Marquez skates to first in cool FP1

As history has a habit of repeating itself, it was Marc Marquez who headed Jorge Lorenzo in the opening MotoGP Free Practice session at Silverstone.

The two riders that have lit up the British Grand Prix since 2013, with two breathtaking battles, opened the weekend comfortably ahead of the pack with Valentino Rossi 0.85s off first place in third.

Cool conditions greeted riders on Friday morning, a stark contrast from the soaring temperatures of Brno. Yet it was Marquez that romped to the fastest time, ending the 45 minutes 0.38s clear of championship leader Lorenzo.

Marquez and Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa spent the session on the soft front tyre while the Yamahas felt the extra-soft more appropriate for the cool temperatures. The conditions, coupled with the bumpy surface, saw even Marquez struggle to get within two seconds of the official lap record.

With 0.8s covering the stretched-out top three, the remainder of the top ten lapped within half a second of Rossi's best. Behind the 36-year old, Ducati pairing Andrea Iannone and Dovizioso followed as the former adapted to and rode two upgraded GP15s, which he opted not race in the Czech Republic.

Dovizioso was just four hundredths off his team-mate, as he continues to test the old model and the updated GP15 back-to-back. As he did in Brno, Dovizioso began the session on the old before moving aboard the updated machine.

Scott Redding enjoyed an encouraging first session as the Englishman - a two-time winner of his home grand prix - finished as top British rider in sixth.

Determined not to be outdone, Bradley Smith finished a place behind his countryman, while Dani Pedrosa began the weekend in subdued fashion in eighth. Cal Crutchlow rounded out the top ten, a place behind Smith's team-mate Pol Espargaro.

There was an encouraging performance from Eugene Laverty in 15th. The Northern Irishman, and former World Supersport winner around this track, was 0.2s faster than the next best 'Open' machine.

FP1:
1. Marc Marquez
2. Jorge Lorenzo
3. Valentino Rossi
4. Andrea Iannone
5. Andrea Dovizioso
6. Scott Redding
7. Bradley Smith
8. Dani Pedrosa
9. Pol Espargaro
10. Cal Crutchlow
11. Danilo Petrucci
12. Maverick Vi?ales
13. Aleix Espargaro
14. Yonny Hernandez
15. Eugene Laverty
16. Alvaro Bautista
17. Loris Baz
18. Stefan Bradl
19. Nicky Hayden
20. Alex De Angelis
21. Karel Abraham
22. Jack Miller
23. Mike Di Meglio
24. Hector Barbera
25. Claudio Corti