FIM MotoGP World Championship
Silverstone Circuit, England
August 30, 2014
Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
From Qualifying Session Two:
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 2:00.829
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 2:01.140
3. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 2:01.175
4. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (FORWARD YAMAHA), 2:01.448
5. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 2:01.464
6. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 2:01.550
7. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 2:01.593
8. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 2:01.747
9. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 2:01.973
10. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 2:02.064
11. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), 2:02.116
12. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 2:03.618
From Qualifying Session One:
13. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 2:03.046
14. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), 2:03.206
15. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (DUCATI), 2:03.407
16. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), 2:03.563
17. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (FORWARD YAMAHA), 2:03.686
18. Leon CAMIER, UK (HONDA), 2:03.696
19. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (ART-APRILIA), 2:04.755
20. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-APRILIA), 2:04.836
21. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-KAWASAKI), 2:04.957
22. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-KAWASAKI), 2:05.451
23. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-APRILIA), 2:06.106
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez takes tenth pole of the season in Britain with Pedrosa in 5th
Despite a small crash in this morning’s FP3 session, reigning World Champion Marc Marquez, thundered to his tenth pole – from twelve this season – for tomorrow’s Great Britain GP. His Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, will start from the second row in 5th place.
Another cool and windy day at the Silverstone track, with track temperatures 13ºC lower than in 2013 (22º compared to 35º), meant that the pole position record was never in jeopardy, however, Marc came very close. His pole time of 2’00.829 on his final flying lap (6 of 7) was just 0.138s off his record lap here last year (2’00.691). Dani missed out on a front start by just 0.289s with his best lap of 2’01.464 also on his final flying lap of 7.
Tomorrow’s Grand Prix will commence at 13h00 local time.
TEAM QUOTES
Marc Marquez
1st – 2’00.829
“It was a difficult qualifying session, because it was hard to get heat into the front tyre. However, I am happy with pole position – more than anything because of how comfortable I am feeling this weekend. I am finding it easy to set a fast pace, and this is important at this track, which is bumpy and long. Let’s hope that we have a sunny day tomorrow, or at least that it doesn’t rain, and we will try to fight for the win right from the first lap.”
Dani Pedrosa
5th – 2’01.464
“Today was a positive day and we have taken a step forward from yesterday with the setup. The tyres also performed better today than in the previous practice sessions. However, I think that we still need to fine-tune the setup to get the tyres performing even better. Qualifying didn’t go completely smoothly, but we were able to put in a good lap. It will be important to get a good start tomorrow and find a strong pace in the race.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Smith to begin home battle from 7th
British star Bradley Smith delivered a strong qualifying performance in front of his home fans to seize 7th position on the grid for tomorrow’s MotoGP race at Silverstone. The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider continued his positive form from yesterday and began today by completing the FP3 session in 8th position with a best lap of 2’02.605 and just half a second from 3rd place. This quick time saw him breeze straight through to the 15 minute Q2 shootout session at the 5900 meter Silverstone track. Having established a strong setup for the race with his Monster Yamaha Tech3 team, he surged onwards with the weather threatening to rain but remaining dry. With the chequered flag being shown at the end of the intense Q2 session, Smith shot to a best time of 2’01.593 on his penultimate run and this lap saw him successfully clinch 7th position with it being only just over four tenths of a second from the front row. His performance today sets him up for the epic showdown tomorrow aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 where he will aim for glory in front of his home fans.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro powered home to undertake a solid qualifying campaign and clinch 8th. Having worked thoroughly on his Yamaha YZR-M1 from the start at the Silverstone circuit, the young Spaniard today set his fast lap of 2’02.365 during FP3 which was only half a second from the top of the board. His time saw him finish 6th and able to pass immediately through to the second qualifying session. During Q2, the reigning Moto2 World Champion rode full throttle to produce a lap time of 2’01.747 which was fractionally behind his team mate by only 0.154. His efforts see him poised for the race campaign tomorrow, which he will begin from the middle of the third row as he looks to consolidate his 7th position in the World Championship standings during his rookie season in the premier class.
