The Ducati Frenchman set the best time on the track while Aleix Espargaró survived a massive crash with a good sixth position on the grid
Johann Zarco struck first at the British Grand Prix. The French Ducati rider broke the track record at Silverstone and took pole for the British event.
As many as eight riders broke Marc Márquez’s old lap record of 1:59.936, which the Honda rider set in 2019, with Zarco’s 1:57.767 beating six riders under the 1:58 barrier.
The Frenchman beat Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales by 0.098 seconds to put himself in the best position to aim for his first Premier League win. Ducati’s Jack Miller completed the front row, beating reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo by just seven thousandths of a second.
“I’m very happy. I have a lot of confidence in FP4 with the hard rear tyre,” said Zarco, who was fastest in the last practice session before. “With the second tyre, it was necessary to give an extra push. really glad I was able to do it… No one was braking on the track and there were only a few drivers ahead of me. It was enough to get this extra motivation.”
Vinales’ team-mate Aleix Espargaró was stretched off the track after crashing into the Farm corner during FP4 and less than an hour before the start of Q2 for medical treatment. He was soon declared fit to race despite some bruising to his right foot and returned for Q2, setting the first new lap record of the day with a 1:57.966 to take provisional pole.
However, he was dragged back to sixth when title rival and championship leader Quartararo briefly took pole before Miller snatched him from him, with Zarco eventually pulling out after a late wave from Vinales.
Quartararo was pushed to the second row and will start in fourth place. He will have to overcome a long lap penalty on Sunday to secure a second consecutive win in the British GP.
Espargaró is 21 points behind Quartararo en route to the first race since the summer break, with Zarco another 37 points behind in third.
Source: La Verdad
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