Jorge Martin makes strong start at Silverstone

Moto3 World Championship title contenders Jorge Navarro and Brad Binder set the pace on the opening day of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with less than three tenths between them as their own personal battle here started two days early.

With lap times still around a second off the circuit record the pace wasn’t red hot today, but neither was the weather, with track temperatures increasing by just three degrees from the morning to the afternoon. The fastest man outside the top two was Fabio di Giannantonio, who arrives at Silverstone on the back of his third place at Brno, followed by Mahindra Northgate Aspar pair Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia, who were fourth and sixth fastest with Enea Bastianini in between them in fifth.

It was a strong start for the Mahindra Northgate Aspar Team at Silverstone, with top six finishes for both riders in both sessions today. Pecco Bagnaia actually topped the opening free practice with a lap of 2’15.748, with Jorge Martín 1.2 seconds adrift in fifth place.

In the afternoon it was Martín’s turn to lead the session before eventually dropping to fourth place with a series of consistent fast laps. The prospect of rain tomorrow is of no concern to the Spaniard, who is determined to continue with the best run of form of his Grand Prix career.

4th Jorge Martín 2.15.385 (26 laps):
“I felt comfortable from the start today. It wasn’t so easy to set a lap time this morning but in the afternoon I was able to build my pace and set similar lap times for a lot of laps. We have our race engine, which is always a little faster, but I think we can be pretty quick here. Tomorrow we will go out looking to do as good a job as we have done today, even though there is a chance of rain. Either way, we can be up at the front again, we have been competitive over the last few races and I hope it stays that way until the end of the year.”

Source: Aspar Media