Silverstone MotoGP | Ducati’s Iannone Tops Friday Practice

2016 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Results – Friday

Though rain threatened throughout Friday during opening practice of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, both 45-minute free practice sessions for the MotoGP class were held under dry conditions.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Vinales, the future factory Yamaha pilot, led the morning free practice one session. The Spaniard finished ahead of two fellow countrymen – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, the latter crashing at turn 12 but walking away unharmed.

Vinales’ top time during that opening practice was a 2:02.483. But that wouldn’t be the fastest time of the day – far from it.

When the second free practice wrapped up, Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone claimed the top spot with a 2:01.421. Iannone, who earned Ducati its first win since 2010 at the Argentina Grand Prix, finished 0.300 of a second ahead of Vinales, with last week’s winner at Brno, LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, earning third, 0.496 of a second behind.

“In FP2 we tried to change something from this morning’s set-up, but in the end we reverted to using the previous settings because I didn’t like the changes very much. On this circuit it is very important to get the rear of the bike to work well and we are focusing on this aspect,” Iannone says.

“Tomorrow I hope it doesn’t rain because we still have a lot of work to do – me, my team and my race engineer, who is also helping me find the best lines on this track.”

The reigning MotoGP Champion and current points leader, Lorenzo, was fourth. Lorenzo, the most successful rider at Silverstone with three-premier class finishes, was 0.611 of a second off the pace. He was followed by Marquez (-0.819) and nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (-0.841), who won last year’s dry race ahead of Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso.

Rounding out the top 10 were Dovizioso (-0.846); Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro (-0.943); Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa (-0.951); and Octo Pramac Yakhnich Ducati’s Scott Redding (-1.112).

The riders return to the 3.67-mile Silverstone circuit Saturday for two additional free practices and qualifying ahead of Sunday’s 20-lap British Grand Prix, which is set for 3:30 p.m. local time.

Photos by Luciano Bianchetto

2016 Silverstone MotoGP Friday Practice Photo Gallery

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