Bradley Smith
Position : 7thTime : 2’01.593 Laps : 7
“I may be a little disappointed to get bumped down from 6th position by Valentino right at the end but I am still pleased with 7th as it could be a blessing in disguise for tomorrow’s race start. By beginning in 7th and at the front of the 3rd row, I will actually be entering the first corner from the outside. At the first turn, it’s easy to get passed on the inside but it will be almost better for me to roll around the outside of the curve which will then set me up for the inside of turn two. Then I aim to make a break and close to the front runners. Of course, it would have been great to have finished 6th or even higher and ahead of a factory bike, but there are lots of positives from today and I can’t wait to get the show on the road in tomorrow’s 20 lap race in front of my home crowd. In addition, I want give a big thank you to my team who really made a great effort and helped to take a lot of pressure off me.
Pol Espargaro
Position : 8thTime : 2’01.747 Laps : 7
“Unfortunately, we are a bit further back than where he had hoped to be, but this track is really difficult and quite long so even if you are just loosing a small amount in every corner, it all adds up at the end of the lap. Today itself has not been one of our best days, we had been struggling a bit this morning especially in sector 4 where I lost a lot of time in the fast corners. We are still trying to improve, particularly in this area and tomorrow’s warm up will be vital to put ourselves in a better position for the race. If every sector of the circuit was like the first two, where I have been really fast all weekend then we would probably be battling for the podium tomorrow. As this isn’t the case, I am unsure what to expect, as some races have been really different to what I anticipated. I know that I have to make a good start and like in every GP, it’s important to try and follow the front runners. Then I will be able to see what they do differently during T3 and T4 in order to make me more confident. For sure I will enjoy the race anyway as I really like riding at Silverstone so I am hopeful of a strong result.”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Impressive fourth place for Aleix Espargaro at Silverstone
The NGM Forward Racing rider Aleix Espargaro impressed once again on his Forward Yamaha clocking a 2’01.448 to secure the 4th place, just 0.619 from pole man Marc Marquez. First open on the grid, Aleix will take the start of the British GP from the first spot of the second row alongside Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi.
After a difficult start of the weekend, Espargaro was very satisfied with his lap time that gives him extra confidence for the race.
It was a complicated qualifying for team mate Alex De Angelis. A technical problem prevented him to push as hard as he wanted. Despite this issue, he succeeded to set a promising 2’03.686 with hard tyres and tomorrow Alex will take the start from the sixth row (17th).
Aleix Espargaro
“I’m really happy with my best lap time. Silverstone is a tricky track and the cold temperatures make more complicated to find the right set up with the bike. In the practices we struggled with the front, but in the qualifying I made a very good lap that gives me extra confidence for tomorrow’s race. We are close to the provisional podium. Regarding the tyre choice, which is really crucial here, I think I will race with the soft compound, even if I usually prefer the hard option. It’s cold and I prefer a safer solution”.
Alex De Angelis
“In Qualifying we suffered from a technical issue that prevented me to push as I wanted. It’s a pity but I’m happy that we did our best lap time despite this problem and with hard tyres. We are progressing session after session and I look forward to the race”.
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Iannone and Hernandez are positive for tomorrow’s race
Good day despite the crash on the last lap of the Q2, Andrea Iannone was facing an outstanding lap that would have earned him at least the first row, but the crash in turn 15 did not allow him to finish the last lap available. The Pramac Racing Team had to settle for starting from tenth position on the grid for tomorrow’s race. The work, however, took place during the two practice sessions gave good results, the bike is now less rough and more intuitive entering the turns. This important progress give hope for being able to fight for top positions in the race tomorrow.
Yonny Hernandez finishes the FP3 in eleventh position and loses direct access to the QP2 for just 26 milliseconds. The EnergyTI Pramac Racing rider significantly improves the lap time from yesterday but does not hold the position. The Q1 starts with a slight drizzle but Yonny, however, pushes the as hard as he can, during his final lap he had to slow down because of the flags red / yellow flag signaling slippery track and loses the opportunity to improve his time. Yonny therefore will start from the thirteenth position, however, that will allow him to stay in the colse to the riders in the top ten from the first laps of the race.
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)
“Even if I crashed I’m happy with the work done today. I arrived at T3 with the “red helmet” and I had the chance to close the Q2 in the front row but unfortunately I crashed. This morning I struggled a lot to ride the bike it was very difficult to go into the curves, for qualifying we found a setting more suited to my driving style. For tomorrow’s race we are extremely positive and I think I can do a good result, it will be important to make a good start. “
Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)
“I was hoping to do a little better in qualifying, but on the last lap I closed the throttle when I saw the yellow/red flag. Tomorrow morning I will try a few more things to be a little faster. I’m confident because I like this track and we have improved the bike a little more from yesterday. “
More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:
Saturday was success; we will start to the race from 14th place
The Czech rider, Karel Abraham, in Saturday’s qualifying of British Grand Prix at Silverstone, managed to achieved a promising result. First, during third free practice he improved by more than one second his best time of yesterday. Then, in the afternoon, he was able to overcome all pitfalls of the longest circuit of the season with honor. On the track that was being sprinkled by drops of rain, in last fastest lap he rode the time 2:03,206 and this result brought him on fourteenth position. Behind our rider is also rider on factory bike, Cal Crutchlow.
