Bagnaia wins dramatic British Grand Prix

It’s a time when aerodynamics and ride-height devices are supposedly making overtaking difficult in motorcycle racing’s premier class, but the protagonists of the British Grand Prix didn’t get the memo. In fact, it was the second-closest top-10 finish in MotoGP history as riders jostled for positions from the first to the last of the 20-lap race.

The talking point of the weekend was Fabio Quartararo’s (Monster Yamaha) long-lap penalty as a result of the crash with title rival Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) last time out in Assen. That only intensified when Espargaro was stretchered off the track after a bruising highside in FP4. Declared fit, the Spaniard hobbled to his bike and qualified sixth, two places behind his French rival.

When the lights went out, it was pole man Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Ducati) who grabbed the holeshot and, after setting the quickest pace in the all-important FP4 session, looked like he may be finally celebrating his maiden premier-class victory. Quartararo got the start he needed and was up to second with the two factory Ducati riders in hot pursuit. Espargaro settled into his painful race a little slower and was back to seventh on the opening lap.

Quartararo served his penalty on lap four, losing just three places and rejoining the race in fifth, but despite having the pace all weekend to bounce back and try for the win, the traffic ahead meant his tyre overheated and the best he could hope for was eighth.

The 2019 victor Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) was a man on the move. Having qualified in 11th, he was up to third by the time Zarco slid off and he quickly pounced on Jack Miller (Lenovo Ducati) for the lead. The pair swapped places a handful of times during the remainder of the lap, but it looked as if Rins had made it stick the next time around and was three quarters of a second clear by lap seven.

Pecco Bagnaia eased passed his teammate for second and set about chasing down the Spaniard while further back, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) was finding his rhythm and also began picking off riders. It was lap 12 when Bagnaia eventually made his race-winning move on Rins who was visibly struggling for grip, Miller held firm in second, with now only Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) between Vinales and the podium positions.

But there was another man on the move, Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini was in his trademark late-race groove despite losing the left-hand aero off the front of his GP21 in the early stages, and was passing riders with impossible ease. With three laps to go, Vinales was through on Miller for second place and he crossed the line with two to go six-tenths behind Bagnaia. And while he briefly got ahead of the Italian rider before the end of that penultimate lap, a couple of errors in the dying stages means he will need to wait for his first Aprilia race victory.

Miller rounded out the podium in third, while Bastianini forced his way through to fourth ahead of Martin, Oliveira and Rins who faded to seventh. Aleix Espargaro even made a lunge for eighth on title rival Quartararo on the final lap, but couldn’t make it stick, he finished in ninth, remarkably losing just one point to the Frenchman after a dramatic and memorable British GP. Aussie Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM) finished 18th, after starting 16th, which was his best-ever premier class qualifying result.

Bagnaia’s win brings him back into contention in third overall on 131 points, pulling back an almost unthinkable 17 points on series leader Quartararo (180). There’s now just 49 points separating the pair with eight races left to run. Espargaro remains in second position on 158 points.

Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) showed why he now has a healthy 13-point lead in the Moto2 standings, riding a fast and smart race to snatch the victory in the closing stages from CAG Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez.

Despite Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing) grabbing the holeshot, he was quickly relegated down the order as Ai Ogura (Team Honda Asia) took the lead and then Lopez. Pole man Fernandez was in fourth in the early stages, as Aron Canet (HP Flexbox) pushed his was past Jake Dixon who found himself as low as eighth on just lap three.

A leading of group of four appeared with 13 laps left to run, Lopez out front with half a second lead from Canet, Ogura and Fernandez. A handful of laps later, after having disposed of his GasGas Aspar teammate Albert Arenas, Dixon had made it a leading group of five as the Brit was willed on by his home crowd. And it continued all the way to the end of the race.

As the battle for second place raged, Lopez got his head down and eked out a small lead. Simultaneous errors from Ogura and Canet allowed Fernandez through to second with six laps to go, with Dixon also taking advantage of the break in momentum to push through to third.

Fernandez got his head down, reeled in Lopez within two laps and, despite Lopez fending off his fellow Spaniard for the best part of the remaining four laps, Fernadez made the race-winning move with just two corners to go. And while Ogura and Canet did their best to break the hearts of the local fans, it was Dixon who hung on to claim the final podium spot.

The result moves Fernandez (171 points) 13 points clear of Ogura (158), who leapfrogs VR46 Mooney rider Celestino Vietti (156) who recovered from a long-lap penalty to finish sixth behind Ogura and Canet. Canet remains in fourth on 127 points.

With just three points separating teammates Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara at the top of the ladder, the British Moto3 Grand Prix was set to be pivotal for the GasGas Aspar squad. Points leader Garcia qualified poorly in 11th, while his less-experienced teammate was well placed in the middle of the front row, alongside Brazilian rookie Diego Moreira who scored his first-ever pole position.

A typical Moto3 melee, it was difficult to know where to look. Though lucky for Garcia, Guevara didn’t run away at the from when he took the lead at the start of lap two, helped by the bold moves of young Turkish rider Deniz Oncu who was putting his Red Bull KTM Ajo machine at the head of the race at any opportunity. The jostling at the front meant by the time the chequered flag was thrown, just 3.3 seconds covered the top 21 riders.

But it didn’t end how anyone expected, not least when Garcia was skittled by Ayumi Sasaki (Husqvarna Sterilgarda Max) with three laps to go. And just as it looked like Guevara was set to capitalise on his teammate’s demise, he too got taken out down on the very last lap in a collision with Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team).

It was Leopard Honda’s Dennis Foggia who crossed the line first to take 25 important championship points to put him back into title contention. Jaume Masia – who started outside the top 20 – bought his Red Bull KTM Ajo machine home in second place ahead of teammate Oncu.

Aussie Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power) sat out the British Grand Prix due to injury.

So it’s still Garcia at the top from Guevara with 182 points to 179, with Foggia (140) now just 42 points clear in third. Masia (127) and Oncu (114) move into fourth and fifth respectively.