FIM MotoGP World Championship
Silverstone Circuit, England
August 29, 2014
Free Practice Two Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 2:02.126
2. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 2:02.635
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 2:03.011
4. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 2:03.070
5. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 2:03.327
6. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), 2:03.333
7. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 2:03.353
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 2:03.391
9. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 2:03.410
10. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (FORWARD YAMAHA), 2:03.468
11. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 2:03.500
12. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 2:03.542
13. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 2:03.952
14. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (DUCATI), 2:04.057
15. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (FORWARD YAMAHA), 2:04.411
16. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), 2:04.762
17. Leon CAMIER, UK (HONDA), 2:04.928
18. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), 2:05.002
19. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (ART-APRILIA), 2:05.827
20. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-APRILIA), 2:06.335
21. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-KAWASAKI), 2:06.369
22. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-APRILIA), 2:07.855
23. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-KAWASAKI), 2:08.397
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez fastest on day one in Silverstone with Pedrosa 9th
On the first day of the British Grand Prix, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez topped the time sheets with his lap of 2’02.126 (lap 7 of 16), over half a second faster than second place Stefan Bradl, on the LCR Honda machine. Marc’s teammate Dani Pedrosa, struggling a little with the grip level, finished the day in ninth with a best time of 2’03.410 (lap 12 of 15).
The changeable and windy British weather is sure to play a part in tomorrow’s qualifying session and with just 0.215s separating 5th and 12th place, the riders will need to work hard in FP3 and FP4 to give themselves the best chance.
FP3 will begin tomorrow at 09h55 local time.
TEAM QUOTES
Marc Marquez
1st – 2’02.126
“Today I felt good from the beginning. Silverstone is bit of a special track; there are many bumps and the temperatures are low, but we found a good base from the start and this helped us for the entire day. It is only Friday, but it is always important to start the weekend like this. For tomorrow we will try above all to improve how the bike absorbs the bumps, to go faster and take a small step forward”
Dani Pedrosa
9th – 2’03.410
“Overall, today was a difficult day. We had grip problems with the track and I was unable to find a good feeling on the bike. I found it really hard to get the tyres working optimally, but we are now looking at new ideas for tomorrow. It would also help us if the temperatures were higher”
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Practice Begins in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix
Silverstone (UK), 29th August 2014
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were back on track in Great Britain today as the first free practice sessions got underway for this Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
The sessions proved to be challenging for both riders due to the tyres provided, with chatter preventing them from finding an optimum set up on the Silverstone circuit. Lorenzo ended the first session in 7th and the second in 11th to finish the day 11th overall in the combined times with a best lap of 2’03.500 seconds.
Teammate Rossi wrapped up the morning in 8th and the afternoon in 13th to take 13th in the combined times with a best lap of 2’03.952.
The team will continue to work through the evening to prepare solutions for the next practice session at 09.55hrs local time tomorrow.
Jorge Lorenzo
11th / 2’03.500 / 14 laps
“We only have one problem, it seems Bridgestone has brought the same tyres that we had in the first races so we have the same problems as then. We have no grip to stop the bike, no grip in the middle of the corner and no traction so we have a lot of spinning and the negative point is it creates problem on the front. No grip on the rear doesn’t give us the balance in the middle of the corner which means we have to lean less and have lower speed. All the Yamaha riders are the same, we have similar problems. It seems that with this tyre we have now it’s very difficult for us. Of course we are going to try everything to solve this problem, we have to try to manage the situation, the tyres will be the same all weekend so we have to adapt to it. It seems it’s going to be a hard weekend for the Yamaha riders.”
Valentino Rossi
13th / 2’03.952 / 15 laps
“We expected to be faster and more competitive but we are struggling a lot. This morning in first practice was not fantastic but also not so bad, I was not so far from the other guys but I didn’t like the feeling in the bike on the front. For the afternoon we worked a lot on the setting on the weight distribution to help on the corners but it looks like we took the wrong direction. I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike, when we enter the corner I don’t have a feeling with the front and also I have a vibration and not enough grip. I lose a lot of corner speed on entry and I was quite slow. We will continue to modify the bike in another way and we will take some data for tomorrow to try something completely different to understand if we can go faster.”
