Moto2 Silverstone: Late dash sees Bagnaia speed to pole
Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia has secured pole as one of the last riders over the line in qualifying for the Moto2 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Moto2 world championship leader came out on top as the track evolved from wet to dry, with the lead changing lap after lap as the clock ticked down. His final run on the Kalex was timed to perfection with late changes to his bike propelling him to a time of 2m 08.153s - the best of the weekend.
His main title rival, Miguel Oliveira had a shockingly bad qualifying on the Red Bull KTM Ajo, and will have much to make up on race day from 23rd on the grid.
Second went to an equally strong performance from Remy Gardner, the Australian Tech 3 rider, who has had a long recovery process after breaking both legs last season and looked shocked to have done so well, his best qualifying to date, with a lap which briefly topped the timesheets and was just 0.194 short of pole.
Alex Marquez claimed the final front row spot for EG 0,0 Marc VDS.
A determined Marcel Schrotter, who topped the FP3 timesheets, had to settle for fourth for Dynavolt Intact GP. Lining up alongside the German are Sky Racing VR46’s Luca Marini - a podium finisher at the last three rounds, and Speed Up’s Fabio Quartararo, who won back in Catalunya in sixth.
Early leader Mattia Pasini will sit in seventh on the grid. The Italtrans rider is joined on row three by Iker Lecuona, who also topped the timesheets on his way to eighth in a very competitive final few minutes, with Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) suffering a similar fate on his way to ninth.
Romano Fenati was the best of the rookies in tenth for the Marinelli Snipers Team, while Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was 14th.
Brit Danny Kent starts 26th for Speed Up while fellow countryman Josh Owens (Tickhill Labour and Plant Kalex) was the best of the wildcard entries in 28th. Xavi Cardelus could only manage 33rd , one place ahead of the sessions only faller - Simone Corsi - who was off the pace before he hit the gravel, leaving him 32nd.
