When the first free practice of 2013 Silverstone MotoGP was complete, the man who won the past four consecutive rounds was on top – Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez.
The rookie and current MotoGP Championship leader posted a 2:03.816 around the UK circuit, followed closely by Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa.
These three Spaniards have been the top riders all season, and their quick performances continued into the second free practice. But this time it was Lorenzo on top, the reigning MotoGP Champion who won last year's Silverstone round posting a 2:02.734. Marquez trailed by 0.224 of a second, and Pedrosa by 0.458.
Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: "We started very fast because I improved almost one second and a half in the beginning; I was surprised with the improvement. At this track, when the rear tyre starts to drop it’s very difficult to keep the same pace so we have to work hard to make a constant bike that works over long distance. I’m satisfied because I think we have the possibility to fight for the victory this time.”
The 20-year-old Marquez, who won five of 11 rounds so far, is looking to improve the setup on the RC213V for Silverstone, a circuit he last won at in 2010, the year he took former 125cc class title.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V MotoGP) says: “I'm happy, because right from the start I felt pretty good. I was feeling a little uneasy about this circuit when I arrived, because last year I struggled a bit here and didn't know what was in store for me on the MotoGP bike.
"I tried to stay calm and take it slowly and, in the end, I felt very comfortable on the bike. Jorge [Lorenzo] might be a little stronger than us so far, but we are closer to his times than we had expected. Tomorrow we will continue working in the same way to further improve the setup.”
GO&FUN Honda Gresini's Alvaro Bautista, who took the 2012 Silverstone MotoGP pole, finished fourth, 0.729 of a second behind Lorenzo. In fifth was Lorenzo's teammate, nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi.
Home favorite Cal Crutchlow finished sixth Friday, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider finishing his year with the satellite Yamaha team ahead of joining Ducati in 2014-2015.
Crutchlow finished ahead of the Ducati duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden. Rounding out the top 10 was Monster Yamaha Tech 3's Bradley Smith.
The 23-rider grid will return to Silverstone Saturday for the final practices ahead of qualifying.
2013 Silverstone Moto2 Free Practice Two Results: