MotoGP: Espargaro seals first pole with Honda in Silverstone qualifying

Silverstone plays host to the 12th round of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, the British Grand Prix. Jack Miller entered qualifying as the fastest rider in the first three free practice sessions, but having dominated FP4 the man to beat was Fabio Quartararo.

In Q1, Johann Zarco topped the times with his final lap. The Frenchman was already in the top two when he started that time-topping attempt, but Alex Rins – just ahead of Zarco on circuit – was on his own top-two-bound lap. Zarco’s lap went in just after Rins had topped the times himself, so the Spaniard went through to Q2 in second place. 

In Q2, Jorge Martin set pole position. It was a monstrous lap, a 1’58.008, a new lap record and almost a full second clear of the field. But it was not true. Martin had used the shorter version of the Vale chicane at turns eight and nine on his fastest lap, but no one involved in the timing or officiating seemed to notice, so it took minutes for the order to be sorted out. In fact, it took so long that when Martin got back to pit lane he had to explain to the officials that, in fact, he did not have to go to parc ferme because he had cut the track. Perhaps the FIM MotoGP Stewards over-estimate the reliability of their track limit sensors, which are not placed in every part of the track, only the ones where they expect people to exceed track limits.

After Martin’s lap was deleted, Pol Espargaro was left on pole. It was surprising, but also not. Espargaro has struggled in hot conditions this year, his first with HRC and Repsol Honda. When the temperature goes up he suffers with grip, and cannot open the throttle with high lean angles, which is important with the Honda in particular because the rear spin is needed to complete corners, because the bike doesn’t turn when the brake is released. When it is cold, however, as in Le Mans or Silverstone, the #44 is fast, and so it has proven this weekend. Espargaro has spent most of his time inside the top five, instead of outside the top 15 as it was in Austria, and he put together a seemingly perfect lap in Q2 in Silverstone – judging by his reaction after completing it – to take his first pole position with Honda. It was the first pole position for Honda since Takaaki Nakagami in Teruel last year, and the first for a Repsol Honda without the #93 on the front since Dani Pedrosa in Sepang 2017.

Joining Espargaro on the front row will be the top two riders in the championship, Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia. They will be in reverse order, however, with Bagnaia in second and Quartararo third. The Frenchman’s pace looks superior this weekend, but Ducati are the only factory using the ride height adjuster this weekend, so it could be an interesting battle between the two of them, should it come down to them. 

Of course, there could be others involved, not least Pol Espargaro. It would also be wrong to rule out Martin, who did go to parc ferme in the end having qualified as top Independent in fourth. The Spaniard has not had the same kind of pace he showed in Austria, but has been up there nonetheless and if he gets away with the leaders he has a chance. Marc Marquez will also be a threat from fifth on the grid, and Aleix Espargaro might have his say from sixth. 

Jack Miller will have been disappointed to qualify seventh after topping free practice. He has some work to do tomorrow to get through the pack before anyone breaks away at the front. On row three, the Australian will be joined by Valentino Rossi, who is having his best weekend of the season, and Johann Zarco, who is having arguably his worst weekend of the season, struggling for rear grip. 

Suzuki’s qualifying woes continued, with Alex Rins and Joan Mir qualifying 10th and 11th, respectively. Mir in particular has been struggling this weekend, and there could be some serious damage done to his championship challenge tomorrow. Completing the fourth row will be Brad Binder, who proved in Austria that his qualifying pace should never be taken as an indication of his potential on a Sunday.

Before the late laps from Zarco and Rins, Enea Bastianini was atop the Q1 timesheets. The Italian crashed in the closing stages of the session, and fell victim to Zarco and Rins right at the death. It was unfortunate for Bastianini but, also, fortunate, since he took a fairly hard hit on his head, but seemed unaltered. Presumably the Clinica Mobile will have a look at the #23 tonight, but Bastianini should be fine to race tomorrow. 

Alongside Bastianini on row five tomorrow will be his teammate at Esponsorama and fellow rookie, Luca Marini, who has had a decent weekend at Silverstone, and Takaaki Nakagami, who has not faired so well.

The second LCR Honda of Alex Marquez will start from the middle of row six, between the Tech 3 pairing of Danilo Petrucci (16th) and Iker Lecuona (18th); while Miguel Olvieira sits between the two British replacement riders present this weekend on the back row, as Cal Crutchlow qualified 19th on his factory Yamaha debut, and Jake Dixon ended his first MotoGP qualifying session in 21st. 

The grid will be one rider short tomorrow, as Aprilia and Lorenzo Savadori decided together that the Italian is not yet fit to return to action for the Noale brand after his ankle injury sustained at the Styrian Grand Prix in the crash with Dani Pedrosa. With Maverick Vinales testing for Aprilia at the end of August in Misano, Friday practice in Silverstone could well prove to be the last we see of Savadori in competitive action in MotoGP.