It was a fair assumption that MotoGP would return after the Summer break in much the same way it left off at the end of June. The first eight races of 2023 have been fuelled by drama and unpredictable results, but the recurring plot threads that have strung it together seemed too strong to be broken easily. The Ducatis dominating at every track we visit, regularly filling out the majority of the podium and the top eight. Pecco Bagnaia slowly but surely walking away with the championship thanks to his unbelievable consistency. The KTMs standing firm as the one bike capable of taking the fight to them.
What we all forgot to take into consideration was the impact of British weather on things. The Silverstone weekend was marred by plentiful instances of heavy rain, occasionally to the point of riders questioning why a red flag wasn’t shown mid-session. MotoGP’s qualifying sessions represented the worst of it: nine riders crashed out over the course of Q1 and Q2, and the entire front row took their post-session interviews as an opportunity to critique the stewards for not taking their safety into consideration.
You would be forgiven for looking at the qualifying order and assuming that we were in for much the same as Assen, or Sachsenring, or Mugello. Six Ducatis made it into the top nine, split down the middle of each row by either a KTM or Aprilia. Two Aprilias and a Yamaha squeaked into the top 12, but we’d seen this dance before. The pouring rain did a brilliant job of masking the true potential of the grid from viewers, and allowed for some pretty major shockers in both the sprint and the feature race.
First, the sprint. Alex Marquez took a breath-taking first sprint victory of the year after scrapping it out in an early melee featuring many of the top Ducati riders and the circuit-specialist Aprilias. It’s a result that many of us knew was capable but feared wasn’t on the cards for the time, and seeing the pure joy on the Spaniards face was cause enough for celebration. Here is a two-time world champion who has spent his entire career being compared to his more successful older sibling finally getting a chance to showcase his full talent. As Marc Marquez suffered at the bottom of the order on his underperforming Honda, Alex blossomed at the front in a spectacular way.
The issue that many riders faced – and that Alex mastered – was the mixed conditions following qualifying. The track was slowly drying thanks to the heat laid down by 1000+cc motorbikes, but they were still boxed into racing with wet tires under the expectation that it could return to torrential conditions at any point. Some managed it better than others. Bagnaia and Miller dropped like stones through the order, neither man adapting well to the change in track temperature and grip over the course of the race.
It was unfortunate for Bagnaia in particular, as he has been something of a sprint specialist this year. Never finishing outside the top six prior to this and with seven sprint podiums to his name already, failing to even finish in the points is an embarrassing result for the reigning champ. His rivals did their best to punish him – Bezzechi finished second behind the hard-charging Marquez and Martin clawed back a sixth place – and the question became whether or not he could return to form on the Sunday.
Sunday’s weather chose not to make things any easier for the riders. Light spits of rain on an overcast day had the grid in shambles a full half hour before the race was set to begin, and most riders ended up opting for softer tire combinations than they otherwise would have in an attempt to get the jump on their rivals should conditions deteriorate and a flag-to-flag race unfold. Then, just to make things worse, the rain eased off and we ended up with relatively dry conditions for the race start.
Bagnaia did a phenomenal job off the line this time around, getting into the lead early and pushing the riders behind him to try and retain his pace. Martin and Miller were both punted out early and found themselves mired way down the order, so the only immediate threat to the championship leader appeared to be Bezzechi. The younger Italian closed in lap after lap, until he was caught in Pecco’s slipstream and missed his braking markers, crashing out heavily.
I hate to critique riders given my viewing position from the comfort of my couch, but this kind of blunder is exactly why I struggle to view Bezzechi as a serious title challenger this season. Yes, he is obviously incredibly talented and fast, but a crash like this feels like something you would expect from a rookie and not a potential title threat. Knowing that the man he’s trying to chase down is on the best bike on the grid and has strength and consistency to spare, you simply cannot afford to throw away points like that. I was harsh on Bagnaia after Argentina and Texas, and I’m going to do the same with Bezzechi here: it was a costly and inexcusable mistake.
With Bezz out of the picture, you would be excused for assuming that it would be a clean run to the line for Bagnaia, but the rain returned on cue to make things interesting again. It wasn’t enough to turn things fully on their heads – the rain was light, and only in certain sectors of the track – but it caused the leading riders to bunch up as they all became significantly more cautious. Bagnaia and Binder, both previous race winners this season, seemed like reasonable names to be in the mix at this stage, but the three riders alongside them were a real surprise: the Aprilias of Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Vinales, and Miguel Oliveira.
Where did this pace come from? The Aprilia has a history of going pretty quick around Silverstone, but the bike has fairly consistently disappointed so far in 2023. There have been flashes of brilliance from their camp, but never anything consistent, yet suddenly we had three of their four men in the hunt for a potential victory. Oliveira in particular impressed me, as he started the race way down in 16th and had an insane climb through the pack to bring himself into contention.
In the end, leading for as long as he did was Bagnaia’s downfall. In mixed conditions, all of the pressure rests on the shoulders of the rider in first place to test the circuit and find where they can and cannot push. All Aleix had to do was sit behind the Ducati rider, not get beaten up too badly by the men behind him, and watch where Bagnaia was weak. The final lap gave him an opportunity to slice up the inside, and the Spaniard eeked out just enough advantage to secure his first win of the season and second of his career.
It was an amazing final few laps, marred only by a small bit of controversy right at the conclusion of the race. Camera shots on the final lap showed Bagnaia appearing to clip the green paint on his way to second place, and the expectation was that he would be demoted a position just as Binder was in Assen, but the penalty never came. A lack of clear communication from the stewards once again leaves us with a rather empty feeling about all this – they’ve decided race results already, but are they deciding a championship as well? I won’t harp on about it here as I’ve already done so several times, but the stewarding team continue to be a source of frustration for myself and the community at large.
So, that was the first race weekend back following the break. A good weekend for some, a revelation for others, but the end result is much the same. Bagnaia still commands a healthy championship lead and will require something big to change in the coming months to not be considered a comfortable favourite for the title. And with Martin suffering some deeply unimpressive results and Bezzechi throwing away a sure-fire podium, it’s unclear if there’s anyone even willing to step up to the plate. Godspeed to anyone willing to try.
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