It's game on in Silverstone as Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) sent a message to his Championship rivals, displaying he's capable of fighting at the sharp end come rain or shine. The Italian put in a 2:15.390s to deny the rain-maestro Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) pole position at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. The Aussie will start in the middle of the front row however, with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) snatching the final front-row spot despite hitting the deck.  

A torrential battle for the top two  

All eyes were on Q1 at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix after a drenched FP2 session took place moments before Qualifying and saw the first wet running of the weekend. Fabio Di Giannantonio  (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) went into Q1 as the favourite after a dominant display in FP2 saw the Gresini man the fastest of the bunch. 

Disaster struck early on for Di Giannantonio however, after the Italian was caught out by the conditions and hit the floor not long after taking the top spot. The Italian did get back out on the circuit but failed to return to his FP2 pace and only managed P8 in Q2, seeing him start from 18th on the grid.  

The pace got quicker and quicker as the riders got the feeling for the conditions. The clock was ticking as Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) found incredible wet weather form to consistently move the goalposts in the closing stages. The Italian has a seat to secure on the MotoGP™ grid for 2024, and did himself a host of favours as he went on to top the session by 1.001s to firmly secure Q2 promotion.  

Whilst Morbidelli continued to up the pace, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) battled it out for the 2nd Q2 spot as the pair exchanged fast laps in a time attack scrap that could have gone either way. In the end, it was Fernandez who held strong and put in a late flyer to pip the factory Ducati man for the final spot in the all-important Q2 battle. 

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) threatened 2nd place as well but didn't quite have enough in the tank to get the better of Bastianini and Fernandez, finishing Q1 in P4 ahead of Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) who will line up in 15th spot on the grid for his first race back from injury.  

Riding on a knife's edge in Q2… 

Qualifying 2 at the British Grand Prix marked the first competitive action of the second-half of the season, and a rain-soaked Silverstone threw a spanner into the works as the riders were eager for a competitive grid spot ahead of the first racing action after the summer break.  

The conditions were tricky but it wasn't enough to deter Jack Miller, who put in an absolute flyer on the very first lap of the session, not only hitting the top but setting the fastest wet lap of the weekend up until that point.  

There was still plenty of action yet to unfold in Q2 however as red sectors began to light up the timing screens. It didn't take long for the Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to find form as he shot up into P2 just behind his former teammate.  

Trying to find that extra little bit of pace for pole position, the Italian then crashed out of the session leaving his competitors to master the conditions out on the circuit. "Pecco" rushed back to the box in an attempt to get back out but just missed the mark and was forced to settle for a 2nd-row start after slipping down the order to P4. 

As Bagnaia watched on from the sidelines his Championship rival Marco Bezzecchi was looking racey as the VR46 man flew his way into P2 to bump Bagnaia down the order. With 3 minutes to go, Bezzecchi then put the hammer down and began to take big chunks out of his lap time. The Italian put down red sectors and launched himself into pole position with a stunning lap that the rest of the field had absolutely no answer for.  

Like many others, Bezzecchi fell victim to the tricky conditions and tucked the front into Vale corner in the closing stages. It was no issue for the 3rd-placed man in the Championship, however, as his phenomenal wet weather lap time remained untouched as he took pole position from the gravel trap. 

A grid eager for battle… 

Whilst Bezzecchi was finding his form, Alex Marquez jumped into the top 2 as he demoted the Italian down a spot to P3. Marquez then went down in spectacular fashion and was unable to improve his time with Bezzecchi turning up the heat out on circuit. Despite not getting another bite at the proverbial cheery, the Gresini rider did secure a front-row start ahead of the Tissot Sprint and British Grand Prix.  

Augusto Fernandez was in a fighting mood as well as he bagged an important top 5 following his impressive run through Q1. The Spaniard is continuing a strong run of form that now sees him with the perfect opportunity in Silverstone as he is set to start from the middle of the 2nd row.  

Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was another to be caught out by the difficult conditions, the Italian did do enough however to secure 6th place and the final spot on row 2.  

There's some work to do yet again for Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) who finds both his title rivals ahead of him on the grid. The Spaniard will start from 7th place and will be looking to repeat his Assen charge through the field, but this time from one row further ahead.  

Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) could only manage 8th place in the wet conditions, but will be one to keep an eye on from row 3 provided we see dry conditions during the Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider lines up ahead of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) who finished P9. 

Rounding out the top 10 was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). The South African will be eager to be carving his way through the field and will be one to keep an eye on when the lights go out. 

Despite an impressive display in Q1, Franco Morbidelli was unable to improve and went a second slower in Q2 to line up P11, when his Q1 time would have been good enough to securea top-4 spot on the grid. He will start from 11th place with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) just behind him and struggling for wet weather pace, two seconds away from pole in P12. 

The action has only just begun at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix as points are now up for grabs in MotoGP™. Make sure to tune in as the story unfolds for the Tissot Sprint at 15:00 local time (GMT +1)! 

Top 10: 

FULL RESULTS

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