Massimo Meregalli
“Today wasn’t the start we expected to have. Both Jorge and Vale have similar issues with chattering and being able to hold the racing line so we have quite some work to do for tomorrow. We weren’t able to find solutions in time for the sessions but we will continue to work this evening. We will be ready to make a step forward in the next free practice and bring them closer to the front. We know we can perform well at this track so we’re confident we can improve. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Smith powers to 4th on day one at windy Silverstone
Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith undertook a lightening start on home turf by storming to 4th position as the leading Yamaha in the combined standings on the opening day of action at Silverstone. The 23 year old rider completed the first session with a best time of 2’04.609, only four tenths of a second back from 5th despite the low track temperatures, strong wind and slight spots of rain. The weather remained unchanged in the afternoon at the 5900 meter Silverstone circuit where Smith braved the conditions with determination to forcibly post a best time of 2’03.070 aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1. The British star improved his morning time by over one and a half seconds and was a blink of an eye behind 3rd position with a gap of only 0.059. His electric start to the 12th MotoGP event of the year, sees him prepared for the qualifying assault tomorrow where he will confidently intend to seize a place on the front two rows for the 20 lap dash on Sunday.
On the other side of the garage, Pol Espargaro rode to a hard fought 12th position finish in the afternoon practice session as he began the 2014 British Grand Prix. The reigning Moto2 World Champion kicked off his weekend with a best time of 2’04.628 as he worked with his Monster Yamaha Tech3 team to establish a formidable setup at Silverstone. As the afternoon session got underway, Espargaro upped the pace and completed the practice with a time of 2’03.542, only less than a second from 2nd place. The 23 year old rider also finished the afternoon practice with the fastest speed of the entire MotoGP grid reaching 321.5 km/h. Focusing instead on setting up the bike and working towards race day as opposed to posting a leading lap time today, the Spaniard remains confident in undertaking a strong qualifying performance tomorrow.
Bradley Smith
Position : 4thTime : 2’03.542 Laps : 33
“It was a positive first day and I’m very happy to kick off my home Grand Prix in this manner. I feel happier and more confident than I did twelve months ago and here the bike is working great and the grip is good with the tyres. We haven’t changed too many settings since Brno, just a few minor alterations to compensate for this track as well as the wind here which is particularly strong at the rear of the circuit. There is still a degree to improve, namely in the fast corners where there a few more bumps this year, so we will work on trying to find the setting to run smoothly over these. Of course, we need to carry on this forward momentum, therefore the next step is to get a good rhythm and then run 2’02 lap times. So all in all I am very happy, but I must say that it is fantastic to see so many fans here especially as it was a Friday so the support I received has been great and really helps me!”
Pol Espargaro
Position : 12thTime : 2’04.628 Laps : 36
“Even I if I find myself a little further down on the time sheets than I would like to be, I am satisfied with the work we have done today. Instead of putting on a new tyre to make a quick lap at the end of the session like some of the other riders, I decided to work on the bike instead. This might be a bit of a gamble due to the weather forecast for tomorrow, but I have learnt during the first part of the season how important the right setup for Sunday can be. Therefore, I keep my fingers crossed that the morning session will be a dry one as ending up in QP1 would be far from ideal. If this is the case, it will be trickier but I am always improving which is very positive. The bike is fun to ride at this circuit, especially in the first sector which is quite bumpy and where I am at my fastest. So, we need to improve in the other sections of the track but we know where we are heading and what needs to be altered, so I retain good expectations for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:
We reached 18th place in free practice in Silverstone
Friday’s free practices have started twelfth round of the MotoGP season at Silverstone in England. The Czech rider, Karel Abraham reached eighteenth position with his time 2:05,002. Abaja improved at the evening his time by one second, however it was not enough for better placement. The rider from Brno had biggest problem with large inequalities of the surface. Spaniard, Marc Marquez dominated with time 2:02,126 in opening day of the racing weekend. Surprise was position of Stefan Bradl on second place and third place of Andrea Dovizioso. On the other hand, disappointment is the performance of Italian star, Valentino Rossi, which holds thirteenth position.
