Jorge Martin has topped the first day of practice for the MotoGP class at Silverstone. The Pramac Ducati rider was fast throughout, and pulled out a quick lap at the end to take top spot from Aleix Espargaro and Pecco Bagnaia.
While the Aprilias were fast throughout practice, when the time came for the time attack, only the factory Aprilias were left standing. Aleix Espargaro ended the session in second, while Maverick Viñales was eighth fastest.
Bagnaia looked strong all session long, ending timed practice in third, just ahead of Ducati Lenovo teammate Enea Bastianini. Jack Miller had a solid start after the break, ending practice as fifth fastest and comfortably through to Q2. The Red Bull KTM rider was fractionally faster than Fabio Di Giannantonio on the VR46 Ducati, and just over a tenth faster than his KTM teammate Brad Binder.
Marco Bezzecchi made a last ditch effort to make it into the top 10, ending up ninth just behind Maverick Viñales, while Marc Marquez, who had used Jorge Martin as a reference to set a lap time, took the last Q2 spot with the tenth fastest time.
MotoGP Practice Results
Jorge Martin has edged out 2023 Silverstone victor Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) by 0.045s after clocking a 1:57.911 on Friday at Silverstone. World Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) bagged P3, lurking just 0.119s away from his main title challenger as it stands.
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 team-mate 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.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) fronts the GP23 charge in P6.
Miller’s team-mate 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.
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.
Moto2 Practice
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.
Moto3 Practice
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).
What's Next?
After a day of practice, the riders will return to Silverstone on Saturday for qualifying and the Tissot Sprint. The sprint race will take place at 15:00 local time, with qualifying for the main race following at 11:15. Moto2 qualifying will take place at 13:45, with Moto3 qualifying at 12:50.
The British Grand Prix will be a key race for the MotoGP championship, with Pecco Bagnaia currently leading the standings. With a strong performance in qualifying and the sprint race, Martin and Espargaro could close the gap on Bagnaia, making for a thrilling race on Sunday.
