Tony Arbolino and Sam Lowes set the eighth and ninth fastest times on a rain-affected day one at the Sachsenring, with both men showing strong rhythm in the dry.

• The German Grand Prix kicked off in perfect conditions on Friday morning with Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino enjoying dry conditions and track temperatures of 25 degrees during P1.
• But the weather turned over lunchtime. After a heavy shower at the beginning of Moto3 P2, the rain returned again at the start of Moto2 P2, meaning the track was wet before drying in the closing minutes. P2 times were just under 3s slower than P1 as a result.

/// SAM LOWES, 9^th – 1’24.758

• Sam was immediately in the ballpark in P1, spending the entire session on one set of tyres. Over two runs and 23 laps, Sam set a consistent pace, with 9 laps coming in the 1’24s.
• 9^th in P1, Sam set just 12 laps in P2 due to the weather conditions and eventually ended the afternoon in 6^th.

“I kept the same tyre all session and I was happy”

“The morning was really good. I kept the same tyre all session and I was happy. We made some changes with the bike and they worked well so I’m confident for tomorrow. In P2 I went out on wets but the track was drying. Then I went out on slicks and the track was almost dry but not quite. It was hard to have the perfect setting and tyres for those conditions. It was nice to ride a bit but I feel like we’ve lost P2. But the feeling I had this morning, I’m sure if we had put in a new tyre, we would have been able to do a really good lap time. Hopefully, we get some dry conditions in P3 and we can make a nice run tomorrow. I’m enjoying the qualifying days at the moment so let’s keep that going.”

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 8^th – 1’24.707

• Like his team-mate, the current World Championship leader showed strong potential from the opening laps of P1, where he finished 8^th. Tony’s rhythm was very competitive, as he posted 10 of his 23 laps in the 1’24s.
• Tony showed strong speed in the wet conditions in P2, before he set the fastest time of the session using a slick rear tyre in the closing minutes. With improvements in the final sector, the Italian believes he can very competitive on Saturday.

“We feel so much faster here than last year”

“It was a strange first day, one that we sometimes get at the Sachsenring. Honestly, I felt really good with the bike. We need to improve some details to make the time attack better. We should be focussed on that, because it’ll be important at this track for tomorrow and I want to have this good feeling for qualifying. The bike isn’t behaving exactly as I want in the final sector, so that’s an area we’ll look at to make a small step. Let’s see what we can do there, but my crew and I believe we can do it. We feel so much faster here than last year, so that’s an important point. Overall, the feeling is really good and I believe we can do a really good weekend here.”