Karel Abraham
“It is unbelievable how the track is broken. It surprised me a lot, especially because i didn’t race here last year. Moreover it blows a lot gusty wind. In the morning it was pretty good, but we wasted lot of time in garage, because we had technical problems and i could not ride, as I needed. We weren’t completely sure, which type of tyre choose. The surface is slippery a lot. Nevertheless i like it here a lot, it is really huge. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Marco Grana, Cardion AB chief mechanic
“Today is was not good and even bad. On the track there are lot of bumps, probably they host lot of car races here in Silverstone. Bumpy surface causes big problems to Karel. During today’s free practices conditions were changing a lot and every time there was a slight rain in different parts of the track. Additionally it is cold here. Under these conditions it is difficult to find ideal setting of the bike. In the morning we had some problems with rear tyre, but we solved it in the evening. Tomorrow we will try different setting of front to help Karel. He managed to improve his time a lot today, so we hope to continue like this also tomorrow.“
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Surprising Hernandez, Iannone studies his strategy
Excellent test for Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing) who appeared under the spotlight in the afternoon session finishing in fifth place with a lap time of 2’03.327, thus obtaining the best result of his career ever during a free practice session in MotoGP. The first two rounds on the British circuit have shown that the work done in the Brno test is already showing its first results. Yonny is satisfied with the performance over the single lap and tomorrow he will try a slightly different setup that should help him with the tire life. In this way he will at the top for both, tomorrow’s qualifying and Sundays race.
Andrea Iannone ended the morning session with the second fastest lap time in 2.03.869, while in the afternoon he finished in seventh place with a lap time of 2.03.353. In FP1 the rider from Vasto gave the impression of having a decent pace and at the same time it seemed that he was capable of being able to make that leap necessary for a good qualifying session, as demonstrated by the fact that his best lap was the last one. In the afternoon session the team used the setting that gave good results in Misano test last monday, but did it not work out as hoped. In particular, it created a grip problem on entering the turns, where the slipperiness of the track made him lose a speed. Andrea however is confident he can solve the difficulties to continue to occupy the top positions in qualifying and the race.
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)
“I’m happy for this morning’s session, I was very fast, even thought we use a bike with a completely different setting from the afternoon session. In FP2 we used the setup we found at misano test, but it didn’t give us the results expected, even though I was faster than this morning. Today I suffered a bit of a lack of grip on corner entry but I’m confident for tomorrow. Now we have to analyze the data and figure out what to do for tomorrow’s qualifying. “
Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)
“I’m very happy with today’s result, which was my best result in MotoGP. I am happy with the work I’m doing with the team, we can get better and better with every race. I want to be able to enter directly into Q2 but to do that we still have to fix a few things on the bike to good tomorrow morning. “
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Good start for Dovizioso, third on first day of free practice for British GP at Silverstone. Crutchlow fourteenth
Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow finished the first day of free practice at Silverstone, where round 12 of the MotoGP World Championship is being held, in third and fourteenth place respectively.