Karel Abraham
“The result is good, I’m satisfied. In the morning we speed up a lot and we prepared well the bike for the afternoon session. Qualifying we managed really good and i managed to do very fast last lap. That’s true, that rear part of the bike was not properly on the track and in two parts of the track it was not ideal. For sure i could be little bit faster, but at the end it doesn’t matter. Fourteenth place is good. We beat even Cal Crutchlow and I’m happy about it. On the track I rode much well than yesterday, everyone rode faster today. It is also because the surface is rubberized, actually we swept the track. The question is, which type of tyres we will choose for tomorrow.”
Marco Grana, Cardion AB chief mechanic
„We are maximum satisfied. Karel made good job. We are very fast, we rode some great times and we are also close to riders on much more betters bikes than we have. For example we lose to Bautista just half of the second. We left behind us even Crutchlow on factory bike. We managed to set and remove all problems with instability of the front tyre and tomorrow during the warm up we will try to set the bike that Karel feels really comfortable. We will see what the weather will be tomorrow and which tyres we will choose.“
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Lorenzo Secures Silverstone Front Row for British Grand Prix
Silverstone (UK), 30th August 2014
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo claimed third place on the grid for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone this afternoon following a tense qualifying session that saw teammate Valentino Rossi take sixth on the second row.
Lorenzo was clearly eager to start the session as the first rider to line up at the pit line exit for the overcast 15-minute session. His first hot lap was a 2’01.798 followed by a 2’01.771 that was good for provisional second place. With six and half minutes left Lorenzo then returned to the pits for a fresh rear tyre.
Returning quickly to the track, the Spaniard dropped a time of 2’01.175 to secure provisional pole position until his rivals’ last minute hot laps pushed him to third at the end.
Teammate Rossi wasted no time at the start of the session to put in his first flying lap. The nine time world champion soon dropped under the 2’02 mark with a 2’01.893, after which he immediately returned to the pits. With just over five minutes remaining he was back on track to pick up the pace and delivered a 2’01.550. The time was good enough to secure the second row in sixth place.
Jorge Lorenzo
3rd / 2’01.175 / 7 laps
“I’m very satisfied and very proud of my lap time. I pushed to the limit and I improved six tenths of a second on the last lap compared to my first try. The soft tyre on the front is much better for our bike. I would like to use it tomorrow, but it will be a long race, so we have to improve the bike a little bit more during the warm-up to be more comfortable with the harder tyres. This year the engine and the clutch are different. I don’t have the same feeling, making it difficult to make similar starts to last year. Starting from third place of the grid is not the best position, because you are too much on the inside for the first corner, but it is still better to be on the first row than to be on the second. It’s a good position. Let’s try to improve the bike for tomorrow and try to stay with the front group during the race.”
Valentino Rossi
6th / 2’01.550 / 7 laps
“I’m a lot less worried and more satisfied about today, because in both practice sessions we were more competitive and we can fight for top positions. We made good progress with the bike compared to yesterday. Unfortunately I’m not 100% happy about my qualifying, because I could do better. I could have had a little bit more potential to stay at the front, but starting from the second row is not a disaster. It’s good for the race. We have to fix some small problems that I have under braking and corner entry and try to improve for tomorrow. Yesterday we didn’t balance the bike well and I had big troubles with the front tyre, so when I entered the corner I suffered a lot with all the bumps. This circuit has a lot of them, but today the team improved the set up and the balance a lot and we improved the lap times a lot too.”
Massimo Meregalli
“Considering the issues we were having yesterday we are satisfied to be on the first and second row. The team worked very hard overnight to find solutions to Friday’s issues and we were able to give both Jorge and Vale a more competitive package today. They’ve also made it count this afternoon and put in a great effort to secure the grid positions. There are two or three good hard braking points were there are overtaking possibilities so we have the potential to have a good race. For sure we still have the opportunity to improve the set up further so we will work to find an extra step for the morning warm up.”
