Aspar’s Jake Dixon had a near perfect Friday at Silverstone as preparations for the British GP kicked into gear for Moto2 free practice.

The GasGas rider dominated the times for the majority of the day, topping the morning session with a 2’05.409 before setting the pace for almost the entirety of FP2. His 2’04.760 ultimately placed the Brit second in the overall standings after KTM’s Augusto Fernandez denied him a first day home celebration, while a late-session fall prevented further progression in the closing minutes.

"Obviously if I didn’t have the crash at the end of the session it would have been a little better,” Dixon admitted on Friday evening. “But no, overall it was a really good day.

“I felt absolutely great on the bike. The lap that I actually crashed on was coming super fast.

“I had to try the hard front tyre. I'm struggling to get the temperature into it and I think that's why unfortunately I locked the front and went down but overall fantastic day being here for the British crowd. I'm not gonna let a small little crash like that dampen my spirits. I'm absolutely loving it.

"Just want to say thanks to all the crowd that's here so far on a Friday. I'm trying my absolute hardest, as everybody can see. Even today, I left it on the line for everyone because obviously I want them to have something to come and watch and cheer for so we're giving it my absolute all. I feel good, the bike is perfect, and we will continue studying the data to see what else we can do tomorrow.”