Stunning weather at Silverstone meant great racing for MotoGP Qualifying with Marc Marquez beating Valentino Rossi to take pole for the 60th time in his career. The British Grand Prix returns for 2019 after last years racing was infamously cancelled due to the bad weather.
Unlikely Duo
Andrea Dovizioso struggled to find the required pace which resulted in the Ducati man posting a time that was only good enough for 14th in Free Practice 3. Alex Rins surprisingly found himself in 11th in the same session meaning both usually strong riders had to enter qualifying in Q1. Luckily both avoided a shock with the factory Ducati title contender posting 01:58.944 and the Team Suzuki Ecstar rider recording a 01:59.190.
Silverstone is the longest track on the calendar which meant that the riders needed t post a quick lap time pretty fast as any mishap on one lap would mean 2 minutes until the next flying lap. In a 15 Minute session, this could prove costly so as expected the pace was phenomenal around the 3.6 mile Northampton track
Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Dovizioso, Alex Rins and Cal Crutchlow had to abort their first flying lap due to traffic caused by some riders trying to find a tow which is more common in the Moto3 than the premier class. Marc Marquez blitzed his way to the top of the timesheets with a blistering first flying lap time of 1:58.6.
Fabio Quartararo who has had not only a sensational debut season but also posting the fastest laps time at Silverstone in three out of four of the previous practice sessions initially had the fastest time on the boards but had to pit because of an issue with his bike. He left the pits on what looked like his number 2 bike visibly angry and quite animated.
Andrea Dovizioso was beginning to get into the flow with some of the fastest laps he has posted this weekend but was suffering in the last sector despite red sectors at the beginning of the lap which meant his best place was third during the final melee however this was not going to last as Marquez, Rossi, and Jack Miller had other plans.
Marquez, Rossi and Miller – Cat and Mouse
The Trio of riders after leaving the pits were reluctant to give the other a tow and as a result, were hanging back almost coming to a stand, reminiscent of the Moto3 sessions of the past until sanctions were handed out for that kind of riding. However, as Valentino Rossi had his maiden lap cancelled he had no option but to take the initiative in order to get a time on the board.
Marc Marquez and Jack Miller both benefited from the tow provided by the 9 Time World Champion and as a result, Marquez managed to post a pole setting time of 01:58.168, 0.428 of a second ahead of Rossi, The Doctors first front row since Austin, Texas. Miller finished in 3rd the highest placed Ducati.
LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow crashed at turn 7 with 2 minutes to go at his home race. Cal was interviewed by The Checkered Flag’s own Joshua Close https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2019/08/cal-crutchlow-interview/
Sundays Race will be a Cracker with the top 12 containing riders that are all capable of winning. Watch it on BT SPORT. Coverage starts from 8:45 with the warm-ups.
Q2 Top 12
Q2 result:
1. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) 1:58.168
2. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.428
3. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) + 0.434
4. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.444
5. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.502
6. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.594
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) + 0.594
8. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.928
9. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) + 1.075
10. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 1.259
11. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) + 1.319
12. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 1.452
