Advantage Lorenzo at cool and cloudy Silverstone
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo put in a faultless performance on an action-packed first day of Free Practice at the Octo British Grand Prix to head the timesheets at a dry but chilly Silverstone.
The Spaniard finished just 0.033s ahead of Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez in a thrilling end to the day’s action. The man tied with Lorenzo on points at the top of the standings, Valentino Rossi, ended the day 0.989s behind his teammate in tenth. Local hero Bradley Smith impressed to finish in third and complete the provisional front row.
Conditions at the legendary 5.9km Silverstone Circuit had improved from FP1 and bright sunshine saw track temperatures rise to 27˚C in the afternoon. This meant that most riders drastically improved their times in FP2 as they took advantage of better grip levels. With the potential for rain on Saturday morning, today’s practice sessions took on an extra emphasis as riders tried to guarantee themselves a spot in Q2.
Therefore with ten minutes left most riders pitted to swap to the softer option tyre available to them and a dramatic shootout ensued. Lorenzo chose to remain on old tyres, and his 2’02.338 from earlier in the session was good enough to secure top spot, despite being almost two seconds slower than Marquez’s pole record (2’00.691) from 2013.
Marquez (+0.033s) had earlier topped FP1 but had no answer to the pace of Lorenzo in the afternoon, despite swapping for fresh rubber at the end of the session. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Smith (+0.193s) delighted the passionate home fans to set the third fastest time overall and complete the provisional front row. Smith was by far and away the fastest Satellite rider and will be hoping that he can continue this form in an effort to secure his first podium of the season.
Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa (+0.235s) was fourth, ahead of the Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso (+0.423s) in fifth. Dovizioso was using an updated version of his GP15 that debuted at Brno side by side by with the old version to allow him to compare the benefits.
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro (+0.534s) made use of the extra-soft tyre available to him to claim sixth spot. He finished exactly one-tenth of a second ahead of his brother Pol on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 in seventh.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) had two updated GP15’s at his disposal, and despite crashing at Stowe Corner half way through the session, recovered to finish in eighth.
Scott Redding on the EG 0,0 Marc VDS Factory spec Honda showed good pace to finish in ninth, ahead of the nine-time World Champion Rossi who completed the top ten. Rossi found himself almost a second down on his teammate’s time and will need to improve tomorrow if he has any hopes of re-taking his championship lead.
Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera was the top Open class rider in 13th, ahead of the leading Open Honda of Jack Miller (LCR Honda) in 14th. Surprisingly Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) found himself behind his Australian teammate, despite riding a Factory spec RC213V, 1.410s off the pace of Lorenzo.
Aspar MotoGP Team’s Irish rider Eugene Laverty finished 16th fastest on the combined timesheets, with his American teammate Nicky Hayden down in 22nd.
Home hero Lowes on top in Moto2
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes delighted the home fans, as he finished on top of Friday’s combined timesheets at the Octo British Grand Prix.
Lowes finished 0.089s ahead of Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Alex Rins, while championship leader Johann Zarco crashed out of the session and was taken to the Medical Centre. Moto2™ FP2 saw grey clouds appear and temperatures start to drop (Track temp. 23˚C) at Silverstone. Despite this most riders still managed to improve on their times from the morning session.
Lowes set a 2’08.004 on his final lap of FP2 to seal top spot on a day that saw the top fifteen riders separated by less than eight-tenths of a second. Indianapolis race winner Rins completed another good day in second overall, with Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Takaaki Nakagami (+0.112s) in third. The Japanese rider clearly likes the Silverstone Circuit having equalled his career best result (2nd) back in 2013 and he still holds the Moto2™ pole record (2’07.039) from the same year.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Tito Rabat (+0.228s) was in fourth, just 0.015s ahead of his teammate Alex Marquez (+0.243s) in fifth. Jonas Folger on the AGR Team Kalex completed the provisional second row, with just 0.256s separating the top six riders.
Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) was seventh fastest ahead of the Petronas Raceline Malaysia Kalex oh Hafizh Syahrin in eighth.
Runaway Moto2™ championship leader Johann Zarco could only manage the ninth fastest time of the day. The Ajo Motorsport rider had earlier topped FP1, but crashed out of the afternoon session at the fast Chapel Curve with 30 minutes remaining and was taken to the Medical Centre for checks.
Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) completed the top ten while British wildcard Bradley Ray (FAB-Racing) ended the day in 28th overall.
Fenati fastest on Friday in Moto3
Sky Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati ended Friday on top of the combined timesheets while championship leader Danny Kent on the Leopard Racing Honda had to settle for sixth after missing out on FP1 with technical problems.
The weather at Silverstone had improved in the afternoon with track temperatures rising to 28˚C in the sunshine. The last five minutes of the session saw riders improve their times dramatically from FP1, although strong winds meant conditions were not perfect. A number of riders had their lap times cancelled as they exceeded the track limits at Club and Woodcote Corner.
Riders pitted for fresh rubber in the last ten minutes of the session and it was Fenati who would go fastest by setting a 2’14.459, still some way short of Alex Rins’ pole record (2’13.112) from last year. Ongetta-Rivacold’s Niccolo Antonelli made it an Italian 1-2 as he finished just 0.110s behind his compatriot. Alexis Masbou (+0.431s) on the SAXOPRINT RTG Honda completed the provisional front row.
Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Jorge Navarro (+0.436s) had earlier topped FP1 but had to settle for fourth with Isaac Viñales (+0.630s), who has permanently replaced Niklas Ajo in the RBA Racing team, in fifth. Danny Kent was forced to miss the whole of FP1 after a technical issue that saw his Honda leaking oil on track. The British rider recovered brilliantly though to set the sixth fastest time overall in FP2 and end the day just 0.740s behind Fenati.
Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Francesco Bagnaia (Mapfre Team Mahindra) completed the top ten.
Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Team Moto3), who is currently second in the standings 47 points behind Kent, crashed out of FP at turn 16 and ended the day down in 18th. British wildcards Taz Taylor (RS Racing) and Luke Hedger (FPW Racing) finished in 30th and 36th respectively.
