The first day of practice for the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring saw two practice sessions in completely different conditions, making it a challenging Friday for the LCR Honda MotoGP Team and their rivals. An extended morning practice was on a cool but dry track, with the afternoon session taking place in heavy rain followed by warm sunshine.

Cal Crutchlow looked set to book his spot in the top ten in the dry, as he rounded the twisting venue for the final time in the morning. However, a big crash for fellow Brit Scott Redding forced Cal to sit up, meaning he ended play in 13th place. Crutchlow was quick later on in the rain, ending the 55-minute second practice in sixth place.

That means he and the team will need to pray for a dry morning on Saturday, so that they can take the opportunity to skip a potentially tricky first qualifying session, with some big names also joining Cal outside the top ten overall after day one.


#35 Cal Crutchlow – 13th (1’22.240)

“ I’m very disappointed to be 13th overall, through no fault of my own. I was on a fantastic lap that would have put me in the top three, and then Scott Redding unfortunately crashed in front of me – no fault of his - and that meant I had to shut the throttle and I lost six-tenths, which would have put me inside the top three.

“This is racing though. We have to make a plan, and I feel really good in both the wet and the dry. Hopefully in the morning we get a dry session so we don’t get forced into preliminary qualifying, although the forecast doesn’t look great sadly. Otherwise, we’ll have to go into Q1, but let’s hope we get our other chance to avoid it first.”