Moto3 Silverstone P2: Jaume Masiá calms the heat on the field

Finally, MotoGP regains its rights. After a six-week break, Moto3 resumes with P2 on the Silverstone track. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) begins this long second part of the season with a 16-point lead, which is not much given his three victories. At Assen, the last Grand Prix to date, the Spaniard got through his weekend, leaving the door open for his runner-up Jaume Masiá (Honda Leopard Racing), which imposed itself, as usual, for nothing. There are many contenders: Iván Ortolá (KTM Angeluss Racing Team) has already won two Grands Prix in the United States and in Jerez, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), winner for the first time at the Sachsenring, but also, Ayumu Sasaki ( Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), still looking for his first success in 2023 but pole-sitter four times.

Clearly, these four men will be the main agitators at the British Grand Prix. Unless a spoilsport comes to disrupt this hierarchy? This morning, Iván Ortolá had achieved the best time without being able to go below the 2'12 mark. Will we see a significant improvement? Answer in this article!

Before moving on to the second test session, here is a table which summarizes the facts known so far:

Silverstone Moto3™	2022	2023
FP1	2'12.868 Sergio Garcia	2'12.817 Iván Ortolá
FP2	2'10.939 John McPhee	2'11.403 Jaume Masia
FP3	2'10.713 Tatsuki Suzuki
Q1	2'11.458 Riccardo Rossi
Q2	2'10.951 Diogo Moreira
warm up	2'11.299 Deniz Öncü
Course	Foggia, Masia, Öncü (See here)
All time lap record	2'10.619 Romano Fenati (2021)

 

For this P2, the weather is still uncertain but the track is still dry. The skies are threatening, the temperature is low. But nevertheless, we must surpass ourselves, we must, necessarily, stand out from the game. The key, perhaps, for the biggest of these little ones, is the doors to the motorcycling legend. 

 

 

Daniel Holgado, discreet this morning and author of a disastrous weekend at Assen, got the better of his opponents early in the session. Setting a reference time is absolutely essential, because if rain shows up, it could well make direct qualification into Q2 difficult. Ayumu Sasaki, one of the favorites, suffered a fall but managed to restart.

 

 

Deniz Oncu wakes up in turn, and takes first place. Then, it's the Brazilian Diogo Moreira which displays very good form. The pilot KTM MT Helmets MSi was relatively discreet after his excellent rookie season in 2022. David Munoz (KTM Boé Motorsports) is also there, which is nice to see after his big crash in Jerez.

Note the underwater performance of Stefano Nepa (KTM Angeluss MTA Team). Very strong since Assen, he is back in action at Silverstone, a circuit that suits his driving style. To monitor. Just like the stage location at Honda VisionTrack Racing, the young Joshua Whatley who aims to qualify for Q2.

 

 

Pay attention to Jaume Masia on the podium here last year, but also at Roman Fenati on the Honda Snipers. These more experienced drivers stood out at the end of the season despite their obviously less efficient equipment. Apart from these few improvements, like this morning, the session is extremely calm.

 

 

The situation got out of hand three minutes from time. All drivers improve, but Jaume Masia more than the others: he thus retains the lead. Three are under 2'12, namely Jaume, his teammate Tatsuki suzuki and Diogo Moreira. All these heroes still have one turn to fight but none are improving ahead! The positions no longer move.

David Muñoz is the first to be eliminated; he will have to go through Q1 in order to try to secure a place for the pole race. Daniel Holgado is there, but is not much better placed in the combined rankings.

 

 

Results of FP2 of the Moto3 British Grand Prix at Silverstone:

 

 

Moto3 Silverstone P2 Ranking Credit: MotoGP.com

Cover photo: Leopard Racing