Alex Marquez takes fourth in wet and wild Silverstone qualifying

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez conquered a wet and wild Moto2 qualifying session at Silverstone this afternoon to claim fourth place on the grid for the 18-lap British Grand Prix.

Not only did Márquez and teammate Morbidelli have to cope with treacherously slippery conditions on the soaked 5.9km Silverstone surface, but a fierce and cold wind only made today’s 45-minute qualifying session an even more demanding challenge.

Spaniard Márquez put up a brilliant fight for his second successive Moto2 front row start and he was a constant threat for the top three throughout, having led in the early stages of a dramatic and incident-packed session.

The 20-year-old quickly calculated the amount of grip on offer as the track condition constantly evolved and he launched a stunning attack for pole position with just six minutes remaining.

Márquez was on an impressive charge but unfortunately crashed out at the penultimate corner on a hot lap and he was unable to take any further part in the session. He was unlucky to be pushed off the front in the closing stages by just 0.004s, but Márquez has shown impressive pace in both dry and wet conditions and he is confident that rain or shine he will be challenging for a career first Moto2 podium finish.

Tomorrow’s weather forecasts have predicted a dry race for round 12 of the World Championship and Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS is optimistic of a repeat of today’s double top six performance from Márquez and Morbidelli.

Álex Márquez: 4th – 2’27.506
“I am happy despite the crash at the end of qualifying because all weekend in the wet and dry I have demonstrated that I am one of the strongest. In the wet qualifying I felt I could just push a little bit more to try and keep myself on the front row but I had a crash at the penultimate corner. I am sorry to the team but I think they recognise that I was pushing hard to fight for pole position and the top three. Starting from fourth place I have a really good opportunity to be fighting at the front and I hope the race will be dry. I think I’m a little bit more competitive in the wet but in that situation you have more possibilities to crash, so I prefer the dry.”

Source: Marc VDS Racing