Pole de Zarco and Aleix finished a heroic 6th after their fierce crash

Frenchman Johann Zarco scored his second pole of the year in Q2 for the British MotoGP Grand Prix at Silverstone where the great and heroic was Aleix Espargaró. Crippled by bilateral contusions in both ankles, especially the calcaneum of the right ankle, he climbed three quarters of an hour after his massive highside to 180 km/h in FP4 on the bike and gave everything broke including the previous record for fastest lap. It was not enough for pole or the front row, but he finished sixth and will share a row with the leader Quartararo, with a long lap penalty pending for the race -28 thousandths separated the two-, and Pecco Bagnaia.

Since Assen 2021 when he took pole Maverick Viñales returned to a front row after finishing second 98 thousandths from pole with Jack Miller, third. Aleix Espargaró’s best ally for the title could have a free pass due to his teammate’s conditions to win his first victory with Aprilia at the same circuit where he scored his first MotoGP victory for Suzuki in 2016.

After giving a scare in the middle of FP4 with a very difficult highside at turn 12 that sent him directly to the medical center on a stretcher, Aleix Espargaró returned to his seat in the Aprilia Racing box trying to crack a smile for the camera , the bilateral. contusion This is the least evil due to the brutality of the crash, to take part in Q2 of the British GP at Silverstone with the only RS-GP he has at his disposal in the box. From top favorite to pole position at Silverstone, to trying to save the tools at a crucial moment and at the circuit where he inaugurated his record of podium finishes with Aprilia.

And the first to leave the pitlane, rare for him to always be late, was Fabio Quartararo, chased by Marini. On the wheel of Aleix, who limped up on his Aprilia, Pecco Bagnaia, too hard at the start, more than usual, to get into the fairing, but warms up the tires carefully.

The first provisional pole was reserved by Jorge Martín with 1’38″377, two tenths from the record for the best lap (1’58″168 by Marc Márquez in 2019), ahead of Zarco and Viñales, with Aleix which was ninth and Quartararo dropped his first lap when he was caught by a Marini wheel, but the one from Tavullia had not yet dropped and the Frenchman was forced to open to sign 1’58″259, a better time than Martín. And a thousand he stayed from the pole Provisional Miller .

After this first round Quartararo, Miller and Viñales had the provisional first row and the first six -in addition to Martín, Zarco and Rins- at 0″177, with Aleix Espargaró twelfth and last at 1″6 not yet getting away from The RS-GP and its mechanics had to change the tires with the Aprilia rider. That also allowed him to start first and have at least three attempts to improve.

They change the tires on the Aprilia

Aleix Espargaró gave it his all in his first launched lap, red helmet in the first two sets, Alex Rins broke away in time and still wearing a red helmet for the third set and ended up closing the lap with a new record with 1 ‘ 57″ 966, a whole lesson in honor and professionalism for young m’ças.

But the maximum equality of the category meant that it was not enough to keep the temporary pole and Johann Zarco took it from him with 1’57″767 and fell to sixth place, second row for the Granollers rider and sharing a row with Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia, his direct rivals, ahead of Johann Zarco who signed his second pole of the year after Portimao joined by Maverick Viñales, who remained at 98 thousandths, and Jack Miller.

Via Q1, the two Ducatis missing

All KTMs and all Hondas crashed in Q1, three of the four Yamahas and two Ducatis, Bastianini and Bezzecchi finally taking a pass in the fight for pole positions. Alex Márquez, who crashed in the middle of a race with Bezzecchi, will start 17th, 19th Pol Espargaró who less than a year at Honda has gone from signing pole at Silverstone from the seventh row, and 22nd Raúl Fernández.