After a dream Saturday, it was a stunning performance on a special Sunday for Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) that capped off a historic weekend at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix as MotoGP™ returned with a vintage touch. The #23 became the tenth different winner at Silverstone in the last 10 years after showing incredible pace on the final lap to move into the podium positions before crossing the line and winning. There was another twist in the championship standings, with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) taking the lead in the championship after a strong second place on Sunday. The #89 led for most of the Grand Prix before Bastianini was able to reach his full potential.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), meanwhile, secured the final place on the podium after losing time to the leading duo in the closing stages. With the Italian scoring no points on Saturday and finishing behind Martin on Sunday, Bagnaia is now three points behind in the championship.
When the lights went out, it was Bagnaia who took the holeshot after a phenomenal start into Turn 1. While the number 1 made a great start, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) put in a poor first lap and dropped to fourth.
The British Grand Prix ended early for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) after he had a problem at the start. Later in the first lap, Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Aprilia Racing) also had their races ended by crashes.
Bagnaia took an early lead when his teammate Bastianini braked too late on lap 2 and dropped to third behind Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Bastianini soon dropped to fourth while Espargaro found a way forward. The #41 set the fastest lap of the race and set his sights on Martin.
Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) lost important positions in the opening laps as the Italian had to serve a double long lap penalty following his incident in the Tissot Sprint. This put the Italian outside the points and had a big task ahead of him for the rest of the race.
Further back, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) were battling for seventh place. Di Giannantonio found his way past and started a duel with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in sixth place.
The tension at the front of the field was building and Martin was looking for an opportunity to overtake Bagnaia at the front. Martin took the lead for the first time on lap 12, breaking clear on the entry to Turn 3. Behind the leading duo, Bastianini found a gap in Espargaro’s defence and moved into the podium positions.
Martin braked too late at Turn 13 one lap later, with Bagnaia and Bastianini hot on his heels. However, the change in order within the top three came from Bastianini, who overtook his teammate for second place.
Further back, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) experienced a disappointing end to the British GP after the number 36 had to retire in the fight for the final points positions.
The battle between Espargaro and Marc Marquez for the final spot in the top five continued, and the #93 came out on top on lap 16. At the front, Bastianini began to close the gap on Martin. He took the lead on lap 19 and the beast went full throttle.
Bastianini finished the British Grand Prix with a fantastic lead, crossing the finish line ahead of Martin and his teammate Bagnaia, who took the final place on the podium.
Marc Marquez finished fourth, one second ahead of Di Giannantonio, who climbed from 10th on the grid to fifth. Polesitter Espargaro finished sixth, followed by Alex Marquez, who finished just 0.227s behind on the #73. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was eighth, ahead of Acosta, who finished ninth. The rookie finished in the points again, ahead of Morbidelli, who fought his way through the field to take the final spot in the top 10.
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
MotoGP™, Parc Ferme, Sprint, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Marco Bezzecchi, Franco Morbidelli, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
MotoGP™, Sprint, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
MotoGP™, Sprint, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
MotoGP™, Sprint, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Jorge Martin, Prima Pramac Racing, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Jorge Martin, Prima Pramac Racing, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Lenovo Team, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Enea Bastianini, Aleix Espargaro, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing MotoGP™, Monster Energy British Grand Prix
The most exciting sport in the world returns in two weeks for the Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix, where we’ll see if Bagnaia can reclaim the title lead. Be there as a new twist is about to take place in the championship.
