BEZZECCHI TAKES P1 IN SILVERSTONE TIME PRACTICE

Silverstone’s MotoGP qualifying time session delivered a record-chasing spectacle under clear skies and around 23°C air temperature as the riders went out for the one-hour mission that determines the top-10 for Q2. The session began where free practice left off, with Alex Marquez setting the early pace for Gresini.

Marquez looked immediately comfortable, and by his second flying lap he had already closed to within a whisker of the existing lap record. Speedweek reported that his 1:58.201 was less than a second shy of the mark set by Fabio Quartararo. Behind him, the fight tightened quickly: Marco Bezzecchi moved in close with a gap of just 0.032, while the next Aprilia—Raul Fernandez—was only 0.072 further back.

The opening exchanges were packed, with several riders clustered within 0.48 seconds after the first phase. Marc Marquez had initially followed his brother’s line but could not match the pace, eventually appearing only in ninth place after about a third of the session. At the other end of the order, the early picture showed the rookies Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Moreira (Honda) at the back until near the halfway point. LCR’s replacement rider Cal Crutchlow was reported in 19th, ahead of Pol Espargaro and the Yamaha wildcard Augusto Fernandez. Just in front of Crutchlow was Iker Lecuona, riding in Britain for Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) and also working his way into the session’s competitive mix.

A key turning point came when the session’s leading group changed. Speedweek noted that for much of the first half, Alex Marquez and Bezzecchi were at the top despite both not being fully fit after injuries. Then a fully healthy rider took control: Raul Fernandez was the first to dip into the 1:57 range. Morbidelli followed in second with 1:57.898, while the world champion “MM93” climbed to fifth.

As the session progressed, the top positions continued to reshuffle. Ai Ogura guided the second customer Aprilia to fourth at one stage, and then Ogura himself moved to the front with 1:57.628. This created a Trackhouse Racing double at the top. Lecuona also delivered a positive surprise for Gresini’s replacement lineup, earning a top-10 place with a 1:58.4.

Marc Marquez then found his rhythm. Before the final push on soft tyres, he moved up to third, reported as only 0.179 seconds behind the best time. When Bagnaia entered the fight, he was reported as fourth, leaving two customer Aprilias ahead of two factory Ducati GP26 machines in red.

In the final quarter-hour, Pedro Acosta surged toward the top three, while Brad Binder attempted to follow but slipped out. Acosta then took second with a 1:57.675. His next-year teammate on the KTM—reported as going even harder—eventually took over the lead.

But the advantage did not last. Alex Marquez lowered the benchmark again, missing the lap record by a tiny margin. Speedweek reported Marc Marquez then struck for the record itself, posting 1:57.035 to become the new record holder. Yet the chase continued immediately: Fabio Di Giannantonio took over with 1:56.976, and then Ai Ogura’s 1:56.810 held until two minutes before the flag.

With the session entering its closing moments, Raul Fernandez delivered the decisive late improvement, reported at 1:56.615. The biggest statement, however, came from an Aprilia factory rider: Marco Bezzecchi produced the perfect timing for his final attempt, setting 1:56.280 to take pole. Speedweek also highlighted that Bezzecchi had left his previous Grand Prix early with a broken collarbone, and the lap showed his return to top form.

Speedweek’s report also underlined how the Ducati and Aprilia machinery dominated the Saturday build-up: by the end of the session, the top seven were all on Italian bikes, with Di Giannantonio the only rider to stop an Aprilia sweep by finishing third. Behind him, Martin and Ogura were next, while Marc Marquez secured sixth place and a safe route into Q2.

There was also a curious technical incident involving Aprilia’s RS-GP aero. Speedweek reported that a factory rider had lost larger aero components from the rear on a full-throttle lap, and in the run-off area the “performance part” ended up on the wide track. It could not be recovered by marshals in time because it landed too far out. Bezzecchi, during a stop for another test start, said: «Dieser Flügel könnte zu mir gehören.» He then checked the rear of the bike and completed the start. After the fifth-fastest rider returned to the pits, the team received a visit from the technical commission, which stressed the importance of securely fastening all parts, with a note passed to team manager Paolo Bonora.

The session also saw late incidents. Speedweek reported that Pecco Bagnaia crashed in turn 6 near the end, remaining unhurt but dropping out of the top 10 in the final minutes. Pedro Acosta also had a moment in turn 4, but he recovered to finish tenth and still reach Q2.

In the closing stages, the Japanese manufacturers made their move. Joan Mir climbed to eighth, and Jack Miller reached ninth, ensuring that all manufacturers were represented within the top 10. Razgatlioglu and Fernandez finished at the back of the field’s top-10 group, while Cal Crutchlow ended the session 20th in front of home support.

Earlier in the day, Speedweek’s Q1 report added context to the grid: with no Aprilia riders in the first qualifying, all RS-GP machines had already made it through to Q2. Bezzecchi’s Friday pace had already been a warning sign, with the Aprilia rider undercutting the lap record by almost a second in qualifying 2, and the top-8 all beating Fabio Quartararo’s previous-year benchmark. In Q1, Franco Morbidelli and Iker Lecuona were the leading qualifiers for Q2, while Pecco Bagnaia finished sixth and Toprak Razgatlioglu 12th, meaning start positions 16 and 22 respectively.

The same Speedweek coverage also set the scene for the weekend’s first sprint after the summer break, noting that a Moto2 red flag caused a ten-minute delay before the MotoGP class finally got underway. It described an Aprilia-dominant Saturday: in the sessions leading into the sprint, all four RS-GP riders were inside the top five in both qualifying and Q2, with only Fabio Di Giannantonio able to add a Ducati highlight. Marc Marquez held sixth on the grid, while his teammate finished 16th. The sprint lineup featured Jorge Martin alongside Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura, with Ogura sitting just 14 points behind Martin in the standings. Martin led the race from the front, beating Ogura and Bezzecchi to the line, while Alex Marquez was the leading Ducati finisher. The Aprilia trio’s strong result also shifted the championship picture, with Bezzecchi moving back to third and Aprilia extending its manufacturer lead after the sprint.