More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:
Marquez runs riot in cool conditions to take pole position at Silverstone
Round 12: British Grand Prix – Qualifying Practice
Silverstone, Saturday August 30 2014
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: FP3 – Dry. Ambient 15-16°C; Track 19-21°C (Bridgestone measurement)
FP4/QP – Dry. Ambient 17-18°C; Track 24-26°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Marc Marquez was dominant in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on his Repsol Honda RC213V, the Spanish star setting a time of 2’00.829 to seize his tenth pole position of 2014 as he vies for a first MotoGP™ win at Silverstone.
Marquez’s best time was just a couple of tenths shy of his own outright lap record at Silverstone, which he set last year in much warmer temperatures, but was enough to see him finish 0.311 seconds ahead of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso who continued his impressive form by claiming his third consecutive front row start. Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo was third quickest in qualifying, the two-time World Champion overcoming a difficult first day at Silverstone to claim the final slot on the front row for the British Grand Prix. Each rider on the front row used a different tyre combination to set their personal best lap time; Marquez used the medium compound rear and soft compound front, Dovizioso was second quickest on the soft compound rear and soft front, while Lorenzo opted for the medium rear paired with the extra-soft compound front slick.
The weather today was even cooler than yesterday with a peak track temperature of just 26°C recorded during FP4; 11°C cooler than the corresponding session at last year’s British Grand Prix. Despite the cool conditions, the riders were still able to evaluate a wide range of tyre combinations and during race simulations in FP4, the soft compound front slick emerged as the most popular option for the riders due to its good balance of cornering and braking performance. For the rear tyre, the medium compound rear slick was preferred by the majority of the Ducati, Honda and Yamaha riders, while the Open-class riders were impressed by the grip and consistency of the soft compound rear slick.
Cool and breezy conditions are forecast for tomorrow’s twenty lap British Grand Prix which starts at 1300 local time tomorrow, with the twenty-minute morning Warm Up session starting at 0930.
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“After a challenging start to the weekend yesterday, the riders were able to make a big step today in terms of setup which allowed them to get the tyres working in their optimum temperature range and this resulted in improved lap times, and more consistent performance. We revised our front tyre allocation for this year and so it was pleasing to see Ducati, Honda and Yamaha riders on the front row, each using a different specification of front slick tyre in cool conditions. So many different tyre options have been used so far this weekend, but I expect the soft compound front slick and the softer option rear slicks to be used by the majority of the riders for tomorrow’s race.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Dovizioso puts in another excellent qualifying run for the British GP at Silverstone, with second place and a front row start for the third successive race. Crutchlow fifteenth
Andrea Dovizioso followed up his previous two qualifying performances with another superb run at Silverstone today. The Ducati Team’s Italian rider took second place on the grid for the third GP in a row and will start from the front row for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix. Cal Crutchlow could only manage fifteenth fastest time and will start from row 5.
Dovizioso, who has been quick since Friday morning, also finished this morning’s free practice session in second place, a result that guaranteed him automatic access to Q2. Crutchlow’s day was a lot more difficult, as he could only finish fifteenth in FP3 and in the combined standings. As a result the Coventry rider had to take part in Q1, but he was unable to go any higher than fifth place in that session.
In Q2 Dovizioso immediately notched up an excellent time on his first exit and then waited for the final part of the session to go out on track again, this time setting a time of 2’01.140, three-tenths off the mark recorded by poleman Marquez. This is the fourth time this year that the Italian rider has qualified on the front row.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd (2’01.140)
“It’s really great to be on the front row again! In the last few races we’ve gone very well in qualifying, and I knew I could also do a good lap here at Silverstone. But above all I’m happy with my race pace: we have always used the medium tyre, which is probably what everyone will be using tomorrow. I think that we’ll have a chance of doing a good race and of being closer to the leaders, which is always our aim. So far the weekend has been very positive: we’ll have to see what this strange weather will reserve for us tomorrow, but we’ve been working well and I am very satisfied!”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 15th (2’03.407)
“Today was a very disappointing day, and to be so far down the starting-grid is not a good result. I didn’t have the best feeling with the rear tyre in the qualifying session, but I’ve been struggling throughout the weekend anyway here at Silverstone. We’ll have to try and improve in tomorrow’s warm-up because my bike has still got a lot of vibrations and not such good grip with the tyres. Hopefully we can find a solution for the race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Scott Redding’s publicist:
Redding equals best qualifying performance at Silverstone
Silverstone, Great Britain – 30 August 2014: Once again the Union Flag played it’s part in Scott’s Redding qualifying performance at Silverstone, with the 21-year-old Briton finishing 11th this afternoon to equal his best qualifying performance of the season aboard the red, white and blue liveried Honda RCV1000R.
