MotoGP qualifying, Silverstone: The hunt for a record ended with Bezzecchi in P1!

It was already 4 pm in England when the MotoGP elite set out on their one-hour mission for the crucial qualifying session. The conditions could hardly have been better. Under a bright blue sky and with an air temperature of 23 degrees, the session set out to determine the top 10 and thus the participants in the second qualifying session.

Qualifying for the British Grand Prix picked up where free practice had left off – with Alex Marquez in fine form at the top of the timesheets. On his second lap, the Gresini rider had already come within less than a second of the lap record (set by Fabio Quartararo) with a time of 1:58.201. Behind him, it was a tight affair: Bezzecchi was 0.032 seconds behind, with the next Aprilia, ridden by Raul Fernandez, a further 0.072 seconds back.

Acosta, Martin, Di Giannantonio, Bastianini and Miller were all within 0.48 seconds of each other after the first flurry of laps. Marc Marquez, who had tagged along behind his brother Alex at the start of the session but was unable to keep up, was only in 9th place after a third of the session.

The line-up at the other end of the field was also interesting. At the very back, the rookies Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Moreira (Honda) were languishing there until the halfway point. LCR stand-in rider Cal Crutchlow, in 19th place, was also faster than Pol Espargaro and Yamaha wildcard Augusto Fernandez. Just ahead of Crutchlow was the next stand-in rider, Iker Lecuona, who is riding for Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) in England.

Surprisingly, right up until shortly before the halfway point, the field was led by Alex Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi – two riders who, even after their injuries, would describe themselves as anything but in peak condition. Then a completely fit rider took the lead. Raul Fernandez was the first rider to break into the 1:57 mark. Whilst Morbidelli followed in second place with a time of 1:57.898, world champion ‘MM93’ moved up to fifth place. After exactly 30 minutes, the lead was back down to six, as Ai Ogura had steered the second customer Aprilia into fourth place. A 1:57.628 later, the Japanese rider was at the top – a one-two for Trackhouse Racing.

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There were broad smiles at Gresini too, as stand-in rider Lecuona had also broken into the top 10 with a time of 1:58.4. And Marc Márquez also found time. Even before the final phase on soft tyres began, the champion had moved up to third place, just 0.179 seconds behind the fastest time. When Bagnaia also joined the fray in fourth place shortly afterwards, two customer Aprilia bikes were ranked ahead of two factory Ducati GP26s in red.

As the final quarter of an hour began, Pedro Acosta accelerated towards the top three. His team-mate Brad Binder tried to follow but went off. Acosta pushed on and, with a time of 1:57.675, was now second. Marc Marquez’s team-mate for next year pushed even harder and took the lead.

But he held the lead for only a few seconds. Alex Marquez beat his young compatriot’s time and missed the lap record by the narrowest of margins. Not so his older brother. Marc Marquez clocked 1:57.035 minutes, making him the record-holder. But the chase continued. Fabio Di Giannantonio took the lead – 1:56.976. Less than a minute later, the baton was passed to the former leader, Ai Ogura. His time of 1:56.810 held – until two minutes before the chequered flag, when Raul Fernandez struck: 1:56.615.

But the biggest surprise came from an Aprilia works rider. Marco Bezzecchi had perfect timing and delivered a dream lap. 1:56.280 – this put the Italian, who had been forced to retire early from the last Grand Prix with a broken collarbone, back on top.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, in third place, prevented a complete Aprilia triumph. Behind Martin and Ogura, Marc Marquez secured his place in Q2 in sixth.

In the final stages, Pecco Bagnaia went off at Turn 6. The two-time world champion emerged unscathed but dropped out of the top 10 in the final minutes. Pedro Acosta also didn’t get through the session unscathed. The Red Bull rider went off at Turn 4 but still managed to secure a place in Q2 in tenth.

The riders from the Japanese teams also made their mark late on. Joan Mir stormed into 8th place, whilst Yamaha rider Jack Miller secured 9th, ensuring that all manufacturers were represented in the top 10. The Yamaha duo of Razgatlioglu and Fernandez finished at the very back of the field. Cal Crutchlow finished the qualifying session in 20th place in front of his home crowd.