British MotoGP, Silverstone - Free Practice (1) Results
Marc Marquez leads opening practice for the 2021 British MotoGP at Silverstone despite suffering a huge fifth gear 270km/h cold-tyre accident as he tipped in to Maggotts (Turn 2), bringing out the red flags with two minutes to go.
The Repsol Honda rider fortunately walked away without serious injury, as did Jorge Martin and Alex Marquez who also tumbled during the session.
Aleix Espargaro was second fastest for Aprilia with Yamaha's world championship leader Fabio Quartararo completing the top three, while Jake Dixon completed his very first laps in the premier-class.
With Maverick Vinales splitting from Yamaha after Austria, test rider Cal Crutchlow has been moved from Petronas Yamaha to the Monster Yamaha team at Silverstone.
As a result of Crutchlow's move, SRT has called-up Moto2 rider Dixon to make a MotoGP debut in front of his home fans this weekend, riding in place of the injured Franco Morbidelli on the team's 2019-based A-Spec bike.
Dixon finished the session a very creditable 2.998s from Marquez after his first 17 laps on a MotoGP bike.
Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori is returning to action after missing the second Austrian round due to an ankle injury during a fiery accident with Dani Pedrosa in the first race.
This weekend's event marks MotoGP's first visit to Silverstone since before the Covid pandemic, in 2019.
| British MotoGP, Silverstone - Free Practice (1) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 2'00.941s | 14/16 | 334k |
| 2 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +0.250s | 13/15 | 329k |
| 3 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.360s | 10/18 | 328k |
| 4 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.395s | 16/19 | 334k |
| 5 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Team (GP21) | +0.468s | 7/15 | 335k |
| 6 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.481s | 15/17 | 327k |
| 7 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.655s | 13/17 | 330k |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | +0.842s | 14/18 | 333k |
| 9 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | +0.854s | 6/15 | 332k |
| 10 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.929s | 13/15 | 329k |
| 11 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.015s | 12/16 | 329k |
| 12 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.025s | 15/17 | 329k |
| 13 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | +1.161s | 13/14 | 330k |
| 14 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.170s | 13/18 | 328k |
| 15 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +1.278s | 14/16 | 329k |
| 16 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.393s | 5/17 | 327k |
| 17 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.459s | 14/18 | 329k |
| 18 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.585s | 14/15 | 326k |
| 19 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.679s | 12/16 | 328k |
| 20 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +2.255s | 11/15 | 327k |
| 21 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +2.998s | 11/17 | 320k |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* | +6.758s | 10/11 | 319k |
Official Silverstone MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 58.168s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 59.936s(2019)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
