Marco Bezzecchi ended the first day of MotoGP action at Silverstone on top by setting the all-time lap record in timed Practice.
Bezzecchi had the pace throughout both practice sessions, narrowly finishing second in FP1 before setting the pace in timed Practice in Friday afternoon’s action.
Several injury replacements were called into action in opening practice, as Iker Lecuona made his first Silverstone appearance since 2023 as a stand-in rider for Fermin Aldeguer, while Pol Espargaro temporarily replaced Maverick Vinales.
Cal Crutchlow became the first British rider to compete in a home practice session in the premier class since 2021 as he continued to deputise for Johann Zarco, while Augusto Fernandez returned as a Yamaha wildcard.
In the first session of the weekend, it was Alex Marquez who virtually led from start to finish to claim top spot in FP1.
The Gresini rider’s personal best time of 1:58.692s eventually proved enough to clinch first place by 0.173s over Aprilia’s Bezzecchi.
Pedro Acosta suffered the first crash of the weekend at Stowe but completed the top three in FP1.
Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez was fourth while Fabio Di Giannantonio rounded out the top five ahead of Marc Marquez.
Ai Ogura and championship leader Jorge Martin were seventh and eighth in the opening practice, with Franco Morbidelli ninth and Francesco Bagnaia completing the top 10.
The full results from FP1 can be seen below.
| 2026 MotoGP Grand Prix of Great Britain | Silverstone Circuit | Free Practice 1 Results | Round 12 of 22 | ||||
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Bike | Gap |
| 1 | Alex Marquez | BK8 Gresini Racing | Desmosedici GP26 | 01:58.692 |
| 2 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing | RS-GP26 | +0.173s |
| 3 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | RC16 | +0.282s |
| 4 | Raul Fernandez | Superfile Trackhouse MotoGP Team | RS-GP26 | +0.310s |
| 5 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Desmosedici GP26 | +0.364s |
| 6 | Marc Marquez | Ducati Lenovo Team | Desmosedici GP26 | +0.488s |
| 7 | Ai Ogura | Superfile Trackhouse MotoGP Team | RS-GP26 | +0.573s |
| 8 | Jorge Martin | Aprilia Racing | RS-GP26 | +0.680s |
| 9 | Franco Morbidelli | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Desmosedici GP25 | +0.876s |
| 10 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Desmosedici GP26 | +0.954s |
| 11 | Joan Mir | Honda HRC Castrol | RC213V | +1.016s |
| 12 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | RC16 | +1.105s |
| 13 | Luca Marini | Honda HRC Castrol | RC213V | +1.231s |
| 14 | Enea Bastianini | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | RC16 | +1.260s |
| 15 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | YZR-M1 | +1.306s |
| 16 | Iker Lecuona | BK8 Gresini Racing | Desmosedici GP25 | +1.316s |
| 17 | Jack Miller | Prima Pramac MotoGP | YZR-M1 | +1.529s |
| 18 | Alex Rins | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | YZR-M1 | +1.601s |
| 19 | Diogo Moreira | Pro Honda LCR | RC213V | +1.603s |
| 20 | Augusto Fernandez | Yamaha Factory Team | YZR-M1 | +1.877s |
| 21 | Pol Espargaro | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | RC16 | +2.060s |
| 22 | Cal Crutchlow | Castrol Honda LCR | RC213V | +2.323s |
| 23 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Prima Pramac MotoGP | YZR-M1 | +2.351s |
In the afternoon practice session, with 10 automatic spaces in Q2 up for grabs, it was Bezzecchi who set the pace.
Once again, Alex Marquez and Bezzecchi started strongly, occupying the top two positions after the first flying runs, despite the Italian feeling impeded by Di Giannantonio.
However, despite top spot changing hands multiple times throughout the afternoon, Bezzecchi remained the rider to beat.
With the riders returning to the circuit, there was a flurry of improved lap times but also a number of crashes – with Bagnaia going down at Turn 6 and Acosta following at X moments later.
However the yellow flags didn’t stop Bezzecchi from breaking the lap record, ending the day as the fastest rider at a traditional Aprilia stronghold thanks to his 1:56.280.
Bezzecchi’s time saw him beat out satellite rider Raul Fernandez who took second, while Di Giannantonio took third with his final lap of the day.
Martin finished fourth, as Ogura ensured all four Aprilia riders finished the day inside the top five, while Marc Marquez was once again sixth.
Alex Marquez took seventh behind his brother, while Joan Mir and Jack Miller perhaps surprisingly booked their spots in Q2 with eighth and ninth respectively.
Despite a second crash of the day, Acosta held on to take the final automatic Q2 spot and rounded out the top 10.
Enea Bastianini missed out on the satellite KTM in 11th, narrowly ahead of Luca Marini in 12th.
Bagnaia’s crash proved to be costly as he finished the day in 13th, as Morbidelli took 14th over Diogo Moreira.
Lecuona finished as best of the part-time riders in 16th, ahead of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo in 17th.
Brad Binder suffered a crash at Turn 8 with 15 minutes remaining in the final session and finished 18th, with Alex Rins 19th and Crutchlow 20th.
Espargaro was two seconds off Bezzecchi’s lap record in 21st, while Toprak Razgatlioglu was 22nd and Fernandez completed the standings in 23rd.
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