Aprilia's Martin smashes Silverstone lap record to take British GP pole

Record-breaking qualifying

Jorge Martin delivered a lap of 1:56.160 to claim pole position for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, breaking the circuit's lap record. The championship leader's time secured his second pole with Aprilia and headlined a session in which Aprilia machines filled the entire front row. Trackhouse riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura qualified second and third, 0.021 and 0.189 seconds behind respectively, giving the Italian manufacturer a clean sweep. Conditions were hot and dry for Q2, with air temperature at 24 degrees Celsius and the track surface at 38 degrees under 28 percent humidity.

The lap record fell several times during Q2 before Martin went fastest. Fernandez narrowly missed pole, while reigning champion Marc Marquez, who led the session for a significant period, could only manage sixth on his Ducati, 0.367 seconds off. Fabio Di Giannantonio was fourth quickest at 1:56.415, with Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi fifth at 1:56.456. Alex Marquez qualified seventh for BK8 Gresini, just 0.012 seconds behind his brother Marc.

I put everything I had on the track, I didn't expect to do this great lap time, honestly. But yesterday we confirmed that the feeling is improving, today we did another small step.

Martin added that pole at Silverstone was "always super special" and that he aimed to fight for victory.

Championship battle tightens

Martin leads the standings with 208 points, Ogura sits second on 194, and Marquez third on 190. The top three are separated by 18 points, and only 24 points cover the top five of Martin, Ogura, Marquez, Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio heading into Saturday's sprint. Ogura has been the highest-scoring rider across the last three rounds, with two second places and a win.

Ogura cautious despite front row

Ogura tempered expectations despite qualifying third. The Japanese rider, who crashed at Silverstone last year and lost most of that race weekend, admitted the session had been difficult.

It was a difficult session for me. My lap time wasn't coming out as expected, so the session was complicated. But I managed to do a strong final lap behind Pedro Acosta, which was enough to secure a place on the front row.

Ogura also stated he was not expecting to finish in the top three on Sunday, though he noted that conditions this year were much better than in 2025.

Bezzecchi's painful comeback

Bezzecchi's fifth-place grid slot came less than a month after he suffered a broken clavicle in a crash at the Sachsenring and underwent surgery. The Italian confirmed his physical condition remains a limiting factor.

When I string together four or five laps I start to suffer, and at the end of the session I was super tired. The two injuries have been difficult to manage, the surgery and the operation were complicated. They've been difficult days at home, it's been hard to disconnect, impossible.

Bezzecchi also cited a knee injury as a source of frustration on the bike. He warned that Saturday would be physically demanding.

Tomorrow will definitely be a super hard day. I hope to finish both races... they might have to help me get on the bike.

Q1 surprises

Franco Morbidelli advanced from Q1 with a time of 1:57.173 to secure eighth on the grid, while wild card Iker Lecuona, substituting for the injured Fermin Aldeguer at BK8 Gresini, also progressed and qualified 10th. Fabio Quartararo missed out on Q2 by 0.050 seconds. Two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia, facing physical problems, could only manage 16th on the grid.