Rodrigo Grabs Silverstone Front-Row Start
Silverstone CircuitGabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) dominated today's Moto3 Q2 qualifying session until the final moments, when he was bettered by just 0.043 seconds.
However, most importantly the 24-year-old Argentine rider will start from the front row of the grid, for the first time since he took pole position at June's Catalan Grand Prix. And tomorrow he will chase his first podium result since the preceding Italian Grand Prix, where he finished third, a fraction behind winner Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW).
Today's result is all the more impressive considering the fact that Rodrigo' fell this morning, forcing him to come through from Q1 to the Q2 qualifying session. He knows that the fast-and-flowing nature of the Silverstone circuit will most likely create a large lead pack, so his race strategy will be every bit as important as outright speed.
Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda NSF250RW) placed fourth-fastest, and hopes that his best qualifying performance since the French GP, where he started from pole, will get his 2021 campaign back into gear after a run of lower-than-expected results. The 25-year-old knows that his NSF250RW works superbly through Silverstone's high-speed twists and turns – and he aims to fully exploit that in this race.
Foggia will start from the middle of the third row, alongside seventh-fastest Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW), but nevertheless he has high hopes of a strong race, after finishing on the podium last time out in Austria, where he started from the same grid position. The 20-year-old Italian has already won two races this year – at Mugello and Assen – and he needs another strong points score here if he's to continue his fight for a top-three finish in the 2021 Moto3 World Championship.
The qualifying hopes of Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) were ruined by an incident at Turn 16, where he was taken out by a rival. The 18-year-old from Setagaya was uninjured in the fall, which consigned him to starting tomorrow's race from the eighth row of the grid. This is Kunii's first weekend at Silverstone, because last year was his first season GP racing, when the event was cancelled due to the global pandemic.
Kunii's team-mate Andi Farid Izdihar (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) is not at Silverstone, due to COVID-19-related visa complications.
We made a good progression and probably without the crash this morning we would have been directly in Q2. The strategy had to change a little but we stayed focused and in Q1 we were able to find both feeling and pace. We set several 2m 11s lap times which is something important ahead of the race. [Romano] Fenati is really strong here, especially in the first sector.
After the crash I'm fine. Since yesterday I'm struggling a lot with the track. This morning in FP3 I improved my lap time, but honestly, I'm not comfortable with my riding. In Q1, in the beginning, I was in a good place to get a good lap time, but I couldn't because of my mistakes and my riding style. Finally, I crashed. I'm disappointed about my lap time and my feeling. Anyway, the race is tomorrow. I will start from the back of the grid, but as usual I will do my best, trying to stay strong and positive.
