The World Championship leader flies highest on Friday at Silverstone as the times tumble in FP2
World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) fronts the premier class field on Day 1 at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix after setting a 1:58.946 in FP2. The Frenchman beat 2020 World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) by 0.154s with Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales closing out the top three at Silverstone on Friday.
After a pair of Ducatis occupied P1 and P2 in FP1, it was soon a couple of Aprilias that were sitting top of the tree as Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia Racing teammate Viñales got down to a 1:59.681 and 1:59.737 respectively, as Quartararo and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ventured into the 1:59 bracket too in the early stages.
Rins was then the first rider to slot in the soft, soft Michelin tyre combination. The 2019 British GP race winner’s opening lap saw him climb to P1 by 0.330s, and his second lap was a 1:59.246 – the gap to Aleix Espargaro extend to 0.435s. And with five minutes to go, things go busy.
Practice makes perfect: Quartararo rehearses his LLP in FP1
Mir shot up to P2 before Aleix Espargaro reduced Rins’ gap to 0.180s. Mir, on his second soft tyre flying lap, then leapt to P1 to make it a Suzuki 1-2 with two minutes left on the clock. But soon after, Quartararo was the pacesetter after setting the first 1:58 lap time of the weekend.
And that’s how it stayed in terms of the top two. Viñales pocketed P3 on his last flying lap and another improver on their final push was FP1 pacesetter Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing). The Frenchman – who crashed at Turn 7 in the morning – finished fourth, 0.188s away from his compatriot Quartararo, while Aleix Espargaro had to settle for a solid P5 on Friday.
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