Dovizioso made good progress throughout the day; the Italian rider was fast right from the start of this morning’s session, ending up with third quickest time, and then repeated the performance in the afternoon run. His team-mate Crutchlow instead had a tougher time today, and for the moment has been unable to establish a good feeling with his Desmosedici GP14 at his home track.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 3rd (2’03.011)
“I am pleased with the time that I set and also with my pace on the medium tyre. For sure we have to improve even more because it’s difficult to obtain a good set-up due to the the track surface, which is very bumpy. However we have been constantly quick since the start of the morning session and this means that we have started the weekend well. My third place is of course a good result, but I think I could have done even better with the soft tyre, which in my opinion is potentially better than the medium one I used to set my time.”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 14th (2’04.057)
“It wasn’t a very good day for us, we tried a few settings with the bike but they were not all working for me. We tried something in the end that I believe can decide the direction to go in for tomorrow, but we need to improve a lot in the corners to be able to turn the bike and have more feeling with the tyres. I look forward to tomorrow and hopefully improving for the rest of the weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Day of work for the NGM Forward Racing Team at Silverstone
The NGM Forward Racing Team was back on track for the first day of practices of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. Aleix Espargaro and Alex De Angelis focused on the bike set up on the technical and fast Silverstone racetrack.
Fifth this morning, Espargaro struggled in the afternoon to find the right feeling with his Forward Yamaha and finally closed the FP2 in 10th place with a lap time of 2’03.468.
It was a positive start for team mate Alex De Angelis, who made a good step forward over the course of today. 17th in the morning with a lap time of 2’06.333, Alex could improve his lap times and pace in the afternoon session of 2 seconds. With a lap time of 2’04.411, Alex finished in 15th position.
Aleix Espargaro
“Silverstone is a technical and demanding track and we suffered more than what we expected. Due to the cold temperature, we used the soft tyre but I couldn’t find the right feeling. I struggled also with the front as I cannot enter fast in the corner as I want. Tomorrow we will continue to work to improve the set up of the bike in preparation of the race”.
Alex De Angelis
“I’m happy of the work done today, especially of the FP2 as I could improve my lap times and my pace. Today we used the hard tyre and the feeling was positive from the beginning. Silverstone is a technical track, it has a bit of everything and it’s fun to ride here with a MotoGP machine. I’m confident to make another step forward tomorrow”.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
BRADL ENDS DAY ONE AT SILVERTSTONE WITH AN IMPRESSIVE SECOND PLACE
Silverstone, 29 August: the premier class runners experienced typical British weather at Silverstone circuit for the first day of action. Cloudy skies and poor rain accompanied the riders throughout the day with LCR racer Stefan Bradl posting the second fastest lap time (2’02.635) behind the leader Marc Marquez. The German riding the CWM LCR Honda machine immediately recorded impressive lap times on the British soil and he is searching for more feeling on used rubber ahead tomorrow’s qualifying.
Stefan: “I think it was a very good day for us. We started our weekend as per our plan after the improvement we had in Brno test session. Actually we have just made some small modifications in the right direction so I was able to take a good advantage of all the tyres of the day. I am happy with this first day of work at Silverstone and about the lap time but we still need to improve our consistency especially on used tyres”.
More, from a press release issued by Scott Redding’s publicist:
Fast start for Redding at home
Silverstone, Great Britain – 29th August 2014: Scott Redding got his British Grand Prix weekend off to a flying start, finishing the opening day sixth on combined times, despite less than ideal conditions at Silverstone.
After familiarising himself with the circuit aboard a MotoGP machine this morning, the 21-year-old Briton made a significant step forward in this afternoon’s second free practice session to finish as the third quickest Honda rider behind Marc Marquez and Stefan Bradl and ahead of the factory machines of Alvaro Bautista and Dani Pedrosa.
Redding’s goal tomorrow is clear; to progress into the second qualifying session for only the second time this season.
Scott Redding // 6th // 2’03.333
“This morning, the first time here with the MotoGP bike, I was struggling a little bit. This afternoon was much better; I felt much more comfortable with both the bike and the circuit, found a good rhythm and really started to enjoy it. I didn’t expect to be so fast today, but I’m happy with both my lap time and my position on the timesheet. I’m not sure if it’s possible, as better weather tomorrow would change things a lot, but the aim is to make it into Q2 once again. That’s what I’ll be pushing for.”
