Dovizioso Tops Crutchlow by 0.005 (Silverstone MotoGP Practice)

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Photo by Luciano Bianchetto

2018 Silverstone MotoGP Friday (FP2) Qualifying Results

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