MotoGP Silverstone 2023 Schedule and Preview – All Dates and Times for British GP

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The five-week summer break for the MotoGP teams and riders is over and the paddock is ready to tackle the ninth round of the championship, in Silverstone.

MotoGP Silverstone 2023 Schedule

The weekend starts with a free practice session on Friday morning. Then, another practice session follows, during which the top ten riders will earn automatic promotion to Q2. On Saturday morning, an additional practice session will take place. It will be immediately followed by Q1, which will see two more riders promoted to Q2, which will start soon thereafter.

On Saturday afternoon, it will be time for a ten-lap sprint race, a new addition for this season. Sunday is the day of the main Grand Prix, which will be decided over twenty laps.

Here is a timetable of the event, with all times on British Summer Time (GMT +1)

MotoGP Silverstone 2023 Weather

After dry running on Friday, rain will probably be a factor for both the qualifying session and the sprint race on Saturday. For Sunday, things are looking better, but wet weather running cannot be ruled out, at a venue that often throws changeable conditions on the riders.

British GP Preview

Francesco Bagnaia has been on fantastic form this season and holds a 35-point advantage heading into the British round, after his victory in the previous race in Assen. The dominance of Ducati is confirmed with Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi in a tight fight for second in the standings, while Johann Zarco and Luca Marini are also in the top six.

The other rider at the top is Brad Binder from KTM, who has had excellent form in the sprint races, which has helped propel him up to fourth in the standings. Aleix Espargaro is the top Aprilia in eighth, a place higher than the first Yamaha, ridden by Fabio Quartararo, who has endured a difficult campaign.

Honda have also had a horrible season. Alex Rins will miss his fourth consecutive race and lies thirteenth in the standings and will be replaced by Iker Lecuona. Marc Marquez is back after missing two races, in a season he is yet to finish a Grand Prix. Pol Espargaro also returns, for the first time since his crash in the season opener, at Portimao.

Last year, the race was won by Francesco Bagnaia, who came out on top of a close fight against Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and his then-teammate, Jack Miller. Johann Zarco had started from pole, but he crashed and was unable to finish.

British GP History

The British race on the Motorcycle World Championship calendar from the inception of the championship until 1976 was the fearsome Isle of Man TT. But when the race was left off the calendar on safety grounds, Silverstone became the new venue and the British Grand Prix history began.

The race stayed at the former British airfield for ten seasons, when it was replaced by Donington Park. The popular venue in Leicestershire became the home of motorcycle racing for more than two decades. Plenty of memories were made there, including Valentino Rossi’s first win in the premier class, back in 2000.

In 2010, the race was moved back to a revamped Silverstone circuit, which is also the home of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. Jorge Lorenzo earned his first of three victories at the venue, the most in the recent history of the event. The race has been cancelled twice since, in 2018 because the circuit was flooded after heavy rain, and in 2020 because of the pandemic.

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