After two months off the bike, Rory Skinner utilised Friday to refamiliarise himself with his OnlyFans American Racing Moto2 machine. However, the unseasonably cold temperatures made life difficult for the Scot as he took a tumble at Turn 16 during FP2, ending the day in 26th.
With the rain falling on Saturday morning, Rory’s talent shone through to finish the final practice session of the weekend in eighth place. As the rain subsided for qualifying, he took to the track to claim his best place of the season so far in 21st.
The sun made a welcome appearance in time for race day despite a brief rain shower across the circuit.
As the lights went out, Rory made a great start but was one of four riders to crash in a pile-up at Farm, the third corner on the circuit, after being struck by the bike of Borja Gomez, knocking him off into the gravel and out of his home race before it had barely begun. Although sore, Rory escaped injury and is set to take part in tomorrow’s test session at Silverstone.
Speaking after the race, Rory said: “It wasn’t exactly the BritishGP I hoped for. It was lovely having all the fans trackside, it was a great environment to be in but today it just wasn’t meant to be; three corners into the first lap, having a Moto2 bike come flying at me wasn’t exactly in the plan. I’m feeling a bit stiff and sore, but I think I’ll be good to go again for tomorrow’s test.
“I think the highlight for me this weekend was FP3, finishing top 10 in a wet session. Yes, I know it was wet but they always say ‘the wet is a great leveller’ so to be back up there was nice, even for one session, but I’m sure we can continue from there.”