Andrea Dovizioso and home favourite Cal Crutchlow set the pace on Friday at Silverstone as the pair finished just 0.005s apart at the top of timing screens.
First practice leader Maverick Vinales dropped down to third, 0.061s off Dovizioso's chart-topping pace as his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi struggled in the second session, finishing just eighth quickest, more than seven-tenths down on Vinales.
Honda's Marc Marquez recovered from a scrappy FP1 to finish fourth fastest with a lap time of 2:01.529, as Jorge Lorenzo completed the top five runners.
The threat of rain was in the air but it held off as the premier class got an all-important dry day of practice on a newly surfaced Silverstone.
After finishing FP1 in fifth, Jack Miller continued to rediscover his early season speed to end Friday sixth fastest overall, less than half a second behind fellow Ducati man Dovizioso.
Johann Zarco managed to grab a top ten position in seventh at the end of FP2, the Frenchman jumping up two positions from his P9 in the morning.
Andrea Iannone consolidated a top ten in FP2 to finish ninth quickest behind Rossi, with Alvaro Bautista sitting in the final provisional automatic Q2 spot in tenth.
