It was with a good time of 2'02.483 that the Spaniard managed to impose his GSX-RR against his future 2017 bike, the Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo, and the Honda of Marc Marquez who, despite a small fall, preceded Valentino Rossi.
Here are the references available at the start of this first MotoGP free practice session:
| Silverstone | 2015 | 2016 | ||
| MotoGP | Chrono | Pile | Chrono | Pile |
| FP1 | 2'03.111 | Marc Marquez | 2'02.483 | Maverick Viñales |
| FP2 | 2'02.338 | Jorge Lorenzo | ||
| FP3 | 2'01.429 | Jorge Lorenzo | ||
| FP4 | 2'01.491 | Marc Marquez | ||
| Q1 | 2'01.888 | Yonny Hernandez | ||
| Q2 | 2'00.234 | Marc Marquez | ||
| Best lap | 2'00.234 | Marc Marquez | ||
alex lowes released its Yamaha Tech 3 for the first time in official testing, replacing
Bradley Smith injured knee ligaments at the 8H in Oschersleben.
Hard hit in Austria, Jack Miller was nevertheless present. “ With three broken vertebrae, I sleep on the sofa because I can't get there in bed, explained the Australian. And the broken right wrist doesn't help much ». Nicky Hayden, present as a possible replacement, became a spectator.
After taking place on the Isle of Man from 1949 to 76, the British event counting for the World Championship migrated to Silverstone from 77 to 86, then to Donington from 87 to 2009, then returning in 2010 to Silverstone. This circuit was built on a former Royal Air Force military airfield where the Vickers Wellington night bombers of the “N°17 Operational Training Unit” were stationed. Very wide and long tracks were therefore available after the war to build the original 4,71 km layout used until 1986. It has since been developed to 5,900 km, mainly for the needs of F1 because its main teams based in its surroundings use it as a test track. Hence its 18 very varied turns and unique sequences.
Andrea Iannone set the tone in this FP1 40 minutes from the end in 2'04.3. Marc Marquez took the advantage in 2'04.2, his RC213V not seeming too disadvantaged when accelerating. He was then the only one to have already fitted a soft Michelin at the front 35 minutes from the checkered flag, the other drivers using a hard one. Valentino Rossi initially rode his 2016 bike, then tried for comparison the new chassis tested on the Monday following the Brno GP. This was the 2017 model, to which Jorge Lorenzo was of course not entitled due to his departure to Ducati. Vale lined up the laps to best adjust this new chassis and adapt it to the long and complicated (18 turns) Silverstone circuit.
Jorge Lorenzo approached 0.08 behind provisional leader Marquez, then mid-session Scott Redding magnificently took first position in 2'04.1, a bit to everyone's surprise because everyone was then in the pits during the adjustment period. Alex Lowes was doing quite well, occupying 17th place (out of 21) 2.4 behind Redding. Marc Marquez crashed in turn 12 (" Farm ") when leaving the stands, with a temperature perhaps insufficient at the level of a tire. He got up immediately and lost little time in this mishap. The air temperature was then 17° and that of the asphalt 18°. Andrea Dovizioso didn't seem to be suffering too much from his recently twisted knee, so in 6e position. The Desmosedici moved to the top, with Dovizioso in the lead in 2'03.7, ahead of Iannone and Redding. But Hamamatsu challenged Bologna when Maverick Vinales placed his Suzuki in command, 0.03 ahead of Dovi.
Meanwhile, having fallen to 8th position with 16 minutes to go, Marc Marquez jumped behind the stands of the saving scooter to grab his second machine. Dovizioso took the lead, while Hector Barbera fell without seriousness in turn 12. Espargaro Pol, at that moment third, was the fastest of the Yamaha riders entering the last ten minutes. Marc Marquez took command 6 minutes from the checkered flag in 2'03.563, then Maverick Vinales clearly improved this time in 2'02.483. Alex Lowes (then twentieth in front Tito Rabat) fell without seriousness in turn 12. Vinales maintained the best performance ahead of Lorenzo, Marquez and Rossi, while Iannone returned to the pits with a smoking engine. Loris Baz was eighteenth.
Silverstone, MotoGP, FP1: Chronos
- Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 2m 02.483s [Lap 13/15] 317km/h (Top Speed)
- Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 02.765s +0.282s [13/14] 317km/h
- Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 03.563s +1.080s [10/13] 315km/h
- Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 03.591s +1.108s [16/16] 316km/h
- Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 2m 03.637s +1.154s [10/13] 321km/h
- Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 2m 03.714s +1.231s [15/17] 317km/h
- Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 2m 04.027s +1.544s [9/17] 322km/h
- Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 04.037s +1.554s [16/16] 316km/h
- Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 04.138s +1.655s [15/15] 315km/h
- Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 04.170s +1.687s [14/16] 314km/h
- Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 2m 04.247s +1.764s [15/16] 314km/h
- Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 2m 04.443s +1.960s [14/15] 312km/h
- Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 04.473s +1.990s [14/14] 316km/h
- Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 04.491s +2.008s [16/16] 315km/h
- Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2m 04.905s +2.422s [15/15] 313km/h
- Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2m 05.134s +2.651s [6/16] 313km/h
- Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 05.196s +2.713s [10/11] 313km/h
- Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 05.540s +3.057s [14/15] 311km/h
- Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 2m 05.662s +3.179s [15/16] 314km/h
- Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 2m 06.016s +3.533s [17/17] 307km/h
- Alex Lowes GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 2m 06.225s +3.742s [12/13] 310km/h
Thank you for compiling these times to our friends at crash.net.
