Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith undertook a lightening start on home turf by storming to 4th position as the leading Yamaha in the combined standings on the opening day of action at Silverstone. The 23 year old rider completed the first session with a best time of 2'04.609, only four tenths of a second back from 5th despite the low track temperatures, strong wind and slight spots of rain. The weather remained unchanged in the afternoon at the 5900 meter Silverstone circuit where Smith braved the conditions with determination to forcibly post a best time of 2'03.070 aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1. The British star improved his morning time by over one and a half seconds and was a blink of an eye behind 3rd position with a gap of only 0.059. His electric start to the 12th MotoGP event of the year, sees him prepared for the qualifying assault tomorrow where he will confidently intend to seize a place on the front two rows for the 20 lap dash on Sunday.

On the other side of the garage, Pol Espargaro rode to a hard fought 12th position finish in the afternoon practice session as he began the 2014 British Grand Prix. The reigning Moto2 World Champion kicked off his weekend with a best time of 2'04.628 as he worked with his Monster Yamaha Tech3 team to establish a formidable setup at Silverstone. As the afternoon session got underway, Espargaro upped the pace and completed the practice with a time of 2'03.542, only less than a second from 2nd place. The 23 year old rider also finished the afternoon practice with the fastest speed of the entire MotoGP grid reaching 321.5 km/h. Focusing instead on setting up the bike and working towards race day as opposed to posting a leading lap time today, the Spaniard remains confident in undertaking a strong qualifying performance tomorrow.

Bradley Smith - Position : 4th Time : 2'03.542 Laps : 33

"It was a positive first day and I'm very happy to kick off my home Grand Prix in this manner. I feel happier and more confident than I did twelve months ago and here the bike is working great and the grip is good with the tyres. We haven't changed too many settings since Brno, just a few minor alterations to compensate for this track as well as the wind here which is particularly strong at the rear of the circuit. There is still a degree to improve, namely in the fast corners where there a few more bumps this year, so we will work on trying to find the setting to run smoothly over these. Of course, we need to carry on this forward momentum, therefore the next step is to get a good rhythm and then run 2'02 lap times. So all in all I am very happy, but I must say that it is fantastic to see so many fans here especially as it was a Friday so the support I received has been great and really helps me!"

Pol Espargaro - Position : 12th - Time : 2'04.628 Laps : 36

"Even I if I find myself a little further down on the time sheets than I would like to be, I am satisfied with the work we have done today. Instead of putting on a new tyre to make a quick lap at the end of the session like some of the other riders, I decided to work on the bike instead. This might be a bit of a gamble due to the weather forecast for tomorrow, but I have learnt during the first part of the season how important the right setup for Sunday can be. Therefore, I keep my fingers crossed that the morning session will be a dry one as ending up in QP1 would be far from ideal. If this is the case, it will be trickier but I am always improving which is very positive. The bike is fun to ride at this circuit, especially in the first sector which is quite bumpy and where I am at my fastest. So, we need to improve in the other sections of the track but we know where we are heading and what needs to be altered, so I retain good expectations for tomorrow."

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