The Yamaha Factory Racing Team return to MotoGP action this weekend at the British Grand Prix, round 12 of the MotoGP World Championship, held at the Silverstone Circuit. Official test rider Augusto Fernandez joins the first race after the MotoGP summer break as a wild-card entry with the aim of aiding Yamaha’s bike development program.
This is a press release from Yamaha…
Silverstone, United Kingdom (August 5, 2026) — Augusto Fernandez and the Yamaha Factory Racing Team will take part in the British Grand Prix as a wild-card entry, with the goal of gathering valuable data and further advancing the development of Yamaha’s MotoGP package under race conditions.
Fernandez, the 2022 Moto2 World Champion and former premier-class rider (2023–2024), has previous experience at Silverstone from across his Grand Prix career, having won the 2019 and 2022 Moto2 Race and securing a best MotoGP Race placement of P11 there in 2023.
Returning to competition after the summer hiatus, the Spaniard is eager to continue the work carried out through the season and contribute to Yamaha’s ongoing technical progress.
The Silverstone Circuit is one of the most historic venues on the MotoGP calendar. Located in Northamptonshire, England, the 5.9 km track is renowned for its high-speed layout, flowing sequences of corners, and demanding technical sections. Featuring eight left-hand and ten right-hand turns, Silverstone tests both rider and machine, making it an ideal venue for development work and data collection.
Augusto Fernandez | Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider
“I’m happy to be back racing after the summer break and to continue helping with the development of the bike. Silverstone is a nice circuit with a lot of fast corners, and it’s always enjoyable to ride there. The goals for this weekend are clear: I want to be on the pace as fast as possible in order to gather as much useful information as we can.”
Note:
The schedule for the British GP differs from the usual Central European Grand Prix timetable.
FP1 will take place on Friday from 11:45-12:30 and Practice from 16:00-17:00 local track time (GMT+1).
On Saturday, FP2 will be held from 11:10-11:40, followed by Q1 and Q2 from 11:50-12:30. The 10-lap Sprint in the afternoon starts at 16:00.
On Sunday, Warm Up will be staged from 09:40-09:50, and the 20-lap Race is scheduled to start at 13:00 local track time.
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