MotoGP: The Championship leader snatches pole by just 0.021 to become the eighth polesitter in eight Grands Prix at Silverstone.
Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) has come out swinging after the summer break to take the first pole position of the second half, setting a new lap record 1’56.160 to pip Raul Fernandez to the top by just 0.021. SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team made it both riders on the front row as Ai Ogura slots into third alongside his teammate.
The top six in the Championship are the top six on the grid – not in the same order barring P1 – with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) fourth, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) fifth and Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) P6. And that is quite a grid to take on one of behemoths of the MotoGP calendar.
Here’s how it happened!
Q1: RIGHT TO THE WIRE
Q1 was a star-studded session, with four former Silverstone winners in the mix – Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Plus plenty of fellow fast faces looking to becoming the 12th different winner in 12 editions.
After the initial runs it was Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) leading Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) in the race to move through, but replacement rider Iker Lecuona (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) put in a stunner on his final lap to grab second. On the final, final lap completed by anyone, it was a red first sector for Quartararo as the #20 pushed on. He stayed in touch just enough to have fans holding their breath, but over the line he just missed out on beating Lecuona by 0.050.
Morbidelli and Lecuona moved through, with Quartararo leapfrogging Moreira into P13 on the grid.
Q2: LAP RECORD SHOOTOUT AT THE TOP
After the first attack it was advantage Marc Marquez just edging out Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) at the top, but the final few minutes saw a deluge of red sectors start to pour in. First Bezzecchi took over on top, just shy of his lap record from Friday, before a barnstormer from Raul Fernandez saw the Trackhouse rider set a 1’56.181 – a new lap record. Ogura then blasted into the top echelons of the timesheets to take over in second, before Diggia slotted into third.
But there was one more lap to come in: Martin was on a flyer and the red didn’t fade throughout the lap, with the #89 absolutely nailing it. A 1’56.160 saw him just pip Fernandez to the top, making it Aprilia machinery locking out the front row with Martin, Fernandez and Ogura.
Bezzecchi, who lost a piece of the rear unit of his bike in the session, isn’t far off either – P5 with only Diggia breaking the Noale dominance at the top.
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THE GRID
That Championship top six lock out the front two rows, with two-time Silverstone Sprint winner Alex Marquez P7 at the head of Row 3. Morbidelli, up from Q1, is in the middle of that row, which is completed by Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – a huge name looking for more on lights out.
Lecuona takes an impressive 10, with Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) top Yamaha in P11 after moving through to Q2 automatically on Friday. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), another in the session thanks to a top 10 result on Friday, takes P12.
Quartararo and Moreira are P13 and P14, the first to not make it up from Q1, with Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) taking P15 ahead of 2022 Silverstone winner Bagnaia, who will be looking to make a big leap up the order when the lights go out. He’s ahead of Rins and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with Bastianini having a tougher time of it down in P19 on the grid – just ahead of home hero Cal Crutchlow, who was only 0.020 off the Italian. The Brit continues to sub for Johann Zarco at Castrol Honda LCR and continues to impress, several years after his retirement from full-time racing.
Pol Espargaro, deputizing for Maverick Viñales at Red Bull KTM Tech3 as the #12 continues his recovery, is just behind Crutchlow, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) next up as he takes on a venue he’s not raced at since his tenure in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup way back when. Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha Factory Racing) completes the grid on his wildcard appearance.
Ready for takeoff at the Qatar Airways British GP? The lights go out for the Tissot Sprint at 16:00 local time – BST aka UTC +1 – before the Grand Prix on Sunday at 13:00.
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