Jack Miller and Karel Hanika undertake opening two practice sessions for British GP, placing 17th and 18th, respectively.

The twelfth round of the Moto3 season got underway on Friday, at the Silverstone circuit which is the longest on the calendar. Jack Miller was fastest in the morning, finding a setup that allowed him to try a new development in the afternoon. Karel Hanika improved in the second session to end the first day in eighteenth on the combined timesheet, just behind the Australian.

The track temperature of 16ºC was not ideal, but the Moto3 World Championship leader was able to find the setup he was looking for on his last outing on track. Two 2:16 laps allowed him to gain confidence and on his last attempt at a hot lap, Miller put in a 2:16.439 –the fastest lap of the session. Hanika was fifteenth with a 2:17.845 best, and made just one trip back to his garage as he looked to find a feel for worn tyres.

With an optimal setup for the rest of the weekend established, the team and the KTM factory wanted to try out a new development that worked well at the recent test –albeit under completely different track conditions. Miller set a time of 2:17.033 for twenty-third place, and was unable to improve his morning time. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Hanika broke into the 2:16s for the first time in the session, taking seventeenth with a 2:16.472 time.

The qualifying session at Silverstone will begin tomorrow at 12:35 local time. Miller will try to return to the front row after it eluded him at the last round in Brno, whilst Karel Hanika wants to match or improve his best result in a qualifying session from Sachsenring –fourth place.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) 2:15.572
2. Niccolo Antonelli (KTM) 2:15.630 +0.058
3. Alex Rins (Honda) 2:15.634 +0.062
4. Isaac Viñales (KTM) 2:15.648 +0.076
5. Romano Fenati (KTM) 2:15.788 +0.216
17. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:16.439 +0.867
18. Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:16.472 +0.900

Jack Miller >> Audio (solely for radio use)

“The lap times this afternoon were not what we had hoped for, because we wanted to try a new part that gave very good results at the recent test. However, this is a completely different track and the results were different. We did not have enough time to return to morning setup for the final 40 minutes, so it was not possible to go faster. I’m not at all worried, because tomorrow we will use the setup from this morning –which is very competitive and that gives me confidence. Tomorrow we can do a good job.”

Karel Hanika >> Audio (solely for radio use)

“Today we had difficult conditions: Low temperatures and it was windy. We worked well but still it was not easy to find the right setup. I rode almost every lap by myself, and on the final run in the second session we tried something different that worked quite well. I can’t wait to start again tomorrow, because we have room to improve the times we set today. We are 0.9 seconds of the top time and this is a good sign for the rest of the weekend.”