Miller leads way
Miller led the way then with a 1:21.479, but that time was beaten early in the afternoon session by several riders, Aleix Espargaro seizing the ascendancy with a 1:20.789 on his first run and Bagnaia taking up second spot at just 0.054sec slower.
Aleix Espargaro twice came close to bettering the Australian again with a 1:20.284 and a 1:20.219 on consecutive laps, but it fell to the man on the other red Ducati to get the job done.
Lap record
Bagnaia broke Marc Marquez's three-year-old all-time lap record of 1:20.195 when he laid down a 1:20.132 on a medium-soft tyre combination in the final three minutes of the session, but there was time enough to go even faster again before the chequered flag was unfurled.
Marini likewise beat Marquez's old Sachsenring benchmark, shuffling Miller back to third, albeit only at 0.193sec off the pace of his team-mate.
Quartararo 7th
Espargaro was fourth-fastest while Johann Zarco claimed fifth on a 1:20.264 and Prima Pramac Racing team-mate Jorge Martin finished up sixth on a 1:20.275.
Seventh went to 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) on a 1:20.399, ahead of Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) on yet another Ducati.
Top-10 cut off
Either side of the top 10 cut-off which decides who goes straight into Q2 and who does not, as it stands, is Joan Mir in 10th on a 1:20.574.
Those outside the top ten will, of course, all be looking to improve their positions and book a place in Q2 when FP3 unfolds on Saturday. Can they do it? The answers will come from 9.55am local time (1.25pm IST), before qualifying from 2.10 pm local time (5.40pm IST) as the grid gets decided at the unique challenge of the Sachsenring. Bring it on!