Bezzecchi Leads Aprilia Domination in British GP Friday Practice

Marco Bezzecchi made a stunning comeback from a collarbone fracture to lead a 1-2-4-5 finish for Aprilia in practice for the MotoGP British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Friday.

Despite doubts about his fitness after a crash at the German GP last month, Bezzecchi smashed the Silverstone circuit record by nearly a second. This performance signals that Aprilia is ready to be competitive at the venue.

Trackhouse's Ai Ogura had looked set to end the day on top after setting the first sub-1m57s lap, but first teammate Raul Fernandez and then factory rider Bezzecchi went faster in the dying minutes. Fabio di Giannantonio jumped to third on the VR46 Ducati ahead of championship leader Jorge Martin, with Ogura demoted to fifth.

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The session was fiercely contested. Alex Marquez led early, then Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez briefly topped the timesheets. Ogura reclaimed the top spot before Fernandez and Bezzecchi struck late. Bezzecchi posted a 1m56.280s on his final flying lap to snatch the fastest time.

Di Giannantonio denied Aprilia a 1-2-3 lockout, while Martin jumped from 17th to fourth. Marc Marquez finished sixth for factory Ducati, followed by Alex Marquez in seventh and Joan Mir solid in eighth for Honda. Jack Miller and Pedro Acosta completed the top 10, with Acosta crashing at Brooklands with five minutes remaining.

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini just missed direct Q2 entry, while Francesco Bagnaia will have to go through Q1 after a late crash and 13th place. This result sets up an intriguing qualifying session with intense competition ahead.