After making an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed mid-July, Spaniard Pol Espargaro is back for good to racing, after the number 44 announced on his social media last week that he was finally fit to race. Of course, there will be a final medical check on Thursday, but everything seems in line for the experienced MotoGP rider to finally reunite with his GASGAS RC16 after four long months of separation. Not having ridden for a long time, this round will be about re-adaptation for Pol, who will need to find again his marks on his bike, while he will evaluate how his body reacts. It will not be an easy weekend, but Espargaro has plenty of energy to resale as he reunites again with his squad this weekend.

Our rookie Augusto Fernandez will also reunite with his bike after five - very - long weeks according to him, and he will be thrilled to get back to work, see again both his team and his teammate, and take things where he left them in Assen. Indeed, the number 37 had a strong first half of the season, as he scored points in each round so far, a first half highlighted by his incredible P4 finish at the French Grand Prix mid-may. With no doubts it is a performance that the rookie will be looking to reiterate within the next twelve rounds, as he continues to look for areas to improve, get closer to the other riders, and find more regularity weekend after weekend. If it will be the first time that Augusto hits the famous Silverstone circuit on a MotoGP™ bike, it is for sure one that he enjoys and looks forward to, after he won the edition in Moto2™ last season.

The MotoGP™ schedule will be a bit different from now on, after it was revisited over the summer break. Indeed, Friday’s forty-five minute-morning session which was originally Practice 1 becomes Free Practice 1, and will no longer count for the qualifying spots. The first session will start at 10:45 local time (GMT+2), and the one-hour afternoon session, starting at 15:00 LT, is renamed Practice, and will be the only session of the weekend to determine positions for the qualifying sessions. Saturdays remain unchanged, with a final free practice (now Free Practice 2) of thirty minutes preceding the qualifying sessions, scheduled at 10:50 LT. In the afternoon, the Tissot Sprint will return after five long weeks, as Pol Espargaro is set to experience his first sprint at 15:00 local time. Finally, on Sunday, we will see a small change as the MotoGP™ class will follow the Moto3™ race, at 13:00 local time. Let’s go back to racing!