The weather forecasts came true and Silverstone woke up completely covered by clouds, which did not stop discharging water throughout the morning. The qualifying session, in the early hours, was played under a downpour that caused fears for the continuity of the program on Saturday. Some MotoGP riders even considered the possibility of stopping before the short race if the rain persisted; what the organizer of the championship did not even assess. Luckily for everyone, as the day progressed the precipitation took a breather and the asphalt began to absorb most of the water.
Despite everything, the MotoGP sprint was declared wet and all the bikes on the grid wore striped tires at the start. Marco Bezzecchi’s Ducati started from pole position, followed by Jack Miller’s KTM and another Ducati, in this case by Álex Márquez, who had already put in great performances in these conditions in the past.
The man from Cervera took the lead in the second lap and one later, he achieved the fastest lap of the race and opened a gap of more than a second over his teammate Bezzecchi. A considerable lead in a sprint with only ten laps to go, but in such tricky conditions it was all too easy to make a mistake.
The sprint progressed and the gap remained around a second, but in the final stretch the Italian made a change of pace and cut the lead in half as they faced the last lap. Just at that moment, to add more drama to the finish, he sparkled back onto the circuit and the rain flags flew. A situation that did not alter the youngest of the Márquez. For the first time since he has competed in the top category, he crossed the checkered flag in first position.
A historic triumph for the two-time world champion who, however, will not count as a grand prix victory in his record, as the short races on Saturdays only have sprint status. “They give you a medal and you go home,” Álex Márquez commented between laughs, still euphoric. But it is a victory at the end of the day.
He was accompanied on the podium by Bezzecchi and Maverick Viñales, who was also making his debut in the box in a sprint with the Aprilia. His teammate, Aleix Espargaró, lost fourth position to Frenchman Zarco on the last lap.
Jorge Martín, sixth, provisionally gave up the second position in the championship in favor of Bezzecchi, but both cut points from the leader Pecco Bagnaia, who had a Saturday to forget, after a strong fall in Q2 and finishing 14th in a sprint where the four champions of the current grid failed. In addition to Bagnaia himself, Joan Mir finished 17th, Marc Márquez 18th and Fabio Quartararo 21st and penultimate.
Way of the Cross
It is said that the rain tends to even out the mechanical differences and in these circumstances it could have presented itself as an opportunity on Saturday for Marc Márquez. But not even for those… The only moment of the day in which the six-time MotoGP champion risked was in Q1, where he sought to be in the top two to enter the battle for pole position in Q2 but fell four tenths of a point away from achieving it. And then he stopped trying. «In Germany for continuing to insist I had five falls. In six races that I have competed this season I have broken three bones and a ligament… I have to use my experience because that way you won’t even make it to the end of the year.
From the fifth row of the grid (14th) he sought to make his career, without risking and without getting into trouble. “I have run in training mode,” Marc Márquez himself later recognized. “I was looking for my position so that little by little everyone would pass me well and, then, when I found Mir and the rest of the Hondas we did the race together.” All four Hondas finished the race at the bottom of the standings, trailing by almost 30 seconds in a 10-lap test, which means lapping at three seconds per lap. And it does not seem that the situation will change on Sunday, with a more benign weather forecast. “Another 20-lap practice race.”
On Saturday at the British GP he also left two Spanish pole positions in the small categories. In Moto3 the candidates for the title will come out on the front row: Jaume Masià first and the leader Dani Holgado third. While in Moto2, two Murcians played for the most privileged position on the grid, which went to Pedro Acosta, ahead of Fermín Aldeguer.
#Heads #tails #Márquez #Silverstone