MotoGP points leader Jorge Martin beat Raul Fernandez by 0.021s in a last-lap effort to claim pole position for the British Grand Prix.
Trackhouse rider Fernandez appeared to have done enough to top qualifying for the first time in his MotoGP career, having lowered Marco Bezzecchi’s circuit record at Silverstone on his final run.
But factory Aprilia rider Martin had little more left in the tank, staging a late upset to secure his second pole position of the 2026 campaign.
At the start of Q2, Alex Marquez was the first rider to break the 1m57s barrier, before Raul Fernandez hit the front with a time of 1m56.593s.
Alex Marquez went fractionally quicker on the following lap, but his place at the top again proved to be short-lived, with his brother Marc Marquez firing in 1m56.527s to end the first runs on top.
As riders bolted on a fresh set of soft tyres, lap times quickly tumbled, with Friday pacesetter Bezzecchi going quicker than Marquez before Fernandez broke the circuit record to snatch the top spot.
Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Fernandez had a comfortable advantage heading into the final minutes, but Martin managed to produce a sensational time of 1m56.160s to snatch the top spot.
Fernandez had to settle for second position, with his team-mate Ai Ogura ending up third in another front-row lockout for Aprilia.
VR46 rider Fabio di Giannantonio was Ducati’s best qualifier in fourth, his last effort leaving reigning British GP winner Bezzecchi in fifth. The latter, still not fully fit after his Sachsenring injuries, lost a chunk of his bike’s bodywork in the last part of qualifying and couldn’t improve his time.
The Marquez brothers were unable to maintain frontrunning pace in the second run, with reigning champion Marc ending up sixth and his Gresini-mounted brother Alex finishing seventh – both over three tenths adrift of pole.
Meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli came through Q1 to guide his VR46 Ducati to eighth, beating the KTM of Pedro Acosta.
Iker Lecuona impressed again as a stand-in for the injured Franco Morbidelli, completing the top 10 on the Gresini Ducati after progressing to Q2 from the first part of qualifying.
The top 12 was completed by Jack Miller (Pramac) and Joan Mir (Honda).
Bagnaia eliminated in Q1
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Last year’s pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo waited until the last moment to set his final flying lap but ultimately missed out on a Q2 spot by just 0.050s, ending up 13th on the grid. The Yamaha rider will be joined on the fifth row of the grid by the Hondas of Diogo Moreira and Luca Marini.
Francesco Bagnaia endured his worst qualifying of the season on the factory Ducati and will take the start in 16th after struggling for speed throughout Q1. He will be followed by Yamaha’s Alex Rins and the KTMs of Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini.
Cal Crutchlow put his LCR Honda 20th on the grid for his home race, beating Maverick Vinales’ stand-in Pol Espargaro, Pramac rider Toprak Razgatlioglu and Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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