Free Practice Friday at the GoPro British Grand Prix saw lap records tumble. We were treated to not one, not two but three brand-new fastest ever laps around the iconic Silverstone as MotoGP™, Moto2™ and Moto3™ pulverised the old records.
Three classes, three lap records shattered! ⏱️
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 23, 2019
Records tumbled on Friday at Silverstone! ????#BritishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/mL8tADooEG
The new tarmac has been hailed by nearly all of the MotoGP™ riders, as a much smoother Silverstone surface played it’s part in the pace being as hot as it is. Now that the majority of the Silverstone bumps have disappeared, it’s allowing riders to push that little bit more with the lap times across all three classes acting as firm evidence.
In the Moto3™ class, the honour of holding the fastest ever lightweight class lap now belongs to Tony Arbolino, after the VNE Snipers rider took 0.432 seconds off of the lap that helped Jorge Navarro to pole position in 2015.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Navarro because as one hand taketh away, the other hand giveth. The Campetella Speed Up rider is now the holder of the outright Moto2™ lap record after he took a mind-boggling 1.352 seconds off of Sam Lowes’ old record.
Finally, rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) is now the proud owner of not just the fastest ever MotoGP™ lap around Silverstone but also the fastest ever two-wheel lap around the iconic circuit thanks to his 1:59.225 in FP2.
However, it’s only the first day at the British Grand Prix, so you can be almost certain that those lap times will stand in the record books for no more than 24 hours as everyone tries to find that little bit more in the hunt for pole position tomorrow.