Acosta leads a fightback at MotoGP UK Grand Prix

Spring in England meant a ‘four seasons in one weekend’ climate as MotoGP tasted sunshine, cold, wind and rain in the first two days of the Grand Prix of United Kingdom. Silverstone’s vast, exposed and complex motorsport facility offered the longest and one of the quickest layouts of the season. Around the 18 curves on a bright but breezy Friday, Pedro Acosta was only four hundredths of a second from direct Q2. The Spaniard had to enter Q1 on a cool and grey Saturday morning along with countryman Maverick Viñales as Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini were also looking for consistency through the sectors for the best attack on the stopwatch.

When Q1 and Q2 were completed early Saturday afternoon Acosta was the lead runner in 14th. His last flying lap was scrubbed when he ran wide braking into Stowe corner. Bastianini, Viñales and Binder were separated by just over a tenth of a second and were 17th, 18th and 19th. Viñales’ fierce quest for Q2 was ended by a technical issue.

The Sprint lasted for 10 laps and for the usual full-throttle fare for Saturday championship points. Brad Binder lost control into Turn 7, Brooklands, while trying to muscle his way into the top ten in the formative stages. The South African was trying to follow Acosta who rode well and made some gutsy moves to work up from P14 to P8. Behind the Spaniard, Viñales was another racer on a charge and found P13 after a difficult start. Bastianini was close behind his teammate.

Sunday’s Grand Prix race will circulate Silverstone for 20 laps and will start at 13.00 local time (14.00 CET).

Pedro Acosta, 14th in qualification, 8th in the Sprint: “We did what we could do. It was frustrating not to have the ‘tools’ that we wanted today. We could fight up to a point and it was a good comeback. We are not here to finish 8th and not what we are working for, so we need to make a step. I want to compete. I have a lot of confidence in the team. The work they have made in every series is awesome. These guys are winners and know how to win championships and somehow we are just missing something in MotoGP at the moment and sooner or later we will make a big step. We need it soon.”

Maverick Viñales, 18th in qualification, 13th in the Sprint: “Making experience on the bike. We’re lacking it on this track so it’s a good weekend to learn and improve the feeling with the bike. I felt quite strong in the Sprint after lap six-seven because I could see I was catching the group in front but we need a bit more and to keep patient while we work to increase our potential. We are compromising our acceleration because of entry on the corners and with less grip today we could feel the difference but I hope with the work we did today we can gain tomorrow.”

Enea Bastianini, 17th in qualification, 15th in the Sprint: “A difficult day for me. I had something strange on the bike with a lot of tire drop from the morning. I tried to fight through the time attack but at the moment we are not competitive. I gave 100% but we are not there yet for Q2. In the Sprint the same issue from earlier in the day. I tried something different but we need to check and see why the spin on the rear was not normal.”

Brad Binder, 19th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “Qualifying clearly wasn’t very good but I knew what I had to do for the race: get a start and push-on. I got the start and passed a lot of guys but lost the front when I was pushing more. It’s far from ideal and the last thing I wanted. We have to forget and try again tomorrow. I feel that the top ten is within our reach. Quali was not good but racing is different.”

Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “I talk quite frequently about the positives of the GP weekends and the progress we are making, and this is in our systems and our processes. We are moving forwards, but we need a little patience. Jerez, for example, was good for the calm approach and the simplicity; of testing less things and making less changes. This weekend has been more challenging so far than the last two-three races and I think it is related to the track state and the low grip we have at the moment. We could see and feel this in the Quali and the start of the Sprint, which were a bit tougher for us compared to our competitors. Again, I want to keep positive for tomorrow when we go with the harder tires and the longer GP. I think we have the chance to improve. The work is never-ending, but the challenges are still there when we have new tires. With the longer distance we can show a bit more, as we have seen a few times this season.”

1. Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Yamaha 1:57.233

2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.309

3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.589

1. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati 19:53.657

2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +3.511

3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +5.072

Moto3 was ruled by Red Bull KTM Ajo with the KTM RC4s on Friday in England. Jose Antonio Rueda was quickest in the morning for Free Practice 1 and then his teammate Alvaro Carpe topped the chrono screens in the afternoon. Saturday saw Rueda back in control for FP2 and then they were set for Q2 and the dispute for the first rows of the grid. Jose Antonio made the difference ahead of Alvaro in windy conditions by just a tenth of a second. Rueda’s lap should have given him a second Pole Position of the season and Carpe’s speed a front-row start but the former was later penalized for slower riding and demoted to the rear of the grid. Carpe will therefore lead the pack off the line for the race tomorrow.

Alvaro Carpe: “Before Le Mans we were trying to improve our performance in qualifying because we were not too strong. Now I think we can manage it well and we did a very good job this weekend so far on our pace. We worked well with Jose and I think it’s the best way to continue for the best results.”

Red Bull KTM Tech3 witnessed Jacob Roulstone stitching together the many sectors of Silverstone to go straight into Q2 for Saturday. The Australian then bagged 13th place for the grid ranking. Valentin Perrone discovered the demands of the English track for the first time. The young Argentine was an impressive 9th fastest after the Q1 and Q2 sessions and will start the 17 laps from the third row for the final race of the day tomorrow.

Deniz Öncü was alone in the Moto2™ Red Bull KTM Ajo pitbox after a training injury in the Netherlands late this week and lower right arm surgery for Collin Veijer. The Dutchman had a successful procedure and will now begin the recovery process but that left Öncü to tackle Silverstone. The Turk hovered around the top ten on Friday and made the Q2 cut. He then suffered a crash during Q2 and was deemed ‘Non Classified’ so assumed the 18th slot on the grid. Moto2 will open the race program on Sunday at 11.15 local time (12.15 CET).

2. Angel Piqueras (ESP) KTM +0.396

3. David Almansa (ESP) Honda +517

6. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.701

10. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +1.051

1. Aron Canet (ESP) 2:02.482

2. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.148

3. Diogo Moreira (BRA) +0.335

4. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.510

9. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +1.227