After the usual high of Day of Champions, the first day of competition at Silverstone was a little underwhelming. It was cold enough for three crashes on out laps at Turn 12 in the morning – Marquez, Barbera and Lowes. That’s Alex Lowes, Sam’s twin brother, his reward for being part of the 8 Hour winning team last month was a run out on Pol Espargaro’s bike at the Brno test. He only got a dozen laps in but the Yamaha bosses saw something they liked. When Bradley Smith was injured testing for the last race of the endurance championship, Alex got the call up. He looked awkward in the first session but was seriously impressive this afternoon. He didn’t put on a soft tyre at the end of the session, concentrating on getting laps in and not changing wheels. That meant he didn’t drop his lap time like most of the rest. Forget the position, just over one-and-a-quarter seconds slower than his team mate is pretty impressive.
It was not a day to draw too many conclusions from, but Maverick Vinales and Andrea Iannone headed the sessions. The Suzuki was quick all day and if conditions stay cool it may be that we’re on for a second rostrum of the season.
What’s going to happen? I suggest you keep an eye on FP3 because qualifying is likely to be wet, eve day weather looks hopeful but cool. Is that Suzuki weather?
