German Grand Prix: Magnificent Marquez lays down Sachsenring marker

Berlin, July 5: Marc Marquez continued his love affair with the Sachsenring by setting the pace in practice at the German Grand Prix on Friday (July 5).

The MotoGP world champion has nine consecutive wins across all classes at the Sachsenring and will be the man to beat again this weekend.

Fabio Quartararo was quickest in FP1, narrowly ahead of Marquez, with no one else getting within half a second of the top two. Spaniard Marquez hit back to top the timesheets in the second session, the Repsol Honda rider hitting an astonishing 66-degree angle at turn three as he laid down a marker to his rivals.

Marquez was fastest with a lap of one minute, 20.705 seconds, putting him over three tenths clear of second-placed Alex Rins and Quartararo.

Maverick Vinales, the winner in Assen last weekend, was fourth quickest - almost half a second slower than Marquez.

Andrea Dovizioso, 44 points adrift of championship leader Marquez, dropped from sixth in FP1 to ninth by the end of the second session, one place behind his Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci.