Moto3 Silverstone: Arbolino maintains control with record pole
Tony Arbolino ran a near perfect session, setting his record pole lap early on while riding solo and then being inadvertently put in a position to be able to slow up the rush of riders looking for a late fast lap to bag the top spot on the grid for the Moto3 British Grand Prix.
The VNE Snipers rider saw his early 2m 11.631s effort became the lap to beat. However it instead remained untouched at the top of the timesheets, leaving Arbolino, who had already lead the way after his own record breaking performance in practice, on track for his third pole position of the year.
Championship leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta - ahead by just one point in the overall standings -maintains an advantage on the grid too, the Leopard rider saw his second effort pull closest to his fellow countryman, just 0.079 adrift, while his main title rival Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) saw his strategy to leave the pits first leave him down in 12th.
The final spot on the front row went to rookie Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), who came through Q1 to claim third for KTM behind the Honda pair.
Also progressing from Q1, Ayumu Sasaki made the most of his progression, attacking Q2 for Petronas Sprinta Racing for fourth.
He is joined on row two by Niccolo Antonelli (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) who held position on the timesheets in fifth despite a late fall, illustrating how badly all the riders tripped each other up on their scrappy final runs.
John McPhee was one of those who found himself swamped, leaving him in sixth on the second Petronas entry ahead of his home race.
Celestino Vietti moved through Q1 for seventh for Sky Racing Team VR46, just faster than fellow rookie Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) in eighth.
Marcos Ramirez on the second Leopard entry and Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) found enough pace to claim top ten starts.
Winner of the last race in Austria, Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers), left himself a lot to do to repeat the feat - he starts down in 14th.
Jeremy Alcoba returned to the paddock to replace the still absent Gabriel Rodrigo at Gresini, he claimed 22nd.
Max Kofler (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team, KTM) returns for another wildcard appearance, qualifying in 28th. He is joined by American Brandon Paasch (FPW Racing, KTM) who will start his first world championship grand prix from 30th.
The only rider further back is Brit Tom Booth Amos (CIP Green Power), who struggled on his home track after a positive performance over the practice sessions.
