It’s been five weeks between races, and MotoGP returned in style. Across all three classes, we saw fierce fighting and high drama, which is exactly what we needed after the Summer holidays. We wanted real racing, and we got it in droves. It couldn’t have been a better start to the second half of the season.
The MotoGP class gave us plenty to talk about, even before the race started. Not only did Fabio Quartararo come into it on the back of his first DNF of the season, but he also had a known long lap penalty awaiting him in the UK. As if that wasn’t enough, Aleix Espargaro went flying off his bike in FP4 and smashed his leg on the way down, in what would later turn out to be a fracture to his foot. The two leading men in the championship had already made life difficult for themselves, and there were plenty of riders keen to punish them on what would likely be a rough race for both.
Looking at both the championship and the grid, it appeared that Johann Zarco was best positioned to jump the two luckless leaders. Starting from pole and third in the championship, Zarco looked to have solid form throughout the weekend, and was keen to finally break his winless streak in MotoGP and take home some top quality silverware. The Frenchman got away best of all, gathered a decent margin in the early laps… and then proceeded to bin it, in what is quickly becoming a signature move of his.
It’s disappointing to see, and also seriously confusing for anyone who has followed Zarco’s career. The only rider to ever take back-to-back Moto2 titles, Zarco has ridden for multiple high-quality teams and manufacturers in his time in the premier class, but has never managed to convert his quality riding and speed into a race victory. It’s crazy to me that a man with such obvious talent could be so luckless for so long – it’s not like he doesn’t know how to win a race, or fight for a championship, since he’s done both in the lower classes to great aplomb. And with so many fast young riders on their way up through the Ducati ranks at present, Zarco may be running out of opportunities to prove his value to the factory.
With Zarco out of the running, Aleix headed backwards as he struggled to deal with his injuries and Quartararo a long lap penalty down, it was game on at the front for any rider brave enough to take the challenge. Bagnaia, Miller and Martin were all present and ready to take a shot at Ducati’s first Silverstone win since Andrea Dovizioso in 2017, but it was Alex Rins that was the surprise package. Despite qualifying on the fourth row, Rins fought his way forward early on and got himself into the lead against the faster Ducatis around him. We shouldn’t have been surprised, really; Rins’ last two results in the UK were a win and a second.
What was a surprise is that his tires gave out before he did. The Suzuki has historically been a bike that can nurse its tires better than its opposition, allowing the rider to remain fast in the latter stages while others are dropping behind. Rins had the opposite occur here, and instead found himself dropping like a stone through the leading pack as the race went on. It was a bizarre sight, and one has to assume it was thanks to the fighting he had to endure in order to get to the front in the early stages. Since he had to push harder to overtake the slew of Ducatis around him, it punished his bike in the latter stages of the race.
With all these riders out of the way, it fell to Bagnaia to take the lead and manage the race, something he has become rather good at in the last twelve months. The Italian was keen to get his championship back on track here after mixed fortunes in the first eleven races, and with both Quartararo and Aleix struggling it was a perfect opportunity to rack up a tonne of points. He was able to comfortably hold off the other Ducati riders behind him and set his own pace at the front, keeping his race smooth where the likes of Zarco couldn’t.
There was one rogue factor left for Bagnaia to contend with, however, and that came in the form of the second Aprilia bike on the grid. Maverick Vinales, fresh from his first podium since joining the Noale factory, came on exceptionally strong in the second half of the race and came scything through the riders ahead of him, getting into second place with a few laps to go and setting his sights on the number 63 bike ahead of him. Vinales was wickedly fast on used tires, something we’ve seen throughout his time in the MotoGP class, and he was able to quickly reduce the gap to Bagnaia ahead. They engaged, briefly, but with time running out the Spaniard made one too many minute errors and let Bagnaia pull out some breathing room again. Had there been even a single additional lap, the battle could have easily swung the other way.
These two rides from Pecco and Maverick were both very impressive for a number of reasons. For Bagnaia, it represents his fourth win of the season as he attempts to claw his way back into title contention against the runaway leaders of Quartararo and Espargaro. Two wins on the trot at tracks he shouldn’t have been favoured at is no mean feat, especially when he looked unlikely to challenge for the win all weekend. It was a mature ride to be sure, and while he’s still a decent chunk of points behind the championship leader its a positive sign for him.
As for Vinales, two podiums on the spin is a brilliant turn of form for him, and a sure sign of improvement since he stepped into the team late last year. I’ve been watching keenly as Vinales has built himself up within the Aprilia team, and he now seems to be on the precipice of some really big results. With both qualifying and race pace seeming to be coming quite easily to him at present, his first win on board an Aprilia should be coming sooner rather than later.
Some notes on other performances through the pack. Miller took another podium in third, continuing his strong form as he prepares to depart the Ducati factory, but the rider behind him had a far more impressive race. Bastianini came across the line in fourth despite having one of his wings clipped in the opening exchanges, and was forced to fight all the way through from the mid pack to achieve the result. Not only that, but he managed to beat key rival Jorge Martin to the line in the process. The fight for the second factory seat at Ducati in 2022 looks to be swinging ever so slightly in his favour at present.
On the flip side of things, it was another day to forget for the 2020 champion Joan Mir. Crashing out from the middle of the points positions, Mir finds himself with five crashes in the last eight races, which is in stark contrast to his championship winning campaign when he was labelled “Mr Consistent”. There’s no doubt in my mind right now that the reason he hasn’t signed a contract for next year is the swingy nature of his results this year, and he desperately needs to find some form again if he wants to land the Repsol Honda spot alongside Marc Marquez for 2023.
Riders now get a week to breath and reset, before we head for the rolling Austrian hills for round 13 of the championship. I can’t say for sure what I expect from the coming race, but I definitely hope it’s as entertaining as the showdown we witnessed here in Silverstone.
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