Jorge Martin led both MotoGP World Championship practice sessions Friday at Silverstone Circuit, in England, but the young Spaniard’s competitors are nipping at his heals. Martin topped Friday afternoon’s practice with a lap time of 1:57.911 on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati Desmosedici, but the top 14 riders in the session were covered by just 1.043 seconds.
Aleix Espargaro, the winner of the British Grand Prix in 2023, was second-best with a 1:57.956 on his factory Aprilia RS-GP.
Two-time and defending World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia was third-fastest with a time of 1:58.030 around the 3.7-mile (5.9 km) course.
Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini turned a fourth-quickest 1:58.190.
Jack Miller continued his strong run on Friday with a 1:58.260 on his Red Bull KTM, placing him fifth in the session.
Other riders finishing the session in the top 10 and advancing straight to Qualifying Two (Q2) included Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio (1:58.318), Miller’s teammate Brad Binder (1:58.386), Espargaro’s teammate Maverick Vinales (1:58.389), Di Giannantonio’s teammate Marco Bezzecchi (1:58.506), and Gresini Racing Ducati’s Marc Marquez (1:58.585).
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Martin pips Espargaro as Marc Marquez just holds on to a place in Q2
Ducati and Aprilia are split by 0.045s on Day 1 at Silverstone as the main title contenders all slot inside the top 10
Friday, 02 August 2024
A late flyer from Jorge Martin saw the Prima Pramac Racing star set the early weekend pace at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix, as the #89 edged out 2023 Silverstone victor Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) by 0.045s after clocking a 1:57.911. World Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) bagged P3, with the #1 lurking just 0.119s away from his main title challenger as it stands.
It wasn’t an ideal start to Friday afternoon for a pair of Ducatis as both Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) were forced to stop due to some form of issue with their respective machines.
Meanwhile, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) was the early pacesetter, but as we’ve come to expect, the closing 15 minutes was where the thick of the action took place in Practice 1. There were movements aplenty as the other factory Aprilia, Espargaro, climbed to the summit with the clock ticking down, but it was time attack specialist Martin who managed to clinch Friday’s honours with that late time.
Bagnaia also improved towards the end of the session, with teammate Bastianini leaving it until his last lap to set a personal best – the ‘Beast’ ending the day in P4 despite those early bike gremlins. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) ended Free Practice 1 in P4 and backed that up with a P5 in the afternoon to remind everyone what he’s capable of, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) fronting the GP23 charge in P6.
Miller’s teammate Brad Binder ensured both factory KTM’s are automatically in the Q2 scrap on Saturday morning, with Viñales slipping down the order but holding onto a P8 – job done for Top Gun, but the former Silverstone winner will be hunting for more.
Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) were the final two riders to slot inside the top 10, with the eight-time World Champion – who suffered a crash in FP1 – just 0.057s away from finding himself in Q1.
The all-important times for Saturday’s action at the British GP can be found below as qualifying and the Tissot Sprint beckons following an intriguing opening day.
FP2: 10:10 (UTC +1)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11.15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00
Canet claims lap record Friday top spot
A new Moto2™ Silverstone lap record handed Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) top honours on Friday at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix, with the Spaniard’s 2:03.602 time just under three tenths quicker than Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in second place. The leading pair were the only riders to venture into the 2:03s on Day 1, with Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) rounding out the top three, 0.457s away from Canet.
– Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) goes into Saturday’s action in P7 as the home crowd favourite aims to build on a solid Friday outing.
– The top two in the title chase and MT Helmets – MSI teammates, Ai Ogura and Sergio Garcia, are P4 and P8 respectively at the end of play on Friday, with the latter suffering a crash in the afternoon that hampered his Practice 1.
Enjoy Moto2™ Practice at 09:25, with qualifying getting underway at 13:45 on Saturday.
Veijer a step ahead on Friday despite afternoon crash
Despite a crash in the afternoon, Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) topped the Moto3™ times on Friday at Silverstone as the Dutchman set a 2:09.565 to end the day a healthy 0.387s clear of second place Ivan Ortola (MT Helmet – MSI). Rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) claimed an impressive P3 in Practice 1 to act as one of three riders to get within half a second of Veijer’s effort.
– The other rider to do so was home hero Scott Ogden (Fibre Tec Honda – MLav Racing). The British star enjoyed a fruitful day at the office and heads into qualifying day P4 on the timesheets.
– World Championship leader David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) was another title chaser to crash on Friday afternoon, with the Colombian ending Day 1 in P6, 0.597s adrift of the summit.
Tune into Moto3™ Practice 2 at 08:40 local time (UTC +2) before the lightweight class go qualifying at 12:50.
