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 |