Redding was quick to post a fast lap to head the 15-minute Q1 session, improving again right at the end to secure a place in Q2 for only the second time this season. The Gresini Honda rider carried his pace into Q2, posting a fast lap on his one remaining soft tyre early on in the session to claim 11th position on the grid.
While happy with his qualifying performance, Redding knows tomorrow’s race at the ultra-fast Silverstone circuit will be a tough one.
Scott Redding // 11th // 2’02.116
“I only had one soft tyre left for Q2, so I knew I only had one go at a fast lap. I went out with the other riders and, although I was under pressure a little, it all worked out perfectly as by using the slipstream I was able to go 0.5s quicker than I’d managed in Q1. It was a big step and one I was happy to make here at my home Grand Prix. Tomorrow will be difficult; doing one or two fast laps with the soft tyre is one thing, but to be consistently fast over race distance is a different thing altogether. In the race I will fight hard in the early stages, try and stay close to the factory bikes for as long as I can and then see how it goes. The support from the British fans just adds to my motivation and I hope I can put on a good show for them in the race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
BRADL ENDS UP IN 9th PLACE HIS SECOND TOUGH OUTING AT SILVERSTONE
Silverstone, 30 August: after yesterday’s impressive 2nd position on day one at Silverstone race track, LCR rider Stefan Bradl was convinced that more had to come from his CWM Honda machine but the former Moto2 World Champion ran into two crashes before the QP2. He escaped unhurt from both incidents but he missed some confidence to set a proper quick lap time in the afternoon showdown. Bradl will start from the third row on the grid for the 20-lap race, which will start at 13:00 local time.
Stefan: “Yesterday we finished the day in a very good position but unfortunately today the situation turns around and we are back in 9th position. So it’s definitively a disappointing day. This morning we had a really high-speed crash due to a big windblast that made me loose the front. The bike was very damaged and we had to use the other bike for the FP4 with a harder front tyre because we kept the softer for the qualifying. Probably the hard tyre was not the right choice because we crashed another time in the breaking area so our QP2 was made to get back some confidence and P9 is the maximum I could do. I am really frustrated and I am sorry for the mechanics because they have a lot to do to fix both bikes for tomorrow. Anyway we have to think positive trying to score as many points as possible”.
More, from a press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:
DRIVE M7 Aspar riders will start from the sixth row at Silverstone
Hiroshi Aoyama will start from 16th position and Leon Camier from 18th
Following the first four practice sessions and two qualifying practices at the British Grand Prix, Marc Márquez has emerged as a clear favorite to win tomorrow. He has led all sessions without any major problem, and although Dovizioso has pushed him, in the end the Italian had to settle for second place. Near the end of Q2 Lorenzo relegated Marquez from the top spot for a while, but ultimately Marquez responded to outpace his nearest rival by three tenths. Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Rossi, his main rivals seem to have solved their problems from yesterday, to reach the first and second rows, but Marquez still looks strongest. We should not overlook the excellent performance of Andrea Dovizioso either though. However, given his momentum at the British round Marquez looks set to bounce back from Brno.
The DRIVE M7 Aspar riders continued their work today at the Silverstone circuit, and after qualifying both will start tomorrow’s race from the sixth row. Both Hiroshi Aoyama and Leon Camier have shown steady progress so far throughout the British Grand Prix, improving in each session to register their best laps in Q1. The Japanese rider stopped the clock at 2’03.563, for 16th, and the Briton set a 2’03.696, to qualify 18th. Both have significantly improved their set-ups, but they are aware that they can still fine tune further. Leon unfortunately crashed at the end of Q1 but did not suffer serious consequences.
Hiroshi Aoyama 16th 2’03.563: “This morning we introduced a new set-up that was more positive than yesterday, so I was happy. In the afternoon, for the final practice session, we tried to go a little further with the setup from this morning, but my feeling have changed. In the last official practice session we didn’t have much time to go back. We were only able to adjust certain aspects of the bike. That prevented me from being one hundred percent during Q1, but I still tried to push hard and at least I got a pretty fast lap. We have improved over a second from the first day, which is very positive, but I hoped to improve a little more to qualify better. I believe we still have a chance to improve our performance, we will work in the morning warm-up session to make it happen.”
