Heavy rain at Silverstone affects qualifying session in which Dani Pedrosa places fourth, with Marc Marquez fifth after a crash in the final minutes.
The second day of the British Grand Prix featured an increase in rainfall as the hours went by, leaving the MotoGP field with a completely waterlogged track to tackle in qualifying. FP3 had been dry, with Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa first and eighth, respectively. The rain began at the end of the morning, meaning FP4 presented the riders with wet conditions; Marquez was again fastest, with his Repsol Honda teammate fourth. The rainfall intensified in the qualifying session and, although Marquez was up into second with two minutes remaining, a crash at Turn 1 prevented him from improving on his 2:20.779 best lap. Pedrosa, who on his last lap set a time of 2:20.742, will take off from fourth place in the race, followed by his teammate in fifth.
Marc Marquez, 5th 2:20.779 >> Audio
“My feeling was very good both in the dry and wet, but we implemented a small change to the setup for the rain that didn’t work as expected. I went out in Q2 and couldn’t feel the rear tyre too much, nor did I have the confidence I had in FP4, but I decided to push and try to do a good lap. When I was about to do the next, final lap, I ended up crashing. Nevertheless, I’m pleased because in general the feeling was very good and we just need to return to the previous setup tomorrow. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Toni Bou for his 20th Trial World Championship because it shows his ambition and the desire that he has to keep on winning. We also get along well personally, he’s an amazing guy and I’m very happy for him.”
Dani Pedrosa, 4th 2:20.742 >> Audio
“I’m happy with today’s result because the track conditions were really difficult and super slippery; the grip wasn’t good, so the rear tyre wasn’t getting the temperature, especially in qualifying under heavy rain. Anyway, I improved my pace lap by lap, and in the end fourth on the grid is positive in view of the race. We need to start well and catch the front group to find a good rhythm. We’ll see what the weather brings us and we’ll try to get the best result possible. I would also like to congratulate Toni (Bou) for winning the title today. I know him very well, we’re friends and I’m very happy for him. You can learn a lot from him; he’s very special and he deserves this 20th title. Now it’s time to enjoy it!”
