Crutchlow on pole for British MotoGP round at Silverstone

Luke Smith

Two weeks after from claiming his maiden MotoGP victory in the Czech Republic, LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow made another breakthrough during British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday by scoring his first pole position in the premier class of motorcycle racing.

Crutchlow made the most of wet conditions at Silverstone to top the timesheets in Q2, recording a fastest lap time of 2:19.265 to finish almost a second clear of the field.

Crutchlow’s nearest rival was Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi, who saw title rivals Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo both struggle.

Lorenzo’s long-running difficulties in the wet meant he finished over 2.4 seconds off Crutchlow’s time, qualifying ninth.

Marquez’s exit from qualifying was more spectacular, crashing out in the final few minutes of Q2 to end his hopes of scoring pole at Silverstone.

For Crutchlow, the result marks his first pole position in MotoGP. The Briton made his debut back in 2011 with Yamaha’s satellite Tech3 team after previous stints in the World and British Superbike series.

Maverick Vinales completed the front row for Suzuki, qualifying third behind future teammate Rossi. Dani Pedrosa led Honda’s charge in P4 ahead of teammate Marquez, while Eugene Laverty also excelled on home soil to qualify sixth.

Scott Redding finished seventh, completing a hat-trick of Britons in Q2, with Andrea Iannone in P8 for Ducati. Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso rounded out the top 10.