Espargaro again best CRT qualifier at British Grand Prix

The MotoGP class offered up an entertaining qualifying session at Silverstone on Saturday, with plenty of fast laps. Crashes also occurred, although thankfully without serious consequences. Jorge Lorenzo began the afternoon run in front, with Pedrosa and Barberá close behind. After that, Spies and Bautista moved up the order to show that Firday was not a fluke. With eight minutes remaining on the clock, rain finally fell on track and made the surface damp enough to prevent any improvement on lap times. Thus, Bautista took a satellite machine onto pole position for the first time since Spies in 2010 at Indianapolis, taking his first MotoGP pole. Cal Crutchlow is a doubt for his home race after a morning crash, whilst Karel Abraham will not ride tomorrow.

The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders were once again the top contenders for best CRT rider on the starting lineup. Aleix Espargaró and Randy De Puniet were the duo raising each other’s game throughout the session, despite problems with cold, rain and wind. Espargaró was eventually quickest, just 20 thousandths of a second faster than De Puniet. The pair will start from eleventh and twelfth, respectively, for the British Grand Prix.

11th Aleix Espargaró 2.06.283 (16 laps): “I am very happy with my great time today. Thanks to the team, we got the best CRT time. I am being consistent in the races, but it is tough to beat my teammate in qualifying and this is only the second time that I have managed to do so this season. I am happy about that. The cold, the wind and the intermittent rain aren’t the best conditions, but this track is fast and fun. We are losing a little on the straight because of our lower top speed, but I am satisfied with how the weekend is developing. I hope that tomorrow we can round things off with a good result and keep hitting our targets.”

Source: Team Aspar Press Release