Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez started the British Grand Prix weekend at the pace and comfortably in the top 5. Marquez recovered well from a red flag that led to a fall despite eye problems.
Clouds rolled over them as the MotoGP paddock returned to Silverstone for the first time since 2019. The fans were already filling the grandstands around the 5.8-kilometer route. Cooler conditions didn’t slow down the action on the track as the riders soon immersed themselves in the 1’59 and began working towards Marc Marquez’s 1’58.168 lap record set in 2019.
Friday was a self-confidence building day for Pol Espargaro after the last few difficulties. The Repsol Honda Team rider improved his ride and motorcycle setup with every stint on the track. Espargaro finished free practice 1 in fourth place and was rarely more than half a second behind his teammate in the timing. In Free Practice 2, Espargaro continued to improve his time and finished Friday as the fastest Honda driver in fourth place overall with a 2’00.035. Although he was seven tenths behind first-placed Quartararo, Espargaro was just 0.2 seconds behind Miller in second place.
Marc Marquez started the day in good shape and was consistently the fastest driver on the track in Free Practice 1 for the British Grand Prix. Marquez was steadily working his way up to two minutes and looking comfortable and quick on the RC213V. Unfortunately, a crash at 270 km / h through the Maggots and Becketts section ended the training for the eight-time world champion prematurely just a few minutes before the first training session. In true Marquez fashion, the # 93 was out again in Free Practice 2 in the afternoon, improving his time to 2’00.051 for fifth overall, 0.016 seconds behind his teammate, despite having discomfort with his eye.
With a strong and confidence-building day under their belt, both Repsol Honda Team riders are keen to get back to the Silverstone circuit and keep improving. The 3rd free practice at 09:55 local time is the first challenge of Saturday. The pair aims to maintain their top ten positions for direct access to the second quarter.