ducati Lenovo rider quickly returned to competitive pace and remained at the front without using fresh rubber late in the session.

Fabio Di Giannantonio took third for VR46, also staying on the same tyre set as Marquez. Joan Mir and Jack Miller completed the top five after switching to fresh rubber, underlining how tyre strategy played a key role in the final order.
Alex Marquez completed the top six on older tyres in a tightly packed session. The leading six riders were separated by just 0.173s, showing how narrow the margins were at Sachsenring from the opening MotoGP session.
Further back, championship leader Jorge Martin finished 10th, two places behind Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi. That kept the title context firmly in view after Martin reclaimed the championship lead from Bezzecchi at Assen.
The session also featured several incidents. Maverick Vinales became the first rider to fall at the Turn 11 Ralf Waldmann corner, leaving his Tech3 KTM heavily damaged, while Franco Morbidelli crashed at Turn 3 and Cal Crutchlow had to stop his LCR Honda with a technical issue on his out lap.
FP1 at the 2026 German MotoGP offered an early indication that Aprilia remains competitive through Trackhouse, while Marquez immediately placed himself in the lead fight at one of his strongest circuits.
























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