Stand-off at Silverstone: Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Viñales within a tenth

2018-08-24 13:04
'DesmoDovi' and the home hero head the Spaniard, with the top three tight at the top

After Yamaha dominated FP1 at the GoPro British Grand Prix, 2017 winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) came out firing on all cylinders in FP2 to go fastest overall on Friday - but home hero Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was just 0.005s off the Italian’s 2:01.358 to take second. Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), meanwhile, stayed up at the sharp end for a strong opening day overall, with the 2016 winner 0.061 off the top to end the day in third overall.

After a sunny morning, the threat of rain was in the air but it held off as the premier class got an all-important dry Friday under their belts on a newly resurfaced Silverstone. Behind that close trio at the top it was Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who took fourth - joined in the top five by Austria sparring partner Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) - despite some ups and downs for the two. Marquez suffered a crash in FP1 - a low drama lowside - and Lorenzo left it late to blast back into the top ten and provisional Q2 entry should the weather change.

After finishing FP1 in fifth, meanwhile, Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) continued to rediscover his early season speed to end Friday sixth fastest overall, less than half a second behind fellow Ducati man Dovizioso. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) managed to grab a top ten position in seventh at the end of FP2, the Frenchman jumping up two positions from his P9 in the morning, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) eighth quickest overall after finishing FP1 in second - a turnaround so far for the Iwata marque after a tough Red Bull Ring.

Fellow Italian Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) consolidated a top ten in FP2 to finish ninth quickest, with Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) sitting in the final provisional automatic Q2 spot in tenth, improving from P11 in FP1.

So far Silverstone looks set to be a classic, with Ducati, Yamaha and Crutchlow all aiming to take the fight to Marquez this weekend. The premier class have another chance to book their place in Q2 on Saturday morning, with big names such as Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing), Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) all aiming to get into the top ten before qualifying kicks off at 14:10 local time (GMT +1).

The action wasn't over by Friday evening as Petronas and Sepang International Circuit presented their MotoGP™, Moto2™ and Moto3™ projects. Joined by representatives of Yamaha and Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta (far left), the Press Conference saw the team discuss the new outfit ahead of its debut as well as confirm their line up.

Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo will race in the premier class, with Malaysian Khairul Idham Pawi stepping in to the Moto2™ team. The Moto3™ riders will be Ayumu Sasaki and John McPhee.
Schrötter reigns before the rain sets in

Another impressive Friday for Schrötter
German ends day one fastest ahead of Pasini and Lowes as the heavens open at Silverstone

FP1’s fastest man Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) ends Friday at the GoPro British Grand Prix fastest overall following the heavens opening for the intermediate class in FP2, with Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) and local hero Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) rounding out the top three after proving the fastest trio in the morning.

The start of the afternoon session was dry, but it wasn’t long before the rain started to fall on the Northamptonshire circuit - ending anyone’s hopes of improving their times from FP1. This meant the overall standings remained as they were from the morning, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) fourth quickest and FP2’s quickest man Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) fifth overall.

Fabio Quartararo (+ Ego Speed Up Racing) goes into qualifying day as the sixth quickest rider at Silverstone, with Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) seventh on the combined times – 0.741 back from Schrötter. Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) continues his good run of form to finish eighth on day one, with Romano Fenati (Marinelli Snipers Team) and Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) completing the top ten.

Meanwhile, Championship contender Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ended Friday down in P20 on the combined timesheets. The Portuguese rider began the day with a lowside and was then thwarted by the rain - so he'll likely be one of the first to blast back out on Saturday, looking to improve.

The Moto2™ field will be hoping the final practice session will be dry ahead of qualifying at Silverstone, with the battle for pole getting underway at 15:05 local time (GMT +1).
Arbolino heads Italian 1-2-3 on Friday

Arbolino was a big improver in FP2 to rule the roost
The Italian edges out Bezzecchi and Antonelli to go fastest overall at Silverstone

Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) went fastest in Moto3™ FP2 to go top on Friday at the GoPro British Grand Prix, despite having finished 18th in FP1. It was close at the top, however, as Championship leader Marco Bezzeccchi (Redox PrustelGP) ended the day second and just 0.008 behind his compatriot, with Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) rounding out the top three on the overall timesheets.

The rain threatened to disrupt the lightweight class’ second session of the weekend, but it held off before the field came out to put in some of the quickest times of the day. Fourth on the overall timesheets was Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider), improving from his P16 finish in the morning, with Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) rounding out the top five after the opening day’s track action – slipping down from P2 in FP1 as the top five were the only riders to drop below the 2:15 barrier.

Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) was the man to beat in the morning, however, and the German rider eventually ended up sixth fastest on the opening day as the top 20 riders all improved their times in the afternoon. Seventh overall was Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), with Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrustelGP) in P8. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) improved from 22nd in FP1 to finish ninth at the end of the opening day, with the still-recovering Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) rounding out the top ten in another impressive performance despite his crash at Brno.

So, Arbolino it is who ends Friday at Silverstone on top as qualifying day appears on the horizon. Who wi

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