Unfazed by the impending long-lap penalty, Yamaha star Fabio Quartararo started the second half of the MotoGP season at Silverstone with Friday’s best time – ahead of Joan Mir (Suzuki) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia).
The second practice session of the MotoGP class began at 2:10 p.m. local time (3:10 p.m. CEST) in Silverstone under a slightly cloudy sky, an air temperature of 19 degrees and a track temperature of 35 degrees. Rookie Darryn Binder immediately improved by a good second compared to the morning session, but then crashed at Turn 7.
It didn’t take ten minutes before the Aprilia duo (on medium tires front and rear) the FP1 best time of Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco already undercut: Aleix Espargaró took over the top of the combined time sheet with a 1:59.681 min, just 0.056 seconds ahead of his teammate Maverick Viñales.
For comparison: Pol Espargaró’s pole time last year was 1:58.889 min. On the other hand, his injured Repsol Honda teammate Marc Márquez has held the all-time lap record since 2019 with a 1:58.168 min.
Márquez substitute Stefan Bradl improved his personal best by almost a second compared to FP1 after 20 minutes. With that, the Bavarian at least made it into the top 20.
With 20 minutes left on the clock, Alex Rins went out on the first soft rear tyre. The Suzuki works driver and Silverstone expert took command and reduced the target time to 1:59.246 min on the next lap. After a personal best, Jack Miller crashed, also at Turn 7.
By the way: It wasn’t just the Honda drivers who had new fairings at Silverstone, primarily to counteract the build-up of heat. Young Pramac star Jorge Martin used the new front fairing for the first time – and at the rear of his Ducati, as with Enea Bastianini, conspicuous new spoilers were spotted.
In the final five minutes of the FP2 session, the hunt for times was on – only Brad Binder did not go out on the track. First, Joan Mir replaced his teammate Rins in 1:59.100 min at the top. Suzuki was only happy about the double lead for a short time, because Yamaha star Fabio Quartararo secured Friday’s best time with the first 1:58 time of the weekend.
Both Aprilia drivers ended up in the top 5, with Zarco classified fourth between them. Red Bull KTM factory rider Miguel Oliveira completed the top six.
Bradl also improved in the finish, he ended the first day of practice 0.855 seconds behind as the second best Honda driver in 15th place.
MotoGP combined times post FP2, Silverstone (5th August):
1. Quartararo, Yamaha, 1:58,946 min
2. Mir, Suzuki, + 0,154 sec
3. Viñales, Aprilia, + 0.177
4. Zarco, Ducati, + 0.188
5. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 0.207
6. Oliveira, KTM, + 0.217
7. Rins, Suzuki, + 0,300
8. Bastianini, Ducati, + 0.412
9. Miller, Ducati, +0.418
10. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +0.432
11. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 0.439
12. Marini, Ducati, +0.450
13. Martin, Ducati, +0.711
14. Alex Marquez, Honda, +0.843
15. Bradl, Honda, +0.855
16. Pol Espargaro, Honda, +0.906
17. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, + 1.040
18. Nakagami, Honda, +1,057
19. Dovizioso, Yamaha, +1.097
20. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +1.192
21. Brad Binder, KTM, + 1,198
22. Gardner, KTM, + 1,208
23. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, + 2,582
24. Raúl Fernández, KTM, + 2,632
MotoGP result FP1, Silverstone:
1. Zarco, Ducati, 1: 59.893 min
2. Bagnaia, Ducati, + 0.027 sec
3. Rins, Suzuki, + 0,327
4. Quartararo, Yamaha, + 0,545
5. Nakagami, Honda, +0.555
6. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 0.737
7. Viñales, Aprilia, + 0.906
8. Mir, Suzuki, + 0,950
9. Martin, Ducati, +1,055
10. Brad Binder, KTM, + 1,101
11. Pol Espargaro, Honda, +1,147
12. Miller, Ducati, +1,162
13. Bezzecchi, Ducati, + 1,219
14. Oliveira, KTM, + 1,227
15. Alex Marquez, Honda, +1,281
16. Bastianini, Ducati, + 1,326
17. Gardner, KTM, + 1,646
18. Raúl Fernández, KTM, + 1,685
19. Marini, Ducati, + 1,714
20. Dovizioso, Yamaha, +1.855
21. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +1.882
22. Bradl, Honda, +2,169
23. By Giannantonio, Ducati, + 2,286
24. Darryn Binder, Yamaha, + 2,672
Moto3 combined times after FP2, Silverstone:
1. McPhee, Husqvarna, 2:10,939 min
2. Guevara, GASGAS, +0.433sec
3. Artigas, CFMOTO, +0.584
4. Suzuki, Honda, +0.610
5. Fellon, Honda, + 0.744
6. Migno, Honda, + 0.751
7. Muñoz, KTM, + 0.766
8. Foggia, Honda, + 0.787
9. Masia, KTM, + 0,796
10. Sasaki, Husqvarna, +0.974
11. Riccardo Rossi, Honda, + 1.005
12. Adrian Fernández, KTM, +1,081
13. Nepa, KTM, + 1,191
14. Deniz Öncü, KTM, + 1,381
Further:
18. Garcia, GASGAS, +1,498