Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders fought for top spot in both Free Practice sessions on a cool and cloudy start to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone today.

• Cool late summer temperatures of just 17 degrees couldn’t prevent the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team pairing from setting a hot pace on day one at the historic Silverstone track, with Lowes third in front of a huge home crowd and Fernandez fourth fastest.
• Fernandez and Lowes will now aim to build on a fantastic Friday by booking a top 14 place needed to advance into Q2 when FP3 gets underway at 1055am local time tomorrow.

/// AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ: 4^th, 2’04.866, 32 laps

• Fernandez immediately found a good feeling and fast rhythm on the track he won at back in 2019 and a lap of 2’05.027 put him in a comfortable second position behind Jorge Navarro this morning.
• An early lap of 2’04.866, which secured him fourth place overall, allowed the 23-year-old to spend a large portion of FP2 working to fine-tune his base set-up ahead of Sunday’s 18-lap battle of Britain.

“It’s great to be back at this fantastic track”

“I’ve enjoyed a positive first day here in Silverstone. We didn’t do a fast lap at the end of FP2 when a lot improved because I couldn’t take a step like I expected with the soft rear tyre. That is something clearly to work on to be better for tomorrow in qualifying but overall, it has been a good start and great to be back at this fantastic track.”

/// SAM LOWES 3^rd, 2’04.815, 27 laps

• Lowes was fighting for the top three in FP1 this morning when he fell uninjured at the Brooklands (Turn 16) left-hander in the final 10 minutes, but still set a time fast enough to finish inside the top six.
• With track temperature still only a chilly 25 degrees this afternoon, Lowes bounced back in brilliant fashion, and he lapped one second faster in FP2 to rocket himself up inside the top three.

“The support for me in the grandstands was very special”

“Today has finished in a very positive way. This morning wasn’t ideal with the crash, but I was on the hard front tyre, and it was quite cold. But this afternoon it was much better and not only we were able to put in some very good times, but we also worked on my base setting and the team did a great job in FP2. They improved the bike a lot and I felt fast from the very first lap. We worked on the soft front in FP2, but I think tomorrow we need to have another look at the hard option because normally I find that spec a lot better suited to my riding style. We got good information and I had good pace, and it was an incredible feeling to be at my home track again and seeing all the support for me in the grandstands was very special.”