There was a flurry of record-breaking laps in the closing stages of Practice, but it was Bezzecchi who outshone them all.
The sun was shining in Silverstone, and it wasn’t just the temperature that was blistering hot. Not one, but five different riders broke the previous lap record set by Fabio Quartararo last year. Even more impressive was that four of those five riders were on Aprilia machinery.
There were also some notable substitutions in play as well. Pol Espargaró was called in by the KTM Tech3 team to stand in for Maverick Viñales, during a rumour-heavy and turbulent time for the team. Cal Crutchlow continues his run stepping in at Honda LCR for the recovering Johann Zarco, marking the Brit’s first home race appearance in three years. And then we have Iker Lecuona, who swaps out WorldSBK for MotoGP as he stands in for Fermín Aldeguer for the second time this season. Rounding off the changes for the weekend is Augusto Fernández, who is running as a Wildcard for Monster Energy Yamaha.
Free Practice 1
The majority of the riders wasted no time in getting out on track. Despite still recovering from knee surgery, it was Bezzecchi who set the early pace. Jorge Martín and Jack Miller were next to set their times to sit second and third respectively, with Marc Márquez fourth and Pedro Acosta fifth.
Fabio Di Giannantonio jumped to the top for a brief moment, before Acosta nudged him down. Bezzecchi then quickly did the same to Acosta, putting himself back at the top. Acosta once again managed to get across the line fastest. This time it was Raúl Fernández and Álex Márquez who pushed the KTM rider back down the order.
There had already been a number of lap time deletions throughout the session so far, but with 20 minutes to go, Martín, Márquez and Moireira joined the growing list. There was a brief yellow flag moment as Acosta went down at Turn 13. Di Giannantonio moved up to fourth and Bezzecchi put himself back in second behind Álex Márquez.
With just three minutes left on the clock, everyone was out and pushing hard. Acosta set his best lap so far and moved up into third, whilst Martín had his lap time deleted. As the chequered flag waved, it was Álex Márquez at the top of the timing sheets. Behind him Bezzecchi, Acosta, Fernández and Di Giannantonio made up the top five. Marc Márquez, Ai Ogura, Martín, Franco Morbidelli and Pecco Bagnaia rounded out the top 10.
Practice
After his heartbreak last year, Fabio Quartararo was hoping to get the weekend off to a good start with an easy pass into Q2. Martín was the first to set a time, whilst yet more lap deletions came for Marini, Miller and Morbidelli. Brad Binder put himself into second. It was an impressive time coming from the KTM, but it was also still very early in the session. It didn’t take long for Fernández to get himself to the top of the table, proving that the Trackhouse team were still a force to be reckoned with.
Marc Márquez had a moment, running wide but managing to recover without too much trouble. His brother went on to set the fastest lap, putting himself back at the top within the first 10 minutes of the session. Bezzecchi was keen to show he is still a contender despite his recovery from surgery. However, his lap was hindered as he rounded the corner to find Di Giannantonio square in his path. Bez threw his hand up in frustration, and could be seen displaying his displeasure to the VR46 rider.
With just over half an hour remaining, Fernández set the fastest time once again. Another flurry of lap time deletions came in, showing just how hard everyone was pushing. Ogura set a blistering time of 1:57.628 to take the top spot, and almost everyone went back into the pits for a break before the final stage of the session. It was just Pecco Bagnaia out on track, with plenty of clear air for him to exercise his Ducati. With 18 minutes to go, the riders started to filter back out onto the track.
The Lap Record Is Broken
Binder slid into the gravel and temporarily brought out the yellow flags once more as the 15 minute mark loomed. With the clock ticking down, Di Giannantonio put his VR46 bike in the top spot with a new circuit lap record of 1:56.976. It was soon beaten by Ogura, who crossed the line with an incredible 1:56:810. As the five-minute marker hit, everyone was making their final push to get into Q2. Bagnaia brought out the yellow flags as he went down at Turn 6. He was now teetering on the edge of the Q2 cutoff. Fernández was next to break the lap record with a 1:56.615, which seemed like an impossibly high bar to reach.
But it wasn’t over yet, as in the final seconds Bezzecchi smashed it once more with a blistering lap time of 1:56.280. It’s Bezzecchi, Fernández, Di Giannantonio, Martín, Ogura, Marc Márquez, Álex Márquez, Mir, Miller and Acosta who make it straight through to Q2. For everyone else, it’s all to play for in Q1 tomorrow.
Feature image courtesy of MotoGP.com