Valentino Rossi set to stick with new Yamaha MotoGP chassis

Rossi tried a new specification chassis during the post-Czech Grand Prix test last month, and opted to bring it to Silverstone to assess it at a different circuit.

He did so during Friday's practice sessions and was impressed, running a back-to-back comparison with the 2015-based Yamaha he has ridden so far this season, while a new swingarm is less likely to appear again this weekend.

"My idea is that I like the new chassis I tried at Brno," Rossi said.

"I have more or less the same feeling [as in the test], so I think we will continue.

"Like in Brno, I have a good feeling on [corner] entry and I like the feeling of the bike on the bumps, and also on the bump with the brake and also for turning, it's OK.

"It's nothing very big, it's just a small modification, but what it improves is the front end.

"I have more doubt on the swingarm, I don't think there's a great improvement."

The defending British GP winner was sixth in second practice, 0.841 seconds down on pacesetter Andrea Iannone.

Ducati's Iannone finished the day 0.300 seconds clear of Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales, while Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Rossi were all split by two tenths from fourth to sixth.

"It's just Friday and it's early but today, especially this afternoon, Iannone and Vinales are quite impressive," he said.

"Because also with the hard tyre they are able to make a very fast lap time, a lot faster than me. And with the soft, they have quite a big advantage.

"It looks like me and Jorge are a little bit more in trouble with the Yamaha.

"We are not so far but in some places of the track where usually Lorenzo is very strong, also he suffers.

"We need to improve the balance to improve the speed and also close the gap with the top guys."

LORENZO NOT SOLD ON CHALLENGERS

Vinales led the way in the opening practice session ahead of Lorenzo, but the reigning world champion was not as convinced on the Suzuki rider and Iannone's prospects.

"Yes, Iannone on the new tyre has been very fast, but with old tyres or not so new, the pace of five or 10 top riders was very similar," he said.

"It's a little bit inconclusive because nobody made a long run of more than five laps, so we cannot compare the laps of all of the top riders.

"I think we can fight for the win, but I would like to improve the bike to have the possibility to keep a more constant pace when the rear tyre drops."