Alex Rins will start from second on the grid after completing a second incident free day. Teammate Alex Marquez recovered quickly after a fall midway through qualifying to secure a sixth place start.
It was an incident free day for Alex Rins on Saturday at the Grand Prix of Great Britain, while the young Alex Marquez was put through a more eventful day. The rider from Cervera suffered an alarming crash in Turn 9 after losing grip in the rear tyre and being flung over the handlebars of his bike. Fortunately, he managed to recover from the incident and return to the track to claim the sixth fastest time in session.
Qualifying was dominated by Salom and Viñales at the front of the times, while Rins kept a close eye on his main two rivals in the fight for the title. Marquez paced in the top five times until the final 15 minutes, when he suffered a crash in Turn 9. He quickly headed to the pits, where he watched his position drop to 13th on the timesheet while his mechanics to repaired his bike. Meanwhile, Rins continued pushing his times to ensure that a position on the first row of the grid did not escape him.
Rins managed to clinch second position behind pole sitter Viñales, and Marquez was able to return to the track and complete just two laps to secure the sixth fastest time despite heavy traffic.
Alex Rins >> Audio
FP3 – 2:14.488, 15 laps, 89 km.
QP – 2:13.699, 14 laps, 83 km.
“It went pretty well, as well as we were hoping. Whenever we went out on the track, we managed to improve our times, but today Maverick was very fast and did a really good time. In the race, if we can manage it, we’ll run with the front group of 4 or 5 riders and break away. With the setup we have now and after how much we have worked, I think I can fight for the podium.”
Alex Marquez >> Audio
FP3 – 2:14.555, 16 laps, 94 km.
QP – 2:14.609, 12 laps, 71 km.
“In the qualifying session we started with a good foundation after the free practices, so we knew we could go fast and be on the second row of the grid tomorrow. A crash in the middle of qualifying hurt us before the final minutes of the session on a set of new tyres, but I think having achieved our goal is very good. In the warm-up we’ll try to get back into shape and see what happens in the race. Now we are a step behind the first three riders, but we will try to progress during the race.”
