Juanfran Guevara completes positive setup work on day one at Silverstone

First practice for the Moto3 British Grand Prix got underway today at Silverstone, on a cool and windy day that saw the top nineteen riders separated by less than a second as Danny Kent (2.15.572) set the pace.

The British rider’s best lap was some way off the record set last year by Maverick Viñales (2.13.507), a clear sign of the way the conditions affected the minor category riders on track today.

The close lap times were also an indicator that the historic race at Brno two weeks ago, which saw the top sixteen riders cross the line within two seconds of each other, was no flash in the pan and we could be in for an equally close affair here on Sunday.

Juanfran Guevara made a strong start to the afternoon practice, finding almost two seconds compared to the morning session on just his fifth lap.

The MAPFRE Aspar rider improved that time twice before the end of the session, with his best effort coming on his penultimate lap – a 2’16.143 proving enough to leave him thirteenth on the overnight timesheets, half a second off third place.

Juanfran’s main trouble came in the first sector, which is an area he will be aiming to improve tomorrow if he is to perform well in Sunday’s race.

13th Juanfran Guevara 2.16.143 (29 laps):
“We made a few changes today from the set-up we used at Brno and I never felt comfortable, especially with the windy conditions. So we went back a step for the second session and returned to the previous setting and I felt more comfortable, even with the wind. We started the second session strongly, with a good lap time, and then we managed to improve our pace and rhythm in the second half. We put in a softer tyre right at the end of the session and found a couple more tenths. We finished half a second off the third best time, which is a positive way to end the first day. The team know what we need to do to improve and we will keep working in the same way to find some more time tomorrow.”

Source: Aspar Media