Qualifying, Silverstone: Valentin Perrone ahead of Britain’s Scott Ogden

The Moto3 riders kicked off the first afternoon of the crucial qualifying sessions following the summer break of just over three weeks. Only 14 of the 26 riders would go straight through to the second qualifying session on Saturday afternoon after 35 minutes. There was little room for tactical manoeuvring, as the lap length of just under six kilometres (with a lap time of around 2:10) meant there was no scope for wasting a single lap.

The dominant Moto3 leader, Maximo Quiles, had a slip-up in FP1. Although the Spaniard managed the seventh-fastest time, Quiles did ride his bike off the track once. David Almansa fared better on his return to the Intact GP KTM. With a time of 2:10.553, the Spaniard was clearly the fastest youngster.

The qualifying session had only been underway for five minutes when Almansa had already shaved half a second off his best time set hours earlier. Sachsenring winner Brian Uriarte set the second-fastest time ahead of an unfazed Quiles. A good two minutes later, the lead changed hands again – Uriarte was now in front, whilst Almansa had also broken the 2:10 mark for the first time.

Notably, the three fastest Moto3 riders at that point were also battling wheel-to-wheel on the track, with David Almansa leading the way. Casey O’Gorman was also putting in a fierce performance – sitting in 4th place after the first quarter of an hour. His team-mate Leo Rammerstorfer, like all the other rookies in the class making their debut on the legendary GP circuit, was in P25, a good 3.8 seconds off Uriarte’s pace.

With 15 minutes still on the clock, the pace picked up further. World Championship leader Quiles and his closest rival Alvaro Carpe were on course for the fastest lap, but then turned into the pits. Just under five minutes before the chequered flag, the riders lined up for a final push. Whilst Adrian Cruces moved up to 5th place, the other riders in the top 10 initially failed to improve their times. However, with everyone taking full risks, the picture changed in the final minutes. Casey O’Gorman jumped to 2nd place, but Bertelle, Morelli and Ogden also followed suit with sector best times.

Knapp an Platz 1 vorbei: Scott Ogden

Foto: Gold and Goose

When Scott Ogden emerged in first place, the fans – already gathered in large numbers across the vast venue – cheered. But Valentin Perrone snatched first place. The Argentine pushed the local hero down to second in the final with a time of 2:09.569 minutes. Third place was claimed by rookie Veda Pratama with a very strong final lap. Urirate, who had led for much of the race, slipped down to fourth, whilst David Almansa finished a creditable sixth.

The three substitute riders also struggled to keep up with the pace of the Moto3 elite in qualifying. Gonzalez (replacing David Munoz), Singhapong (replacing Mitani) and Abruzzo (replacing Moodley) failed to make it through to Q2. In contrast, fans in England applauded enthusiastically for Eddie O’Shea and Casey O’Gorman, who also made it into the top 14. The Austrian Leo Rammerstorfer, however, was disappointed with 26th place.