The Italian rider finishes the day in second position, with Marcel Schrötter twenty-sixth.

Red Bull KTM Ajo had a strong start to the British GP, returning to work following the three week summer break. Celestino Vietti finished Friday as one of the fastest riders after achieving the second best time in the intermediate class. Marcel Schrötter focused on regaining a good feeling on his return to Red Bull KTM Ajo, finishing in 26th place.

In Free Practice, Vietti took a big step forward and continued with the good feeling from the previous Grand Prix. The Italian rider had a great start, being very consistent and maintaining a good pace. After 18 laps, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider took fourth place on his last attempt, thanks to his 2:04.513. Schrötter, again replacing the injured Deniz Öncü, concentrated on getting his feelings back with the Moto2 bike. The German rider already had a good starting point after the last two rounds, and tried to fine-tune the setup and feel as comfortable as possible. After a pit stop, Schrötter went for his best time, although, after 15 laps, his 2:07.397 on his sixth attempt placed him 29th.

The afternoon’s Practice 1 allowed the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo to make great progress on the first day at Silverstone. Both Vietti and Schrötter improved significantly on their times from the morning. The Italian was very consistent from start to finish. After 13 laps, he set his best time on the final push: A 2:03.896 that put him in second position. Schrötter lowered his time from the morning by almost 2 seconds, with a very positive feeling for qualifying. The German rider was 26th, with a time of 2:05.461, clocked on his eleventh lap of 13.

The British GP qualifying sessions will begin at 1:45 pm, local time, on Saturday at Silverstone.

Results Practice 1
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) 2:03.602
2. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:03.896 +0.294
3. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 2:04.059 +0.457
4. Ai Ogura (Boscoscuro) 2:04.062 +0.460
5. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) 2:04.086 +0.484
26. Marcel Schrötter (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:05.461 +1.859

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“I am very happy. We finished the German GP with a good feeling but we missed the podium by just a little. The good feeling with the bike was already there and we have it still here at Silverstone. In Practice 1 we made a step forward compared to this morning’s Free Practice. We are getting closer to the fastest riders, so we must continue working. I am very happy.”

#32 MARCEL SCHRÖTTER

“It’s nice to be back in KTM Ajo colours. I expected to start in a better way. After having ridden with my other bike, I need to get used to the Moto2 again, because they are very different. At this kind of circuit, if you cannot find the right speed you struggle a lot, and that’s what happened to us. However, in the second session we improved and made a step forward. We are now on the right path and not too far away from Q2.”