2024 MotoGP British Grand Prix: Qualifying results
03 August 2024Conditions cooled considerably overnight at Silverstone making for wildly different conditions than the riders had become accustomed to during practice.
A busy schedule on Saturday meant yet more practice for MotoGP and each of its support categories, qualifying across the board and the all-important Tissot Sprint to get the first of the 2024 British Grand Prix MotoGP’s races underway.
In the qualifying session itself, there were twists and turns but ultimately it took a lap of skill and bravery to set a new all-time lap record and beat the very best in the premier class at one of MotoGP’s most challenging circuits.
2024 MotoGP British Grand Prix Qualifying results - Q2
Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing | 1:57.309 |
| 7 |
2 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | 1:57.517 | +0.208 | 7 |
3 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati Lenovo Team | 1:57.693 | +0.384 | 7 |
4 | Jorge Martín | Prima Pramac Racing | 1:57.734 | +0.425 | 7 |
5 | Álex Márquez | Gresini Racing MotoGP | 1:57.817 | +0.508 | 7 |
6 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:57.950 | +0.641 | 7 |
7 | Marc Márquez | Gresini Racing MotoGP | 1:58.098 | +0.789 | 6 |
8 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing | 1:58.137 | +0.828 | 6 |
9 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 | 1:58.312 | +1.003 | 7 |
10 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 1:58.371 | +1.0062 | 7 |
11 | Jack Miller | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:58.736 | +1.427 | 7 |
12 | Marco Bezzecchi | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 1:59.671 | +2.362 | 7 |
2024 MotoGP British Grand Prix Qualifying results - Q1
Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Álex Márquez | Gresini Racing MotoGP | 1:58.373 |
| 6 |
2 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 | 1:58.408 | +0.035 | 6 |
3 | Franco Morbidelli | Prima Pramac Racing | 1:58.599 | +0.226 | 6 |
4 | Raúl Fernández | Trackhouse Racing MotoGP | 1:58.608 | +0.235 | 6 |
5 | Miguel Oliveira | Trackhouse Racing MotoGP | 1:58.655 | +0.282 | 6 |
6 | Johann Zarco | LCR Honda | 1:58.730 | +0.357 | 6 |
7 | Augusto Fernández | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 | 1:59.012 | +0.639 | 6 |
8 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha | 1:59.092 | +0.719 | 7 |
9 | Luca Marini | Repsol Honda | 1:59.097 | +0.724 | 7 |
10 | Joan Mir | Repsol Honda | 1:59.468 | +1.095 | 6 |
11 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | 1:59.822 | +1.449 | 7 |
12 | Remy Gardner | Monster Energy Yamaha | 1:59.887 | +1.514 | 6 |
Qualifying in detail
Q1
With two Q2 spots available for 12 riders, the first part of qualifying was always going to be a hard-fought affair.
After the first round of laps, it was Pedro Acosta and Raúl Fernández who occupied the top two positions.
As the session progressed, Álex Márquez looked pacey and was four-tenths up on the fastest lap, but got held up by Johann Zarco in the final sector. He still went fastest of all but lost several tenths in the process. Remarkably, Acosta then set an identical time to his compatriot.
Fernández was the first rider to complete a lap on his final run and went fastest with a minute and a half to go.
Acosta was next up who found two tenths in the final sector to topple Fernández. He didn’t hold the position for long though, as Márquez then claimed the top spot at the chequered flag. Acosta followed him through to Q2 while Franco Morbidelli just missed out in third.
Q2
There was little time for fans to catch their breath, as Q2 quickly followed. After the first laps had been completed, Enea Bastianini led factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez.
On the second laps, though, the pack would go quicker still. Bagnaia was on his usual imperious form, and set a new lap record. But Bastianini wasn’t far behind and went second followed by Jorge Martín, 2023 Silverstone winner Aleix Espargaró and Márquez.
Ahead of the final runs, the front runners jostled for track position, and some came unstuck including Márquez who was held up by Marco Bezzecchi at Luffield.
On the field’s penultimate laps, there was only one rider improving on their previous time: Espargaró. He went fastest of all, but before the rest of the pack could start their final attempts, the other Aprilia of Maverick Viñales crashed out at Farm corner, bringing out the yellow flags and effectively bringing the session to an early end.
Aleix will look to replicate his 2023 result at Silverstone from pole position, with the factory Ducati duo of Bagnaia and Bastianini joining him on the front row. Meanwhile, title protagonist Martín starts fourth and Marc Márquez in seventh.
Moto2
Q1
From the first laps set, it looked like Bo Bendsneyder and Fermin Aldeguer were the riders to beat. Albert Arenas and Mario Aji were threatening to claim the top two spots for themselves in third and fourth respectively.
By the end of the session, Aldeguer had improved his time further to secure his spot at the top, also taking the second-fastest time of the weekend. Arenas, meanwhile, moved to within four-hundredths of Aldeguer's time while Bendsneyder and Jeremy Alcoba also made it through to Q2.
Q2
Ai Ogura was setting a blistering pace from the very first lap of Q2, and on the second tour he went even quicker to be the first rider into the 2:02s. Aron Canet slotted into second half a tenth behind with Celestino Vietti in third and home hero Jake Dixon in fourth after the first runs.
Few were improvements were made on the final runs, apart from Dixon who was on a quick lap, but he had to overtake Ogura on track which put pay to his efforts. Ogura topped the pile at the chequered flag followed by Canet and Diogo Moreira on the front row. Dixon ended the session in fifth with championship leader Sergio Garcia languishing down in 16th.
Moto3
Q1
Before the session had properly got underway, David Muñoz crashed out on his out lap. He managed to get back to the pits, but his bike had endured too much damage to set a competitive lap. It was Adrian Fernandez who was fastest at the end of first laps.
With five minutes remaining, Vicente Perez went into second, but he was unable to retain the position with Filippo Farioli eventually following Fernandez through into Q2.
Q2
Jacob Roulstone and Daniel Holgado set the pace in the first group of six riders, while the rest of the pack waited until the end of the session to set their laps.
Colin Veijer was the first of the next group to set a time, and he duly went fastest, but Ivan Ortola was hot on his heels and snatched the position from him to claim pole with Veijer and Joel Kelso completing the front row. Scott Ogden was unable to set a representative lap so qualified 17th.
