Aprilia Racing’s Jorge Martin returned from the summer break in commanding fashion, claiming pole position for the British MotoGP at Silverstone with a new all-time lap record. The Spaniard produced a blistering 1:56.160 in Q2 to secure the first pole position of the second half of the season, edging Raul Fernandez by just 0.021 seconds.
Martin’s late charge saw him eclipse the previous Silverstone MotoGP lap record of 1:56.280, set by Marco Bezzecchi during Friday’s running. The Aprilia rider timed his attack to perfection, putting together a 1:56.160 lap around the 5.9-km Silverstone circuit to snatch the top spot on the grid. The result secured Martin pole position for both the Sprint and Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Raul Fernandez came agonisingly close to denying Martin pole after mounting a strong challenge of his own. The Trackhouse MotoGP rider ultimately had to settle for second, finishing only 0.021 seconds behind Martin in an exceptionally tight qualifying battle. Fernandez’s teammate Ai Ogura completed the front row in third, giving Aprilia machinery a clean sweep of the first three positions on the grid.
The qualifying result underlined Aprilia’s impressive pace at Silverstone, with Martin, Fernandez and Ogura occupying the entire front row. Aprilia had already demonstrated its strength during Friday’s running, when Bezzecchi established the previous lap benchmark before Martin lowered it during qualifying on Saturday.
Martin’s pole further strengthened his weekend at Silverstone as the MotoGP championship battle resumed following the summer break. He subsequently converted pole into a dominant Sprint victory, leading from start to finish as Aprilia swept the podium. Ogura finished second, while Bezzecchi took third. The result also allowed Martin to extend his championship lead to 220 points, 17 clear of second-placed Ogura ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix.