Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Three Ducatis lead the way in free practice for the German GP at the Sachsenring. Bagnaia tops the timesheets ahead of Marini and Miller

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MotoGP | Round 10 - German GP 2022 | Friday 17 June 2022

Three Ducatis lead the way in free practice for the German GP at the Sachsenring. Bagnaia tops the timesheets ahead of Marini and Miller

Francesco Bagnaia leads the way after Friday's free practice for the German GP, the tenth round of the 2022 MotoGP season, held this weekend at the Sachsenring circuit.
Located near the city of Chemnitz, the Saxon track has never been one of the most favourable for the characteristics of the Desmosedici GP, but today's results proved otherwise.

The Ducati Lenovo Team rider closed ahead of two other Desmosedici GP bikes, with Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider Luca Marini second and team-mate Jack Miller third. In this morning's FP1, the Australian rider closed in the first position, beating Bagnaia by just 15 thousandths. On the other hand, in this afternoon FP2, the Italian rider set the pace, setting a new all-time lap record in 1:20.018 with the soft tyre, closing ahead of Marini by just 115 thousandths and Miller by 193 thousandths.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 1st (1:20.018)
"It was a very positive day, and I think this was our best Friday since the start of this season. After this first day, I don't want to make any setup changes; I just want to focus on improving my race pace. The time attack also went well, and I had fun doing it. Tomorrow the conditions will be different: the temperatures will be higher, and the FP4 session will be fundamental to understand what kind of pace we can have in the race in the heat."

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 3rd (1:20.211)
"During the Barcelona test, we could make some big steps forward. We changed my riding position a lot, which is now closer to that of the other Ducati riders, and this increased my feeling with the front, allowing me to ride differently and exploit the full potential of my bike. Sachsenring is a very narrow track, and on paper, it's not one of the most favourable for the Desmosedici GP, but today I felt comfortable right away. The temperatures could be higher tomorrow and Sunday, but I'm confident I can do well anyway".

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 9:55am local time for FP3, while qualifying for the German GP will take place from 2:10pm CEST at the end of FP4.