The Ducati rider boosts his title hopes by fending off late pressure from Viñales in a Silverstone classic
Francesco Bagnaia has continued to breathe life back into his MotoGP™ World Championship hopes by winning an epic Monster Energy British Grand Prix. Just 0.614 seconds covered the top three after 20 laps of racing at the Silverstone Circuit as Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro finished second and Jack Miller made it a double podium for the Ducati Lenovo Team.
Seemingly every rider had a tale to tell after a breathtaking Sunday afternoon in Britain. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) finished eighth after serving his Long Lap Penalty, but only after re-passing a battered Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) on the final lap. Pole-sitter Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), however, was one of two retirements after he crashed while leading.
Zarco had grabbed the holeshot from pole position and Quartararo made it a French one-two when he jumped well from Row 2, as the factory Ducati duo of Miller and Bagnaia took up third and fourth respectively. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins was fifth on his Suzuki before he overtook Bagnaia on Lap 3 at The Loop, but both moved up on Lap 4 when Quartararo – who was sanctioned for his run-in with Aleix Espargaro at Assen – took his Long Lap Penalty at the last possible opportunity.
‘El Diablo’ was still second as he entered the penalty loop at The Loop and resumed in fifth, behind Zarco, Miller, Rins, and Bagnaia. By then, Viñales was sixth and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) seventh, as an injured Aleix Espargaro struggled to keep pace after his bruising FP4 highside.
Zarco had a great shot at finally clinching a maiden MotoGP™ race win, but disaster struck when he folded the front and crashed at Vale on Lap 5. Miller inherited first position and while Rins went underneath the Australian at The Loop later that same lap, the Spaniard could not get the move done. He tried another pass at Vale on Lap 6 and was successful that time, putting the #42 GSX-RR at the head of the field.
Miller ceded second position to team-mate Bagnaia exactly a lap later again at Vale, by which time Martin had charged up to fourth after blazing past Quartararo as they ran up the Hangar Straight moments earlier. The Spaniard went down…