Dovizioso Tops Crutchlow by 0.005 (Silverstone MotoGP Practice)

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Friday Ducati Andrea Dovizioso
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Friday Results

Last year, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso awarded Ducati with its first win at Silverstone, the British track that returned to the MotoGP schedule in 2010.

The Italian didn’t run away with the win, though; Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales – who claimed the 2016 win at Silverstone while with Suzuki – finished 0.114 of a second behind.

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Friday Ducati Andrea Dovizioso
Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso

Vinales was quick once again, leading his teammate Valentino Rossi during the opening free practice Friday at Silverstone.

But come the second free practice, Dovizioso returned to the top, claiming the fastest time with a 2:01.358.

To put the 2018 Qatar and Czech Republic winner’s time into perspective, the fastest lap at Silverstone is a 1:59.941 set by Marc Marquez last year during qualifying.

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Friday LCR Honda Cal Crutchlow
Honda’s Cal Crutchlow

When the second free practice session was complete, Dovizioso crossed the line just 0.005 of a second ahead of home favorite, LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow, who extended his contract with LCR Honda this week. Vinales finished third, 0.061 of a second off Dovi’s pace.

“I’m pleased because despite the difficult track surface conditions we were able to put in a good performance, especially this afternoon when I lapped with the tires used in the morning and we were even quicker,” Andrea Dovizioso says.

“Unfortunately, here at Silverstone the bumps in the asphalt make the situation rather complicated, but in any case I can see that virtually everyone is struggling: they’ve resurfaced the track but the conditions are worse than last year. Luckily the grip is good and so in the end things are not going so badly. Tomorrow we’ll try and use some other tires, seeing as today we only focused on tire solutions for the rear, but for the moment I’m very satisfied with this first day.”

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Friday Yamaha Maverick Vinales
Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales

Heading up the provisional second row was current points lead Marc Marquez on the Repsol Honda RC213V. The Spaniard was 0.144 of a second off the pace, and followed by Ducati Team’s Jorge Lorenzo and Alma Pramac Racing Ducati’s Jack Miller.

Rounding out the top 10 Friday were Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Johann Zarco, Rossi, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Andrea Iannone and Angel Nieto Team Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista, who joins the factory Ducati team in World Superbike next year.

The riders will have two more practice sessions Saturday ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s 20-lap MotoGP.

For more, visit our 2018 Silverstone MotoGP Preview.

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Practice Friday Honda Marc Marquez
Honda’s Marc Marquez

Photo by Luciano Bianchetto

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Friday (FP2) Qualifying Results

Pos. Rider Time
1 Andrea Dovizioso 02’01.385
2 Cal Crutchlow 02’01.390
3 Maverick Viñales 02’01.446
4 Marc Marquez 02’01.529
5 Jorge Lorenzo 02’01.782
6 Jack Miller 02’01.819
7 Johann Zarco 02’01.962
8 Valentino Rossi 02’02.152
9 Andrea Iannone 02’02.231
10 Alvaro Bautista 02’02.448
11 Takaaki Nakagami 02’02.515
12 Danilo Petrucci 02’02.616
13 Tito Rabat 02’02.704
14 Franco Morbidelli 02’02.759
15 Daniel Pedrosa 02’02.864
16 Aleix Espargaro 02’02.938
17 Bradley Smith 02’02.974
18 Hafizh Syahrin 02’03.293
19 Alex Rins 02’03.810
20 Scott Redding 02’04.178
21 Karel Abraham 02’04.223