More, from a press release issued by DRive M7 Aspar Team:
DRIVE M7 Aspar make solid Silverstone start
Hiroshi Aoyama and Leon Camier improve in second session despite setbakcs to finish sixteenth and seventeenth respectively
He may have missed out on an eleventh straight win at Brno last time out but Marc Márquez returned to dominant form at Silverstone today, where he controlled the MotoGP time sheets throughout free practice. Andrea Dovizioso and Stefan Bradl both took turns at the top in the early stages of this afternoon’s second session but the Spaniard unleashed the full speed of his Honda on his seventh lap and he was untouchable from then on, even though Bradl managed to chip back the gap from a full second to just a half. Meanwhile Márquez’s main championship rivals appear to be struggling, with Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Rossi ending the day in ninth, eleventh and thirteenth position respectively.
The day started in discreet fashion for the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team with both Hiroshi Aoyama and Leon Camier struggling for feel in this morning’s opening session. The Japanese also had a problem with his bike at the start of the second practice but still managed to improve his lap time by 1.5 seconds, gathering confidence on his way to sixteenth place. The British rider found three seconds this afternoon as he continues his adaptation to MotoGP although a crash on his final lap provided a disappointing finish to the day for him.
16th Hiroshi Aoyama 2.04.762 (23 laps): “This morning we started out with the set-up we found in the post race test at Brno. It worked well there but I didn’t feel comfortable here so we took a step backwards this afternoon and went back to the best set-up we had. Unfortunately the bike broke down at the start of the session and we had to stop, which cost us the time we needed to try everything we wanted to try. Even so my feeling with the bike was better this afternoon than it was this morning and there is clearly more to come, especially in corner exit. Scott has lapped very fast with the same bike today and he has shown what is possible so the job tomorrow is to try and match him.”
17th Leon Camier 2.04.928 (28 laps): “I struggled for feeling in the first session and I couldn’t get any heat in the tyres, so that made it difficult to ride. We made some changes this afternoon and gradually improved the pace and the feeling with the bike, although we still have more to find. Unfortunately I made a stupid mistake at the end of the session and came off at the end of the back straight. I just ran off line onto the grass slightly and lost the front. I want to apologise to the team and hopefully tomorrow we can continue to improve. I noticed a lot of little bumps on track today, which unsettled the bike and I had to be careful not to crash a few times. Apart from the crash I enjoyed myself this afternoon and it was a great feeling to ride in front of the British fans.”
More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:
Marquez close to record pace on first day of practice at Silverstone
Round 12: British Grand Prix – Free Practice 1&2
Silverstone, Friday August 29 2014
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 16-16°C; Track 21-21°C (Bridgestone measurement)
FP2 – Dry. Ambient 19-19°C; Track 26-30°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez got up to speed quickly in challenging conditions at Silverstone, the reigning champion getting within a couple of tenths of the Circuit Record Lap to finish half a second quicker than his closest rival in Friday practice.
In cool and blustery conditions, Marquez set a time of 2’02.126 in the afternoon Free Practice 2 session to finish 0.509 seconds ahead of LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl who was second quickest today. Third quickest on the opening day of action for the British Grand Prix was Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso with a personal best lap time of 2’03.635. Both Marquez and Bradl set their best times using the combination of the soft compound front and medium compound rear slicks, while Dovizioso was able to set his best time on the medium compound front paired with the soft compound rear.
Conditions at Silverstone on Friday were overcast and cool with periods of very light rain, with the track temperature reaching a high of 30°C at the start of FP2. The morning FP1 session was particularly cool with track temperatures hovering around 20°C, resulting in almost every rider starting the session on the extra-soft front slick and softer option rear slicks to ensure maximum warm-up performance and grip. As track conditions and temperatures improved in the afternoon, many riders took the opportunity to evaluate the medium compound front slick, as they searched for better front-end stability at a circuit which features a couple of hard braking zones. Some riders also used the afternoon session to assess the harder rear slick options; medium compound for Ducati and Open-class, and hard for Factory Honda and Yamaha riders, with further evaluation of all rear slick options to take place during race simulations tomorrow before race tyre choice is decided.