Leon Camier 18th 2’03.696: “This morning I was struggling with the set-up of the bike and in the final practice session we made a great change that helped me to ride faster. We basically worked on my position on the bike, to make me feel more comfortable. Also for the Q1 we made further changes and I lapped faster than in free practice, following some other riders. I felt comfortable on the bike and able to push, knowing that we could continue to increase our pace. My goal was to continue to drop the lap time, but shortly before the end I went down. I didn’t manage to keep the temperature of the tyres up and that caused me to fall. Tomorrow we have to keep working in the warm-up session, although it will probably be cold enough to improve the response of the rear brake, which is important in a circuit with many potholes.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Marvellous Marquez takes tenth pole of the season
The MotoGP™ pole was secured by Marc Marquez in Q2 at the Hertz British Grand Prix, whilst Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo have also qualified on the front row.
Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) grabbed his tenth pole of the season right at the end of the qualifying shootout, clocking a 2’00.829 to secure the top spot on the gird as he looks for an immediate return to winning ways, after his fourth place Brno race finish.
Dovizioso (Ducati Team) made good use of the softer option qualifying tyre again to trail by 0.311s in second place.
Despite his troubles on Friday to get on the pace and to get the best from this weekend’s tyre allocation Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) qualified on row one in third place.
Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) impressed once more on his Open Forward-Yamaha in fourth, qualifying ahead of factory equipped riders Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP).
Teammates Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro (both Monster Yamaha Tech3) will line up on row three in seventh and eighth respectively. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) ended up in ninth place, having escaped unscathed after two crashes earlier in the day.
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) also crashed, in his case towards the end of Q2, leaving him tenth on the grid. Colleagues Scott Redding and Alvaro Bautista (both GO&FUN Honda Gresini) made it through from Q1 but could only qualify 11th and 12th.
Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) missed out on Q2 in third and fifth in Q1, leaving them 13th and 15th respectively on the grid.
A crash towards the end of Q1 for Leon Camier (Drive M7 Aspar) hindered his progress, but the Briton walked away unhurt, qualifying 18th.
Moto2™: Superb Saturday action concludes as Zarco takes pole
Sunday’s intermediate class race at the Hertz British Grand Prix will start with Johann Zarco on pole, with Mika Kallio and Simone Corsi behind him on row one.
Frenchman Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) achieved his first Moto2™ pole and the first pole for Caterham in Grand Prix, with a 2’07.094 lap of Silverstone.
Title candidate Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) and experienced Italian rider Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) will line up behind Zarco on row one, in second and third respectively.
Kallio’s teammate and championship rival Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) appeared to be furious with himself at the end of QP, qualifying fourth but apparently feeling he had missed an opportunity to get onto the front row with a late charge.
Rookie Jonas Folger (AGR Team) and Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) qualified just behind Rabat on row two, respectively in fifth and sixth.
The top ten was completed by home rider Sam Lowes (Speed Up), Maverick Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team).
Tetsuta Nagashima (Teluru Team JiR Webike) will miss Sunday’s race after breaking a leg and damaging a shoulder in an FP3 crash, whilst veteran wild card Jeremy McWilliams (Brough Superior Racing) found the going tough in QP, crashing twice and recording a lap time nine seconds off the pace.
Dakota Mamola, substituting for Nico Terol in the Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 outfit, qualified in 33rd place.
Moto3™: Top spot for rampant Rins on Silverstone grid
Alex Rins will get away from the front of the Moto3™ grid at the Hertz British Grand Prix on Sunday having taken pole, leading from Niccolo Antonelli and Alex Marquez in QP at Silverstone.
Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) produced a superb 2’13.112 lap to set a new pole position record time and grab the front position on the grid for race 12 of the year, ahead of Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN), by 0.112s.
Rins’ teammate Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) held provisional pole with ten minutes to go, but was eventually 0.338s behind his colleague on the front row.
Meanwhile, the second row positions were secured by Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3), Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing) and Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold).
Behind them Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing), standings leader Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) will occupy the third row.
Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) completed the top ten, whilst Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) was unlucky to slip to 11th after a mechanical problem. Local rider Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) rounded out the fourth row in 12th.
Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) had a difficult session and qualified down in 22nd. Early in the QP wild card Jasper Iwema (KRP Abbink Racing) went down and limped away. He qualified 28th whilst fellow wild card Joe Irving (Redline Motorcycles/KTM UK) was 32nd.