Having finished FP1 in fifth, Gardner continued to look strong in FP2 and that proved to be the case come the end of the session. His 16th flying lap proved to be his best as the Australian propelled himself to P2 to sit as Navarro’s nearest threat, but there wasn’t such good news for Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) as the Spaniard slid out of contention at the tight Turn 14. No matter, Marquez would finish in a respectable sixth and ahead of him came Fernandez, his teammate Lorenzo Baldassarri and home favourite Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2). All these riders – bar Lowes – were able to find time at the end of FP2 as each of them jumps up the timesheets from FP1.
Sixth at the close of Day 1 at Silverstone went the way of Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) as the Spaniard, fresh from signing a 2020 Moto2™ deal with the Sama Qatar Angel Nieto squad, looks to overturn the one-point differential to Dalla Porta in the title chase. Honda Team Asia’s Kaito Toba was second after this morning’s FP1 and, despite failing to improve in the afternoon, remains safely inside the top ten in seventh.
Small but mighty: the Journey features long magnetic flaps that grip a wide variety of tank sizes and shapes, even fitting over the central console on many cruisers.
As long as a bike has adequate luggage, I tend to use tank bags only for items I need quick access to – wallet, phone, sunglasses, water, perhaps a warmer/cooler pair of gloves – and for such a job, the 5-liter Nelson-Rigg Journey Highway Cruiser Magnetic Tank Bag (let’s just call it the Journey) is perfect.
Despite being marketed as a “cruiser” bag, complete with faux leather panels and a Harley-esque orange interior, the Journey is small enough to be at home on any bike with a metal tank, including our Royal Enfield Continental GT tester and my own ’85 Honda Nighthawk.
That bright orange interior is useful for finding items inside, especially when it’s dark, and there are inner storage nets at the front, on the bottom and on the underside of the lid that are great for keys, credit cards or cash. The clear map pocket on top is touchscreen-friendly and the zippers open and close smoothly and easily with gloves on.
The bright orange interior is helpful for finding items inside.
Four strong magnets provide a secure grip and the flaps are designed in a way that helps the Journey mold to a variety of tank shapes and sizes. The underside is a non-slip, rubber-like material and I noticed no scuffing or marking on our Indian Scout’s red tank after a long, dusty weekend ride.
A wedge expansion zipper adds about two inches to the bag’s height at the front for an additional two liters of space, and a rain cover is included. There are no straps, but the Journey does have a large handle at the front and a smaller loop at the back that make it easy to carry around off the bike.
I like that the lid hinges at the rear of the bag, so my stuff doesn’t come tumbling out on a sloped tank. It also makes it easy to run my phone’s charging cable out to the USB port; on most bikes it’s located somewhere on or near the instrument panel. Overall the Journey, which retails for $79.95, is a well-built, thoughtfully designed tank bag that will look good and function well on a variety of motorcycles.
For more information, see your dealer or visit nelsonrigg.com.
John McPhee: “It’s a fantastic feeling and I’m very grateful to have another great opportunity to work with such a great team. It’s an honour to be a part of the family for another year. I have a job to finish between now and the end of the season and my focus will be on that, but I’m also very excited for the future too. It’s the first time in my career that I’ve had continuity and it’s great for the team, for me and for the results. When things work as well as they are right now, it’s invaluable – you can’t even explain how important it is for a rider. To have the chance to start a second season with that feeling already there can only make us stronger. I need to have a massive thank you to Razlan, to Johan and to PETRONAS and all our partners for putting their confidence in me.”
The Italian rookie ended the session 0.083 ahead of his Campetella Speed Up teammate Jorge Navarro, with Dynavolt Intact GP’s Tom Lüthi just over a tenth further back in third. World Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) ended fourth quickest, ahead of Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) in fifth.
“It was something a little bit special for that track, he was struggling to brake and stop the bike with some feeling. It was something that happened there, but I don’t think we’ll have it here. Today we will know more though, Silverstone normally isn’t a bad track for us, but we’ll see how he goes today.”
“He did a good strategy,” said Tardozzi, speaking to MotoGP™ pitlane reporter Simon Crafar during FP1 at Silverstone. “It was not so easy to take this decision to try the overtake on Marc in the last corner but Dovi said he deserved this victory, so he wanted to try. It’s not normal for him to try crazy things but he did it and did it perfectly.
Colin’s son and daughter-in-law-to-be work in Bristol, UK, and have flown home to help with the search.
Their British employer has also launched a Gofundme page to raise money for helicopter searches which were conducted today. They have so far raised $1650. Click here to donate.
However, Colin says riders are the key to finding Siemon.
“It might be just a glint in the bushes, but riders are better equipped to find him,” Colin says.
He has asked all riders in SEQ to scour the region this weekend while they are out and about.
If Siemon has run off the road, riders should be searching for skid marks on the road or verge, broken glass and plastic on the road, bent-back bushes and the glint of shining objects in roadside bushes.
Any clues or sightings should be phoned in to Policelink on 131 444.
You can also contact Motorbike Writer on 0400 366620 and we will post on social media to help narrow the search area.
Let’s find Siemon
Siemon Mulder
Siemon is about 180cm tall with a slim build, grey short hair and grey facial hair.
He was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, blue jeans and black helmet with a dark tinted visor.
Police say he was a cautious rider, but they are considering he may have had an accident.
Colin says Siemon did not have his mobile phone turned on and has not used his credit card since he left home.
Riders searching for Siemon should also take care if they are riding slowly not to hold up traffic, use their hazard lights and take care of their own safety.
It’s a good lesson for all solo riders to tell others where you are going, take your mobile phone, download locator apps or, if in remote areas with no mobile signal, pack an EPIRB, beacon or GPS tracker.
The much-talked-about Silverstone surface got it’s first MotoGP™ test on Friday morning under sunny skies, and it was Marquez who was the early pacesetter. The number 93 sat top of the times with a 2:00.6 before Quartararo stuck in some fresh medium rubber. ‘El Diablo’ shot to P1 with a sub-2:00 to go 0.011 slower than Marquez’ lap record, can we expect that record to tumble this afternoon?
Conditions were cloudy but dry for the start of the weekend as the Moto3™ riders took to Silverstone’s new asphalt for the first time. The cool conditions meant it took time for the riders to get down to competitive lap times but Arbolino dipped under the lap record pace in the latter stages, a sure sign the new surface is providing the riders with plenty of grip.
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