Lorenzo launches Silverstone weekend with fastest time

Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) was the fastest rider as the AirAsia British Grand Prix weekend got underway at Silverstone, taking in the new circuit layout in a best time of 2’05.991 in the first practice. The Spaniard set his best lap with just over 11 minutes to go, and the end of the session was marked by spots of rain under a cloudy sky.

One of only two riders in the MotoGP class to have ridden the track before its redevelopment Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was second on the timesheet. The Australian completed 18 laps on his Desmosedici GP10, the final of which registered his best time at 0.142s off Lorenzo.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), fresh off the back of a home podium finish at Mugello, continued his momentum as he timed in at just under four-tenths off Lorenzo’s early weekend marker. Frenchman Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) had set the pace at the start of the session and eventually placed fourth on the timesheet, fractionally under a tenth off Dovizioso as he displayed a consistent race pace.

Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) will be hoping to take advantage of the fact that this is a new track for all and the rookie was fifth. His first run on the layout placed him 1.259s off Lorenzo and he will take great encouragement from the session, in which he placed ahead of Mugello race winner Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa by almost four-tenths. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) was only two-thousandths further back in seventh.

Top ten times were also recorded by Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing), Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), and the riders will continue their adaptation to the track in the second practice session which gets underway at 9.55am local time on Saturday morning.