A record-setting pole position for Aleix Espargaró who was unrivalled in Q2. No one had ever before lapped as fast on a flying lap at Silverstone, with a time of 1’57.309. In the sprint race, after losing a couple positions at the start, Aleix stayed with the leading group throughout. Espargaró finished third, making this his third podium finish in the sprint race after the one in Qatar and his win in Montmeló.
Maverick Viñales’ start in the sprint from eighth place was complicated by an electronic anomaly found in the single ECU. A lack of feeling in acceleration further penalized his sprint race, which he finished in eighth place.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
“I am extremely pleased both with the podium and pole position. The flying lap I did was one of the best of my career. The pace the others set in the sprint race was extremely high and I was unable to attack them. At the beginning, I struggled due to the front tyre. I was at the limit and it didn’t give me confidence, but as the laps went by, the sensations improved. I’ll miss Aprilia Team very much, they are my second family.”
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“I have very little traction in acceleration, which is unusual because normally I am one of the better ones at exploiting this aspect. We’ll need to work to figure out where we can improve. In the sprint race, I was consistently battling with the others, but starting from behind always makes it difficult to come back. In any case, I think I’ll be able to improve my position in the long race.”
ROMANO ALBESIANO
“It was a great day for Aleix with the lap record and a high-level sprint race with a significant pace which makes us hopeful for the long race. We need to work with Maverick to find the solution to some grip problems identified on a couple of turns, but we are confident that we’ll be able to take him to an optimum level.”
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