It was a dramatic day at the GoPro British Grand Prix and after weather affected several sessions, however it was Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) who secured a sensational second pole position of the season at Silverstone.

Lorenzo’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso earning his third-consecutive front row start in second on a track split between wet patches and a dry line elsewhere.

That makes it a first Ducati 1-2 since 2006, with the two Bologna bullets joined on the front row by Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) as the Frenchman returned to his early season qualifying form to impress.

The start of the second qualifying session was delayed following an incident involving several riders in FP4, including Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing), who was taken to hospital nearby and will take no further part in the weekend.

After graduating from Q1, Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the early pace-setter, before Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) led Dovizioso and Pramac teammate Danilo Petrucci over the line to give the Desmosedicis a provisional front row lock out.

But that was just the start of the constant chopping and changing for pole, with home hero Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), Zarco and Dovizioso then setting the fastest times of the session in tandem.

Not long after it was a case of deja vu for Miller as the Australian took the gamble to head out on slicks, just like he did in Argentina when it paid off for pole. This time, however, the cards – or the clock – didn’t deal him the same hand and at the front it remained a wet tyre dominated game as Lorenzo made his move to go provisional pole.

Ultimately that was all she wrote and the two Ducatis stayed P1 and P2 as the chequered flag came out. There was a late change to who would join them on the front row though, with Zarco knocking Crutchlow out of third on his final lap, meaning the Brit starts P4 at his home GP.

For points leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), meanwhile, it was a tricky session. Managing to salvage fifth on his final lap, 0.928s behind the Ducati duo, the reigning champion and former winner at the venue will be gunning for a good start from row two. Petrucci eventually claimed sixth position.

Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) spearheads the third row for Sunday’s showdown, ahead of a stunning showing from Red Bull KTM’s Smith. The Brit took the Austrian factory’s best qualifying of the season in eighth, just ahead of the gambling Miller. Smith’s fellow Q1 graduate Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) rounds out the top 10.

After such a strong start to the weekend, Q2 didn’t go the way Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and teammate Valentino Rossi would have envisioned. The Spaniard will start P11, with Rossi just behind in 12th after missing out on a final flying lap by a fraction of a second.

On a drying Silverstone circuit, Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) grabbed the Moto2 pole position on his final lap to deny a maiden pole for Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing). Nevertheless, the Australian took his first career front row start in P2, with Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completing the front row in third.

Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) continues to defy the odds after taking the Moto3 pole position, despite still recovering from a broken wrist – coming back out after the rain with three minutes on the clock and winning the mad three-minute dash to pole.

But by the end of the flurry it was incredibly close, with Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) just 0.001s behind in second and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) only a further 0.020s in arrears to complete a tightly-contested front row.

Detailed results