Johann Zarco left behind the protagonists of the 2022 season and took pole position for the British GP, scheduled for Sunday at Silverstone.
While all eyes were on Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia, the Suzuki duo and company, Johann Zarco decided to take the lead on Saturday (6), at Silverstone, and will start from pole for the British MotoGP Grand Prix. However, the Frenchman broke the track record by lapping 1min57s767.
Maverick Viñales finished second, 0s098 from pole position. Jack Miller closes the front row with Ducati.
World leader Fabio Quartararo was in fourth position, but the Yamaha rider will still have to complete the long lap in tomorrow’s race, so he will have to catch up so as not to see his rivals take away valuable points in the standings.
Fifth with Ducati Francesco Bagnaia, with Aleix Espargaró who obtained a good sixth place after the violent accident suffered in FP4, a few moments before qualifying. Seventh Marco Bezzecchi, followed by Enea Bastianini. Jorge Martín and Luca Marini finished the top-10.
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The English afternoon continued with partly cloudy skies and very mild temperatures: 22 ° C, with the track reaching 44 ° C. Relative humidity was 38%, with winds of 11 km / h.
Qualifying at Silverstone began with the 14 names that failed to finish in the top ten in the combined free practice sessions vying for the two remaining places in Q2. Among these, a notable presence: Enea Bastianini, who praised the aerodynamic changes promoted by Ducati on Friday, but was unable to improve his time in FP3.
Even so, the Italian went on the attack in Q1 and set the pace in the first half, lapping in 1min58, while the opponents still walked in 1min59s. Miguel Oliveira, with KTM, finished in second place, temporarily winning the right to continue the fight for pole position.
With nine minutes to go, Álex Márquez suffers his first fall in the standings, at turn 8. Up until that point, the Spaniard had only appeared 11th, far from Bastianini’s time.
In the final minutes, Q1 turned into a race, with all the drivers taking to the track to fight for the two positions in Q2. Traffic ended up disrupting the plans of those aiming to shoot under Oliveira’s 1min59s161 mark. But Brad Binder managed to find the tenths needed to take the Portuguese to third place – and consequently out of the bottom of the Silverstone standings. Zero timer, Oliveira tries one more last attempt, but fails to advance. With that Bastianini and Brad Binder were classified for the pole fight.
After a short break, the fight began in earnest: Aleix, discharged from the doctors after his violent fall in FP4, took to the track to set his time, and the broadcast followed him. Martín, Bagnaia and Quartararo also arrived on the same lap.
The Pramac driver was the first to cross the finish line, scoring 1min58s377. Johann Zarco, teammate of the Spaniard, jumped to second place at 0s053 from the provisional pole. Followed by Vinales, Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi, completing the virtual top-5.
It was when Quartararo, bitten by the penalty he will have to serve in the race, scored 1min58s259, taking the Yamaha to the lead. Jack Miller arrived and made the feat of being only 0s001 slower than number 20.
Meanwhile Aleix, who had set a lap time, retired to the pits, suggesting that he would have a problem, but after talking to the team he returned to the track. The top ten in the standings were as follows: Quartararo, Miller, Viñales, Martín, Zarco, Rins, Bagnaia, Marini, Mir and Bezzechi.
Five minutes from the end, the drivers left for the definition. Espargaró arrived determined to put his bike in the top places and started doing the best sectors. Eventually, 1min57s966, the first to drop from 1min58s, proving that even with a takedown, he would be a tough one to break in the fight for the lead.
But the dispute has been intense in the last few seconds. First, Miller put Ducati first. Subsequently, Zarco flew and was 0s164 faster than the Australian. Vinales followed with Aprilia and was even better: 1min57s865. But no one could improve Zarco’s times. Pole position for Zarco, holder of a track record.
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Source: Terra
