Five MotoGP riders that shocked us during qualifying at Silverstone
A heavy crash in FP4 for one of the 2022 MotoGP title favourites seemed to swing the balance of play back into his rivals hands headi༒ng into Q2, however, a stunning effort in qualiꦐfying limited the damage.
Here’s the rider we’re talking about and why he stole the sho🍌w despite qualifying sixth.
Aleix Espargaro - 6th
A monster highside during the early stages🌄 of FP4, an accident which saw him crash at over 110mph, left Espargaro in deep, deep trouble.
Unable to get to his feet before being stretchered away, it wasn’🌳t until after medical checks and him returning 𒈔to his garage that Espargaro managed to walk under his own power.
And after starting Q2 over 1.6 seconds down🍎 on Quartararo, the final time attack run wasn’t expected ๊to see a big change.
But in heroi💦c fashion Espargaro managed to not only be competitive, but momentarily go fastest thanks to a new all-time lap record, much to the delight and applause from the British crowd.
Espargaro was the first rider to set a sub 1m 58s lap 💧around the British circuit before eventually finishing in sixth place - two tenths down on pole man Johann Zarco.
Maverick Vinales - 2nd
Like his team-mate E🐼spargaro, Maverick Viཧnales was one of the stars of qualifying, although for very different reasons.
Often struggling to replicate his race ౠperformances in qualifying, Vinales not only secured his first-ever front row for Aprilia, but the former Yamaha rider came within a tenth o🌱f a first pole in over a year.
𒈔After securing his first podium with Aprilia in ꦉAssen, expect Vinales to be equally as strong come tomorrow’s British Grand Prix.
Vinales has again shꦬown podium pace all weekend and could find himself in a scenario w൲here he leads Aprilia’s charge for victory, depending of course on how well Espargaro feels during Sunday’s race.
Remy Gardner - 16th
Although P16 might not look like a glamorous finishing position, qualifying at Silverstone wa🌞s one of the first occasions this season where Gardner showed consi🦂stent speed and was close to both factory KTM riders.
It wasn’t just one lap where Gardner was strong either, as the reigning Mot𒁃o2 champion was fifth in Q1 after the opening time attack run.
Fighting to stay at Tech 3 KTM and in MotoGP, performances like this where Gardner’s potentia𝔍l was clearly on show 🌊can only be good for his premier class future.
Who failed to deliver in Silverstone MotoGP qualifying?
Alex Rins/Joan Mir - 11th and 12th
After a very strong Friday where pace over one lap and race distance appeared strong, Suzuki seemed to go backwards🥂 as Saturday developed.
Bot🍸h riders narrowly squeezed into the top ten in FP3 but were unable to make much of an impact during Q2.
Rins finished half a second off Zarco, while Mir was seven tenths off pole position. A good result can’t be ruled out on Sunday, however, Suzuki were expec♈ted to do a lot more in what was ultimately a disappointing qualifying session.
Pol Espargaro - 19th
On pole this time last⭕ year, Pol Espargaro endured a nightmare British Mo💖toGP qualifying.
Struggling for pace throughout the weekend, Honda and Espargaro appear destined for another lacklustre Grand Prix, ✨of which there have been too ꦿmany this season.
Espargaro’s time of 1:59.367s was close to eight tenths off what Enea Bastianini managed in order to advance, while it was also 1.6 seconds off 𒆙Zarco’s pole lap.
