Jorge Martín was the fastest on Friday at the MotoGP British GP. The Spaniard is determined to rebound from his retirement at the German GP before the summer break and was one of only two riders to lap in the 1m57s range this afternoon at Silverstone.
The first leader of the session was Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), ahead of Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati). The timesheets quickly changed, with Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) moving to the top, Martín dropping to second, and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) climbing to third.
In his reaction, Martín reclaimed the lead, with Di Giannantonio rising to second. Espargaró was then pushed to third place. Lap times continued to improve, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) taking the top spot, closely followed by Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), who was just one thousandth behind.
The next leader was Enea Bastianini (Ducati), who had experienced some technical issues early on with his bike.
A very early mechanical issue for @Bestia23 😮
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 2, 2024
He pulls off the circuit immediately! 💨#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/FKytm4WxFV
The two factory Ducati riders held the top positions for several minutes, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) briefly moving to third before being overtaken by Espargaró. About 25 minutes before the checkered flag, Martín moved to second place just before Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) took the lead. At the same time, Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) moved up to third.
The last ten minutes saw several changes in the timesheets. Bagnaia dethroned the leader, but soon after, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) and Martín both went faster.
Great effort @FabioDiggia49! 👏
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 2, 2024
But here comes @88jorgemartin! 👊#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/J2LTn5TDK5
Towards the end, Espargaró regained the lead with Bagnaia in second, but Martín quickly reacted to retake the top spot. The 2023 world vice-champion was not beaten again, finishing 0.045s ahead of Espargaró. Bagnaia ended up in third, while Bastianini was fourth and Miller secured a promising fifth place.
Di Giannantonio, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM), Viñales, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati), and Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) all advanced directly to the second qualifying. Something that riders like Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM), and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) were not able to achieve.
Timesheets:
And just like that Friday is complete! 🏁
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 2, 2024
We'll see you tomorrow morning for what might be a very tense qualifying session! 🌧️👀❓#BritishGP 🇬🇧 | #MotoGP75 pic.twitter.com/h3v06V125j