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“As is often the case at Silverstone, the cool temperatures and wind created a challenging situation for the riders today, and the riders also commented that the circuit is quite bumpy. However it was a good start to the race weekend as the riders tried many tyre combinations and the pace in FP2 was quite quick. All of our slick tyre options were evaluated and at this point it seems the soft compound front slick offers the best balance of warm-up potential and overall performance, and while the softer option rears are the preferred option right now, the harder rears also offer good performance so race tyre choice is still open at this stage. Given the pace we’ve seen today, the chance of seeing a new Circuit Best Lap record being set in qualifying tomorrow is good.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Impressive Marquez on top again at Silverstone
As the premier class riders enjoyed their second Friday practice session at the Hertz British Grand Prix, Marc Marquez was the top man, followed by Stefan Bradl and Andrea Dovizioso.
Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was fastest in the morning session too with a 2’03.208 to lead by 0.661s and he improved in the afternoon to 2’02.126, again leading the practice by more than half a second. The World Champion has a point to prove this weekend at Silverstone having not won at Brno, his first race of the year which has not resulted in victory.
Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) showed his FP2 pace with a 2’02.635, whilst Dovizioso (Ducati Team) put in a late best time for third – lapping 0.885s behind Marquez.
Local rider Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) looked good in fourth and Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) impressed by making it into the top five. Likewise Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) was well up the timesheet in sixth place, striving to please the crowd at his home GP.
Italian Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) and Spanish trio Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) rounded out the top ten.
Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) will aim to improve on Saturday after lapping 11th and 13th respectively, whilst Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) was down in 14th. Lorenzo (+1.374s) and Rossi (+1.826s) were well off the pace of Marquez.
Leon Camier (Drive M7 Aspar) had a crash with five minutes to go in FP2 and ended up 17th overall.
Moto2™: In form Rabat quickest in final day one run
The final practice of Friday at Silverstone saw the Moto2™ FP2 workout led by Tito Rabat at the Hertz British Grand Prix, with Simone Corsi and Jonas Folger also at the business end of the timesheet.
Standings leader Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) topped the afternoon practice with a 2’08.652, highlighting his determination to maintain his good form, following his win last time out in the Czech Republic.
Experienced Italian Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) and young German Folger (AGR Team) were the two riders to get closest to Rabat’s pace, respectively 0.087s and 0.174s behind the Spaniard in second and third.
Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) and Maverick Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) were fourth and fifth, whilst Viñales’ colleague Salom was down in 34th after a big highside in the session. The Spaniard walked away from the crash.
Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team), Sam Lowes (Speed Up), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing) completed the top ten, with Pasini 0.7s down on Rabat’s best time.
At the foot of the timesheet 50 year-old veteran Jeremy McWilliams lapped just over eight seconds off the pace, debuting the Brough Superior Racing team’s Taylor Made machine. McWilliams took 3.4s off his best time from FP1 in the afternoon and will look to get closer to the rest of the field on Saturday.
Moto3™: Pace setting Briton Kent shows rivals the way
Danny Kent was the quickest rider on track in the Moto3™ FP2 outing at the Hertz British Grand Prix, with Niccolo Antonelli and Alex Rins also occupying top three spots.
Englishman Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) ended Friday as the fastest Moto3 rider at his home Grand Prix, registering a 2’15.572 lap at the end of the afternoon session to lead the way by 0.058s from Italian rider Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN).
Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) was just 0.062s down on Kent in third, with Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) and Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) also in the top five.
Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing), Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing), John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) and Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) completed the top ten.
The lap times between the riders were extremely tight, especially considering that at 5.9km Silverstone is the longest Grand Prix circuit on the calendar, with the top 20 split by just 1.012s.
Championship frontrunner Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) led FP1 in the morning with a 2’16.439 lap, but was down in 23rd place in FP2 as he experimented with a new setting.