This weekend, Aprilia has been the shining manufacturer as MotoGP takes on Silverstone. With yesterday proving tyre management under the British sun to be crucial, riders had to adapt and prepare for the full distance today. Eyes were on Jorge Martín as the pole-sitter and championship leader to take another win. However, it was Raúl Fernández who recovered from a sprint DNF to take the win.
Battles Form at the Start
In contrast to his disappointing start yesterday, Raúl Fernández was best off the line today, taking the lead into Turn 1. Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez also got a great start, making up places in the opening corners. Álex Rins brought out an early yellow flag in Sector 2, colliding with Joan Mir at Turn 7. Whilst this incident was investigation, race officials decided no further action would be taken.
Falling behind in the first few corners, Ai Ogura was battling with Álex Márquez. The #79 came out on top, leaving Márquez vulnerable to Pedro Acosta, who quickly took the position. The battle didn’t end there, was both Acosta and Márquez utilising the slipstream to overtake Ogura.
As battles were emerging throughout the grid to gain track position, the front was showing a different story. Fernández was creating an impressive early lead and within three laps, the young rider was two seconds ahead of Bezzecchi. But as the opening laps concluded, riders settled into their positions and began to manage their tyres, giving them a chance to fight towards the end.
Yellows Throughout Silverstone
Whilst battling with Iker Lecuona and Diogo Moreira, Enea Bastianini crashed out at Turn 17. Consequently, he brought out the second yellow flag in Sector 4. A lap later, Lecuona went down in Turn 12, creating a third yellow.
Similar to yesterday, M. Márquez appeared to be a sitting duck on track after a strong start. His brother overtook him, and soon Acosta followed, pushing the #93 back to sixth. Á. Márquez was the fastest man on the track as the race reached halfway. As he closed in on the Aprilia Racing duo, Martín made his move to take P2. Corners later, Márquez took third from Bezzecchi.
In surprising fashion, Ogura slid out in Turn 16 when chasing down M. Márquez. Á. Márquez also had a moment in Turn 1, running wide and losing positions to Bezzecchi and Acosta. The #73 was able to recover, closing back in on Acosta and eventually retaking P4.
The Gap out Front Fluctuates
After pulling out a 4.5 second lead, Fernández was focusing on protecting his tyres. Behind him, Martín was continuing to push and finding time. Lapping faster than the leader, the #89 was slowing bringing the gap down, reducing it by one second. However, Fernández was able to respond, picking his pace back up and opening his leading gap back up.
But the championship leader wasn’t holding back. Once again, he picked his speed up to start bringing the gap down. Despite a clear lead, the battle for the win was on. With five laps remaining, eyes were on Martín to see if he could overcome the deficit and take the top spot.
Behind them, it was another Bezzecchi versus Márquez moment. Á. Márquez was closing in and trying to find a spot to overtake. Fighting the pain he was sure to be in following his surgery, Bezzecchi was defending hard to retain his podium position.
As the laps continued, Fabio Di Giannantonio was finding pace. After having a lonely race so far, he’d finally closed into M. Márquez. The pair were free to fight, with Brad Binder 11 seconds adrift. Di Giannantonio was able to take P6 from the reigning champion and set his eyes forward to make up the gap to Acosta ahead for P5. Whilst he closed in, he ultimately ran out of laps to overtake.
Fernandez Wins Ahead of Aprilia
Despite Martín finding pace in the closing stages, Fernández utilised the gap he’d created early on to protect his victory. Having lost his pace, the #25 was ensuring his lines were perfect which kept him out front. Although the gap was brought down to 2.5 seconds, Fernández crossed the line first to take his second MotoGP win. He becomes the twelfth winner in Silverstone in twelve visits.
“I think together we get a really good weekend. Yesterday I was quite frustrated after my mistake, but anyway, it is part of the sport. Sometimes we are human and we can make this kind of mistake and now we are getting there again. So thanks to my team. I enjoyed it like a kid and yes, we win.”
~ Fernández after his win.
Behind him, Á. Márquez was unable to mount a move on Bezzecchi. This saw Aprilia Racing take another double podium and reclaim a 1-2 in the championship standings. Further down the grid, Moreira made a last lap move on Franco Morbidelli to finish in the top ten.
MotoGP at Silverstone
Silverstone and the British Grand Prix has shown again that Aprilia are the manufacturer to beat this year. The British track gave plenty of action over the weekend, but Aprilia came out on top to take two complete podiums.
Consequently, they solodify their place in the championship standings. Martín extends his lead to 31 points, but Bezzecchi moves back up to P2. Considering his poor run before the summer break culminating in a broken collarbone and surgery, the Italian has bounced back this weekend.
Up next is the Michelin Grand Prix of Aragon and MotoGP heads back to Spain. Being an anti-clockwise track, can Marc Márquez fight for the win or will Jorge Martín stretch his lead once more?