Ajo Motorsport rider places second in qualifying, taking a spot on the front row for a sixth consecutive race.

Heavy rain had a big effect on the Moto2 qualifying session for the British GP, with the riders competing for pole position on a fully wet surface. Johann Zarco proved to be the best adapted to the adverse conditions, although he was relegated to second position in the final moments of the session.

The Frenchman felt much more comfortable on his Kalex from the opening laps of FP3 than he had on Friday, and his 2:08.070 best lap placed him fourth in the session. He had headed back to the pits due to fine rain whilst leading the session, reemerging to put in a serious of fast times and lower his top lap from Friday by a second.

The work done in practice counted for little in qualifying, in which a completely wet asphalt greeted the intermediate class. Zarco was able to put his wet weather demons from Brno to bed, demonstrating his expertise in the conditions. The Ajo Motorsport rider led the session from just past the quarter-hour mark, improving his times lap after lap and being the only rider to go round in the 2:27 mark on five occasions. He was pipped to pole position by a combination of Sam Lowes’ fast lap and a small crash on the final corner. Zarco’s 2:27.139 best time gives him second on the grid.

The Moto2 British GP will take place on Sunday at 14.00 -local time. Johann Zarco will try to repeat the win he took at Silverstone last year.

Results (Qualifying practice)
1. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 2:26.740
2. Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) 2:27.139 +0.399
3. Jonas Folger (Kalex) 2:27.502 +0.762
4. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 2:27.506 +0.766
5. Hafizh Syahrin (Kalex) 2:27.963 +1.223

5 JOHANN ZARCO

“I am happy today because in the rain I led qualifying for much of the session; I felt comfortable, I set good times and this is important. We’ll see what the weather is like tomorrow, but apparently it will not rain. Today the track was drying out but at the end a little additional rainfall meant that, even though I wanted to push, it was not easy. I was putting in some good laps and on the last one, going to the limit, I made a mistake and crashed. The good news is that I am strong in both dry and wet conditions, and tomorrow we have to go all out, try to start well and understand why Sam [Lowes] has been faster than me. I have to try to have a good race and get points. If I can win, then all the better, but without getting nervous.”