Glorious late summer sunshine provided surprising but pleasantly welcome conditions for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Jack Miller and Tito Rabat to commence preparations for this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Miller started strongly in FP1 this morning and the Australian was quickly able to establish a fast pace on Silverstone’s notoriously worn and bumpy surface, with a 2’03.396 placing him out of the top 10 by just 0.059s.

With temperatures rising this afternoon and little wind blowing around the vast Silverstone complex, conditions for FP2 were ideal, and Miller capitalised superbly to comfortably lap at a much faster pace in the second session.

Miller shaved 0.8s off his best time and he ended the opening day of action at the iconic Silverstone track less than a second away from the top six, with improving acceleration a key target for tomorrow’s track action.

It was a positive start to round 12 for Rabat, who resisted the temptation to use a soft Michelin rear tyre in FP1 this morning, as he preferred to focus on evaluating the hard compound as a viable choice for Sunday’s 20-lap race.

The Spaniard was fast and consistent again in full race trim in FP2, and he is confident he has more time to find, having been unable to find the perfect lap when he did switch to Michelin’s soft rear tyre late in the afternoon session.

Jack Miller: 18th – 2’02.507
“We seem to be missing a little bit of acceleration here but my general feeling with the bike is quite positive. The first sector here is always difficult, but the bike was working well in the fast changes of direction. I didn’t get the best potential out of a new soft rear tyre today but I was happy with my speed because I did my best lap completely on my own.”

Tito Rabat: 21st – 2’02.860
“The weather for Silverstone is a great surprise and it is very good because this track is so nice to ride in a situation like this. It was a positive day for me because this morning I didn’t even try the soft option rear tyre. And in this afternoon’s second practice I did my best lap on the hard rear tyre, so in terms of one hot lap, I’ve not demonstrated my full potential yet. I did try a soft rear tyre in FP2 but couldn’t get in a clean lap to utilise it. I’ve lapped much faster here today than I previously managed in MotoGP, so there are a lot of positives to carry into the remainder of the weekend.”