Jorge Martin 16th, Juanfran Guevara 21st as Silverstone weekend gets underway

Silverstone has never been known for its searing temperatures so it was no surprise to see the British GP get underway today in cool conditions, despite the fact that we are still in August. The temperature made for slow lap times in Moto3 and an interesting battle for the fastest lap of the day, which eventually went to Romano Fenati.

Series leader Danny Kent kicked off his home round with mechanical problems this morning, when he missed the entire first session, but there is still a long way to go and he will surely want to shine at home. There was more controversy on track today as several riders rode out of the track limits through turn ten and saw their fastest laps scrubbed off.

Jorge Martín will be working on the front end as he aims to combat the high winds at this track, which can easily lift the front of the bike off the ground. Jorge is still not completely comfortable but he managed the sixteenth fastest lap of the day, 1.5 seconds off the top.

On the other side of the MAPFRE Team Mahindra garage Juanfran Guevara will be working on his rear-end setting tomorrow to turn better in the fast corners.

16th Jorge Martín 2.16.010 (28 laps):
“I was hoping for more on the first day here but in general we have to be satisfied. We have worked hard all day and I set my best lap riding alone. We need to solve some chatter on the front tomorrow and we also have to improve the rear suspension. The rear of the bike today was set too low so it was hard to get the bike turned and keep the front down, especially with the wind. I have spoken with the mechanics and the good thing is that we know what we need to change for tomorrow. We have to be optimistic because the gap to the front is not significant and I am sure we will be closer to them tomorrow.”

21st Juanfran Guevara 2.16.408 (27 laps):
“We made a good start this morning, spending the whole of the first session on the same tyres. This afternoon we kept the same setting and the same tyres and set a pretty fast lap time. Then we tried a different shock to try and find some more confidence with the rear, because I am struggling to turn the bike – mainly in the fast corners. At the end of the day we went with the softest compound and I didn’t like it too much. We have made a solid start but we have a lot of work to do. We have grip on the rear but the bike doesn’t want to turn so we need to find a solution.”