The first two free practice sessions for the German Grand Prix, to be held at the Sachsenring circuit not far from Chemnitz in the former East Germany, concluded with Andrea Iannone in third place and Andrea Dovizioso in tenth.
Iannone was just two-tenths of a second off the pace of provisional poleman Marquez, while Dovizioso’s gap was seven-tenths from the top slot.
On a sunny but cold day, the two Ducati Team riders took to the track in the morning for first free practice, at the end of which they placed sixth (Dovizioso) and tenth (Iannone).
In the afternoon’s FP2, both men tested the new asymmetric front slick for the first time, and then towards the end of the session they went out on the soft rear tyre to set their quickest times, Iannone in 1’21.824 and Dovizioso in 1’22.340.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’21.824 (3rd)
“I am half satisfied, in the sense that for sure I managed to get a good result today, but in the end we still have to understand how competitive we can realistically be with the harder tyre. Even today we are struggling a bit more than what I expected: I was sure I could go quicker much easier than this and be closer to the front. In any case we are working in a methodical way and we have found a set-up with which I can be quite quick. This is important with tomorrow in mind.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’22.340 (10th)
“I am not very happy with the afternoon session when I hoped to be able to make some further improvement, but the modifications we tried did not work the way we had hoped for. Even when the things we try don’t give the expected results, they are in any case useful to understand the direction to take and this will help us for tomorrow. Of course we still have a lot to do because our speed is not as much as we want, but I am confident for tomorrow.”
