Sam Lowes faced disaster during Moto2 qualifying at Silverstone after his Speed Up Racing bike ran out of fuel with minutes remaining in the session
Lowes returned to the garage after struggling to get his bike back to pit lane given the length of the Silverstone track. The mechanics went to work and as the TV cameras watched the action unfold, it dawned on commentator Julian Ryder that only petrol was being added to the bike. Could it be possible that Lowes ran out of fuel?
It was confirmed by Lowes after qualifying that he had missed his pit board and stayed out for an extra lap which could have been disastrous for his starting position for tomorrow's race.
The bright side was that a determined and gritty Lowes put in a sublime lap to knock Rins off the top and start on pole for tomorrow's race after he returned to the track, becoming the first British rider to earn a Grand Prix pole position since Barry Sheene in 1977.
"I missed my board and I did one lap too many, but when I tried to get under the fence I actually dropped my bike and I am glad no one saw that,” said Lowes following qualifying.
There was a hairy moment during qualifying as Tito Rabat and Dominique Aegerter crashed on the final lap. Rabat was taken off on a stretcher, but fortunately he escaped with only a bruised knee.
It does not look as though Zarco, who has a 121-point lead in the championship, will get his way tomorrow. With Lowes on pole, Rins second and with Rabat behind him, it looks like it is going to be an interesting first corner.
The Moto2 race will be the first of the day between the three categories of the MotoGP World Championship, and is set to begin at 6:20 am ET on Sunday.
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Neil Simmons is a writer for the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow him on Twitter at @world_racing.