There was a surprise in the first practice session of the Moto3 German GP. Stefano Nepa was the fastest, in a session where the top four riders were separated by less than a tenth of a second.
David Alonso (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar) was the first to set a timed lap, but after most riders had done so, it was Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) who led. The Japanese rider, who improved his time a few minutes later, remained in the lead for almost a quarter of an hour. During that period, Alonso had a crash at turn 11, but it had no serious consequences for the rider.
A FAST one for the #Moto3 World Championship leader! ⚡ And his visor came off as well💥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 5, 2024
Luckily Alonso is up and walking after a big hit at T11! 👍#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/J8s2DMlSbu
The Japanese rider was eventually beaten by Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). The Dutchman led for more than seven minutes until Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) took the top spot. In the final minutes, several riders improved their times.
Iván Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) led but was ultimately beaten by Nepa (LevelUp-MTA/KTM), who set the best time of 1m25.283s. The Italian had a margin of 0.031s, showing how close the session was.
Alonso, the championship leader, finished third, 0.064s behind, followed by Veijer, 0.096s behind. The top five was completed by Ángel Piqueras (Leopard Racing/Honda). After leading the free practice, Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda) finished seventh in this session.
Timesheets:
✌️ @stefanonepa82 leads the way on Friday in #Moto3!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 5, 2024
The Italian set the pace ahead of @IvanOrtola48 and David Alonso, who bounced back from a heavy crash at T11! 💪#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/AwaWKd139J
