There were times when it felt like we were watching a Moto3 race today at Silverstone – there was drama up and down the grid and 5 riders all in contention for the win when we reached the final lap.
Aleix Espargaro has won the British grand prix at Silverstone in stunning fashion. Despite starting the race in 12th, he quietly made his way up the field, capitalised on others crashing, and then found himself in the leading group of four. There was plenty of tussling and battling but he kept his eyes on race leader Pecco Bagnaia to then make a move on the final lap of the race.
Bagnaia ended the day in 2nd, despite looking pretty untouchable and dominant for much of the race.
In the early stages, the reigning champion had been battling with title rival, Marco Bezzecchi. However, the VR46 rider made a crucial error when chasing down Bagnaia and crashed out at turn 15 of lap 6.
The final podium position was taken by Brad Binder, who mastered the tricky weather conditions and used them to his advantage. As others tiptoed round the circuit, making cautious moves, he threw his KTM machine around on his way up to 3rd.
🚨 LAST LAP! 🚨
It’s a four-rider scrap for glory! ⚔️#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/aDn1A4l9LJ
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 6, 2023
Binder enjoyed a lot of battles with Miguel Oliveira, who is back this weekend after taking some time out due to an injury. He was very close to the final podium spot as well as Maverick Vinales. The pair eventually came home 4th and 5th respectively.
As is becoming so normal now on race day, Jack Miller flew off the start line and was an early leader. However, he began to drop back a little bit and then, on lap 3, Vinales made an aggressive move up the inside as the pair were fighting for 4th. This move pushed Miller out wide and dropped him back to 14th. He eventually finished the day in 8th.
Rain started to fall on lap 13 of 20. Four riders opted to change bike and run the wet tires, including Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli. However, the gamble didn’t pay off and they all finished at the back of the grid.
Joining them at the back as the checkered flag fell was Fabio Quartararo. But his day wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The Frenchman started the race from last on the grid and worked hard to get himself up to 8th. Whilst fighting with Luca Marini for 7th, the pair collided and he went down at turn 4. He lost much of the carbon fibre off the front of the bike but was able to keep going. He came in to the pits to change his bike and then ended the day 15th. A disappointing result for the Yamaha rider, but he did show glimpses of the old Fabio today.
Contact with @Luca_Marini_97! 💥@FabioQ20 has to pit to change bike! 🔄#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/TIltwCmDIp
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 6, 2023
There were further DNFs for Alex Marquez who retired with a technical failure on lap 5. It looked as though his gear linkage was broken as he limped his way back to the garage.
His brother, Marc Marquez, also failed to meet the checkered flag. He was battling with Enea Bastianini at Maggotts and Becketts when the two collided and both went down – it seems they were just making moves that were too risky when the track was greasy and wet.
Full Results
| 1st | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Pecco Bagnaia | Ducati |
| 3rd | Brad Binder | KTM |
| 4th | Miguel Oliveira | CryptoDATA RNF |
| 5th | Maverick Vinales | Aprilia |
| 6th | Jorge Martin | Prima Pramac |
| 7th | Luca Marini | Mooney VR46 |
| 8th | Jack Miller | KTM |
| 9th | Johann Zarco | Prima Pramac |
| 10th | Raul Fernandez | CryptoDATA RNF |
| 11th | Augusto Fernandez | GASGASG Tech3 |
| 12th | Pol Espargaro | GASGASG Tech3 |
| 13th | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini |
| 14th | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha |
| 15th | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha |
| 16th | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda |
| 17th | Icer Lecuona | LCR Honda |
DNFs = Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), Alex Marquez (Gresini), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
Championship Standings
| 1st | Pecco Bagnaia | 214 Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Jorge Martin | 173 Points |
| 3rd | Marco Bezzecchi | 167 Points |
| 4th | Brad Binder | 131 Points |
| 5th | Johann Zarco | 122 Point |
Feature Image Credit: MotoGP