Quartararo on lap record pace to lead British MotoGP FP1
Full British MotoGP FP1 results at Silverstone
Fabio Quartararo has set a stunning marker to match by going within a fraction of the all-time lap record at Silverstone to top the opening practice session at the British MotoGP.
Full British MotoGP FP1 results at Silverstone
Fabio Quartararo has set a stunning marker to match by going within a fraction of the all-time lap record at Silverstone to top the opening practice session at the British MotoGP.
Following the successful resurfacing at the British track, which was granted its FIM homologation licence earlier this week, the Petronas Yamaha rider made the fastest start by producing a 1m 59.952s at the end of FP1 – just 0.011s off the all-time lap record set by Marc Marquez back in 2017.
Marquez, a long-time leader in the morning session, was duly shuffled back to second place having failed to break the 2m 00s barrier which left the Repsol Honda rider over half a second off Quartararo.
Maverick Vinales shook off a mid-session fall at Stowe to grab third place for Monster Yamaha, just 0.154s behind Marquez, with Suzuki’s Alex Rins slotting into fourth place with his own late improvement.
Franco Morbidelli saw both Petronas Yamaha riders inside the top five as he pushed ahead of Austrian MotoGP winner Andrea Dovizioso who led the Ducati charge in sixth place.
Valentino Rossi had to settle for seventh place for Yamaha, capping a strong start for the Iwata factory, in font of lone home rider Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda.
Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci endured a low-key FP1 in ninth place as Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller rounded out the top 10.
Tito Rabat impressed in 11th place, returning to the scene of his horrific leg break 12 months ago at Silverstone, on the Avintia Ducati ahead of Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone.
Francesco Bagnaia slotted into 14th place for Pramac Ducati ahead of Johann Zarco who led the KTM charge in 15th – just a week on from confirming he would leave the Austrian manufacturer at the end of the season.
Zarco ended the session directly ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Tech3) and team-mate Pol Espargaro with LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami struggling early on.
Karel Abraham suffered an early fall at Stowe to stall his progress for Avintia Ducati in 19th, while Sylvain Guintoli endured a similar fate with a fall at the Loop in the closing minutes of FP1 in 20h. Guintoli is standing in for the injured Joan Mir.
Hafizh Syahrain claimed 21st with Jorge Lorenzo last on the times on his comeback from a fractured vertebrae injury for Repsol Honda. The Spanish rider completed 16 laps but was 4.4s off timesheet-topper Quartararo.
