In the morning the times were obviously faster on the dry track and it was once again Casey Stoner at the top of the timesheets ahead of Marco Simoncelli and Jorge Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden was fourth in a strong showing for the Ducati Team, whilst Brit Cal Crutchlow was sixth. Track and ambient temperature was low so all riders favoured the softer option slicks, which means the medium rear and the soft front that Bridgestone have brought to Silverstone for the first time this year. By the end of the session Stoner’s best was just 0.2seonds off last year’s record.
In the afternoon, the entire session was run on Bridgestone’s soft wet tyres. The rain stopped at the beginning of the 45minute session, and although a dry line emerged in places much of the lap was still greasy. Stoner was also fastest in the wet ahead of Simoncelli in second, but it was Hayden third and Crutchlow fourth ahead of Lorenzo.
There are no intermediate tyres in the MotoGP class and Bridgestone only offer riders slick or wet tyres. Whilst two options of slick tyre compound are available, only a single compound of wet tyres is provided as per the rules and in the case of Silverstone, where the temperature is low, the wets are soft compound. Even as a dry line formed during the session the riders used only one set of wet tyres for the duration, which for many was ¾ race distance, and consistency and durability were good.
Whilst two dry sessions may have been more valuable to the teams and riders in terms of development and setup, today’s wet track-time may become beneficial on race-day given the changeable weather forecast for Sunday.
