LONDON (Reuters) - Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco obliterated the all-time lap record at the Silverstone circuit to take pole position at the British Grand Prix, while Aleix Espargaro salvaged a sixth-placed finish after a massive highside crash in earlier in the day.
Eight riders beat Marc Marquez’s old lap record of 1:59.936, which the Honda rider set in 2019, with Zarco’s 1:57.767 topping six riders under the 1:58 barrier
The Frenchman pipped Maverick Vinales of Aprilia by 0.098 seconds as he put himself in prime position to register his first win in the premier class.
Ducati’s Jack Miller completed the front row, besting Yamaha’s reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo by only 0.007 seconds.
“I’m very happy. I got good confidence in FP4 on the hard rear tyre,” said Zarco, who was fastest in the final practice session earlier. “On the first lap with the soft tyre during qualifying I felt that the 58.4 was coming.
Vinales’ team mate Espargaro was stretchered away from the track after crashing at Farm curve during FP4 and taken for medical checks less than an hour before the start of Q2.