Dear MotoGP fans,
The Silverstone track layout with many fast corners perfectly suits the characteristics of the Aprilia RS-GP. It was already clear before the duel between Aprilia and Ducati that the pendulum would swing towards Aprilia on this track.
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The time attack we saw at the end of the practice was still extremely impressive. The lap record from last year was 1:57.233 minutes. Marco Bezzecchi beat this mark by almost a second with 1:56.280 minutes.
Aprilia is especially dominant in the first and third sectors, where there are flowing corner combinations. Among the Ducati riders, only Fabio Di Giannantonio could keep up with Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez in the first sector.
Marc Marquez already lost two tenths of a second there. In the second sector, which stretches from Aintree through Luffield and Woodcote, it is more balanced, as Alex Marquez and Di Giannantonio drove on par with Bezzecchi.
The third sector with Copse and the entrance to Maggots and Becketts belongs to Aprilia. All four Aprilias lead in the best sector times. “Diggia” could still keep up somewhat, but the Marquez brothers lost two tenths of a second.
In the fourth sector, Bezzecchi was also the fastest, but the Ducati riders were closer again, as late braking and hard acceleration are required at the Vale chicane and the Club corner at the finish.
It is also interesting that all four Aprilia riders had better top speed values than the Ducati riders. In summary, we can say that Aprilia makes the decisive difference in the fast sections.
Marc Marquez says: “Of course, the motorcycles have strengths and weaknesses. We have already understood this season that Aprilia is faster than us in flowing corners. In stop-and-go corners, we are faster than them.”
Bezzecchi speaks of a “fantastic” day after his best time: “It was a great satisfaction to achieve this lap time, even though it is Friday and that means nothing yet.”
He is very worried about the two races, as he was already tired after the practice day: “When I have to ride four or five laps in a row, I start to suffer.”
The operated left collarbone is an issue, but the injury to the left knee is a bigger one. He sustained both injuries in the crash at Sachsenring.
So it remains to be seen how well Bezzecchi physically endures the races. By the way, he received a fine of 1,000 euros because he did not perform a practice start correctly in the first training.
With Raul Fernandez, Ai Ogura, and Jorge Martin, Aprilia has three more potential winners in the field. Also regarding race pace, the Aprilia riders looked somewhat stronger than the Ducati riders.
Di Giannantonio was able to keep up the pace over several laps with used tires. Marc Marquez had more difficulty building a consistent rhythm. Silverstone is also not one of his strongest tracks.
Is it similar for him as in Assen? “A little more potential than in Assen, I think, but a similar position. Still, I am a bit more optimistic than in Assen,” Marc Marquez answers this question.
He also draws an insightful comparison with last year: “I struggled here last year at the same spots as this year, but I was able to make up for it with the direction changes back then.”
“Not this year. This year I struggle at the same points, but at the spots where I was strong last year, I am a bit slower, and we know the reason for that.”
Of course, he means his right shoulder. Overall, Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez made a slightly stronger impression than Marc Marquez. They are probably the first Aprilia challengers.
Joan Mir Eighth: Good Grip Masks Honda Weaknesses
With eighth place, Joan Mir made a statement. The placement is good, even though eight tenths of a second gap is of course a lot. Mir lost most of the time in the last sector.
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One factor was the good grip of the asphalt, and the asphalt temperature of 46 degrees Celsius was also in a good range. This enabled the record laps at the front on the one hand, but also helped Mir.
He believes that the good grip of the track masks some problems of the Honda. According to Mir, it will not go further forward, as Aprilia and Ducati are also out of reach for Honda on this track.
Teammate Luca Marini, who finished twelfth, explains Honda’s situation as always very well: “When entering fast corners, we lack the front end’s turning behavior of the motorcycle. I would like to enter the corner faster.”
“At the moment, I think that is exactly what is missing. So even when braking hard, but also when braking lightly, when you come to the corner entrance at high speed: The front end of the motorcycle lacks turning.”
“The motorcycle has improved, our lap time is faster than last year, but it is not enough. The key is certainly to continue working on the aerodynamics,” says Marini.
“On this track, the aero works most efficiently. As a rider, you feel that the motorcycle works well when the aero is used properly.” A top-10 result should be possible for Honda.
Jack Miller Shows a Fabulous Lap
The biggest surprise for me is Jack Miller’s ninth place. In the top speed measurement, the Yamaha riders are unsurprisingly at the very back. They lack about ten km/h compared to the best values.
That Miller still had only one second deficit is a remarkable result for the new V4 Yamaha. The second-best Yamaha was only found in 17th place with Fabio Quartararo.
“The motorcycle feels good when braking and in fast direction changes,” says Miller, “but we still have to improve rear grip, especially when we want to carry more corner speed and fully exploit the tire sidewall.”
Miller really managed a fabulous lap, as he took six tenths from Quartararo. The former world champion, who almost won at Silverstone last year, could not really ride properly on the practice day.
“I couldn’t lean, I was not able to build corner speed, and that’s exactly what you need on this track: trail braking and corner speed, and I was super slow,” says Quartararo.
So where did Miller gain time compared to the other Yamaha riders? He was the fifth fastest rider in the first and fourth sectors. That means he made up time on the brakes.
The big Yamaha weakness is revealed mercilessly in the third sector with flowing direction changes. Acceleration is also important there. In this section, Miller is only 19th.
This sector exposes the M1’s deficits mercilessly. To put it bluntly, Yamaha currently cannot be brought to decent times through flow, but only with force (Miller’s braking style).
Two Crashes by Pedro Acosta
With Pedro Acosta in tenth place, a KTM rider made it directly into Q2, while Enea Bastianini was only two tenths slower in eleventh. Acosta crashed in Stowe in the morning and in The Loop in the afternoon.
He cited chattering, which surprised him, as the reason for the second crash. Remarkably, he continued after this crash and even set his personal best time.
“Well, from everything we know, it was clear that this track would be difficult for my riding style and also for the motorcycle,” says Acosta. He believes there is still room for improvement. But an attack on the podium will probably not be enough.
Yours
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