Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) crashed today in the second free practice session of the MotoGP German Grand Prix, the seventh race of the season, and missed out on direct access to the second qualifying lap (Q2).
Oliveira crashed at turn 10 of the Sachsenring circuit with 15 minutes remaining in the second of two free practice sessions, ending the day in 15th position.
Oliveira finished 0.591 seconds behind the fastest rider of the day, Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati), who left Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati) in second place just 40 thousandths of a second behind, with compatriot Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) third at 0.081 despite two broken bones in his right foot.
As for the Portuguese rider, who is still recovering from a fractured left shoulder sustained in the Spanish GP on April 30, he had set the 15th fastest time in the morning session, still marked by a few drops of rain, to finish with the 13th fastest time in the afternoon session, which was marked by several crashes.
The most serious was the one involving Spaniard Marc Márquez (Honda) and Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati), which forced the session to be interrupted with three minutes to go.
The two men had been the fastest in the morning session.
Spaniard Raul Fernández (Aprilia), Japan’s Takahaki Nakagami (Honda), Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), Italy’s Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) and Alex Márquez (Ducati) also crashed out.
On Saturday, the third free practice session and the two qualifying heats will take place before the sprint race, scheduled for the afternoon.
The German GP is the seventh race of the season.
Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), fourth today, leads the standings, 21 points clear of Bezzecchi.
