Marco Bezzecchi surfaced in the closing moments to lead Friday MotoGP Practice at Silverstone and break the all-time lap record at the British venue. The Aprilia rider posted a 1m56.280s flyer, displaying remarkable strength after a recent sequence of errors and crashes in the premier class.

Bezzecchi, Raúl Fernández, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Jorge Martín, Ai Ogura, Marc Márquez, Álex Márquez, Joan Mir, Jack Miller, and Pedro Acosta rounded out the top 10, securing the ten direct Q2 entry spots.

Once again, Diogo Moreira produced a strong late run aboard the Honda, briefly breaking into the top 10 before concluding the day in 15th position, leaving him facing tomorrow’s Q1 session.

MotoGP returns to the track on Saturday for FP2 at the British Grand Prix. GRANDE PRÊMIO will cover all the track action throughout the weekend alongside the support categories in the World Championship.

How MotoGP Practice unfolded at Silverstone:

The afternoon session at Silverstone took place under dry and sunny skies for the practice outing. Ambient temperatures reached 23°C with track temperatures at 46°C, accompanied by light winds of 4 km/h and 34% humidity as the grid fought for the ten automatic Q2 spots.

Confirmed absentees for the weekend include Gresini’s Fermín Aldeguer, Tech3’s Maverick Viñales, and LCR’s Johann Zarco. Aldeguer made way for Iker Lecuona, while Viñales was replaced by Pol Espargaró and Cal Crutchlow took over Zarco’s machine once again.

As the pit lane light turned green, riders headed out for 60 minutes of track time in pursuit of direct Q2 qualification. In the opening ten minutes, Raúl Fernández leveraged the strength of his RS-GP to take an early lead with a 1m58.273s, followed by Pedro Acosta, Jorge Martín, and Fabio Di Giannantonio in the top five. Shortly after, Álex Márquez surged ahead with a 1m58.201s.

Bezzecchi lowered his own benchmark to edge closer to Álex Márquez’s pace, registering a 1m58.233s—just 0.032s adrift of the Gresini rider’s benchmark.

Shortly after, lap times dropped substantially across the board. Fernández briefly went top with a 1m57.739s, but Ogura responded with a 1m57.628s to claim top spot, leaving Fernández, Franco Morbidelli, Bezzecchi, and Álex Márquez filling out the provisional top five.

Just 0.8s separated the leader from tenth place. With 16 minutes remaining, Brad Binder found the gravel trap after losing the front of his KTM at Turn 7, though local yellow flags were cleared quickly.

Diogo Moreira then delivered a strong flyer to leap into ninth place with a 1m58.406s, temporarily slotting into a direct Q2 spot. Moments later, Álex Márquez reclaimed the lead with a 1m57.267s, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pedro Acosta, Ai Ogura, and Joan Mir.

With 12 minutes on the clock, Marc Márquez made his move. Fitted with fresh soft rubber, the Ducati rider set a 1m57.035s, only to be eclipsed almost instantly by Ai Ogura, who lowered the mark to 1m56.810s to break the all-time lap record at Silverstone.

In the dying minutes, riders headed back out following final setup adjustments for the decisive time-attack runs. However, it was Marco Bezzecchi who had the final say. Fully recovered from his pre-summer break injury, the Italian struck late to post a 1m56.280s and claim top spot in the session.

Besides ending the day on top, the Aprilia rider established a new all-time MotoGP lap record at Silverstone, underlining the Italian manufacturer’s strong form on British soil.

MotoGP 2026: results of FP2 of Britain GP at Silverstone