The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider finished sixth at the start of the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom, while Alonso will have to go through Q1 after he couldn’t go back on track to improve his time after a crash

The first practice sessions at the renamed Grand Prix of the United Kingdom took place on Friday. The intermediate category riders had to deal with the wind and the low temperatures, although the clouds were the big absence on Friday. As usual, Manu González was fastest in Moto2, almost half a second off the pace. Senna Agius and Filip Salac, in second and third position respectively, rounded off the top three of the day. In the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team ranks, Dani Holgado was just outside the top 5, in sixth position, while David Alonso will have to go through Q1 tomorrow as he was unable to complete the afternoon practice due to a crash in the first few minutes.

Dani Holgado continues to make steady progress in his first year in the intermediate category. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider is adapting very well to each circuit to consolidate all his progress. Holgado, who has regained a good feeling after a difficult weekend in France, has been working with the team to continue improving aspects of his riding. After a very positive free practice, the Moto2 rookie went into the afternoon session ready to qualify directly into Q2, something he achieved thanks to a time of 2:02.992, which placed him in sixth position. On the other hand, David Alonso also had a good feeling from the start of the session. The Colombian, who was seventh in the morning session, wanted to continue putting into practice the lessons he had learned. However, a crash in the first minutes of the session prevented him from completing the afternoon session in its entirety. Therefore, he was only able to make four laps and tomorrow he will have to go through Q1 to fight for a good position on the starting grid.

6th Dani Holgado 2:02.929 (+0.881): “It was a very positive first day. I'm happy because the feeling was good again after not having felt comfortable with the bike in Le Mans. The most important thing to go fast is to have confidence and we got it back. We did a long run that went well, but we need to work a bit more with the used tyre to improve those two or three tenths that would bring us closer to the front riders. We will keep working with the team on that. Today the track was tricky, it wasn't cold but it was windy, and in some areas the bike was moving a bit. I adapted well and managed to get through to Q2. It's something important, I'm realised that starting from the front gives you an extra advantage in the race.”

18th David Alonso 2:03.593 (+1.482): “I'm really enjoying this circuit with the Moto2 bike. The riding feeling has been very good, we have worked on the aspects we had pending, such as acceleration, and we are improving. The day went well until the crash in the afternoon session. It was a very silly crash, but the handlebars bent in a way that happens once in a hundred times and we didn't have enough time to get back on track in the final part of the session. We'll keep the positives and tomorrow we'll try to get into Q2.”