Friday belonged to World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) but on Saturday morning at the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, the fastest rider heading into qualifying is Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team). The Australian set a 1:59.288 in FP3 to edge out second place Quartararo by 0.029s, as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) claims P3 just 0.098s off P1.
FP3 belongs to @jackmilleraus! ????
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) August 28, 2021
10/10 on the wheelie, Jack! ????#BritishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/yTwqYfzyS3
0.3s covers top 10!
It was a quiet opening half of FP3 with just three riders improving their Friday times, with no one penetrating the top 10 in the cool British GP morning conditions. Reigning World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was the first rider to make a move into the automatic Q2 places, the Spaniard went P6 on his soft Michelin tyres, which demoted Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) out for the time being.
As the clock ticked down into the final 15 minutes, things got busy. Miller went P1 by 0.029s to breach Quartararo’s Silverstone stranglehold, as Yamaha duo Cal Crutchlow (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Rossi climbed into the all-important top 10 with seven minutes to go. Marc Marquez and Repsol Honda Team teammate Pol Espargaro both went P3 – the latter a tenth and half faster than Marquez – before red and orange sector times lit up. It was all about to change in the fight for Q2 qualification.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Pol Espargaro crashed unhurt in separate incidents in the closing stages, as the likes of Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), Aleix Espargaro, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Rossi all improved their times in the top 10. No one could quite match Miller’s pace though, but the times have really tightened up compared to Friday.
That's @Rins42 Q2 challenge over! ????
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) August 28, 2021
The most recent winner here will go through Q1 later on! ????#BritishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/FvnslhQxcs
Rookie Martin is again at the sharp end of the grid in P4, the Spaniard heads Desmosedici teammate Bagnaia by just over a tenth as Ducati have three riders in the top five. Pol Espargaro is the fastest Honda rider despite his last tumble, the number 44 set the same fastest time as Pecco, with Rossi sailing into Q2 in P7. Mir, just three tenths off P1, is P8 on his first visit to Silverstone on a MotoGP™ machine, the 2020 World Champion marginally leads Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marc Marquez in the top 10.
Straight through in Q2 ????@ValeYellow46 gets the applause ????#BritishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/tpntlHNis4
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) August 28, 2021
An intriguing qualifying awaits…
You don’t want to miss the premier class riders fighting it out for pole position at the fast and ferocious Silverstone, it’s all coming your way at 14:10 local time (GMT+1). Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) – a title hopeful – finds himself in Q1, with the likes of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Crutchlow just 0.7s away from P1.
Top 10:
1. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:59.288
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.029
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.098
4. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) + 0.108
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.227
6. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.227
7. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.265
8. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.363
9. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.383
10. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.395