10/10: Bastianini bags British GP double as Martin reclaims title lead

The Italian becomes the 10th different winner in a row at Silverstone as Martin beats Bagnaia to claim the Championship lead.

After a dream Saturday, it was a stunning performance on a special Sunday for Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), who capped off a historic weekend at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix as MotoGP™ returned with a vintage twist. The #23 became the 10^th different winner at Silverstone in 10 years after showing incredible late pace, charging into the podium places before crossing the line to win. Meanwhile, it was yet another turn in the Championship standings, with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) taking the title lead after a strong second place finish on Sunday. The #89 led the majority of the Grand Prix before Bastianini unlocked his full potential.

Meanwhile, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) secured the final spot on the podium, after losing time to the leading duo in the closing stages. After the Italian scored no points on Saturday and finished behind Martin on Sunday, it leaves Bagnaia three points behind in the Championship.

Once the lights went out it was a blast from the past from Bagnaia, who claimed the holeshot on the run to Turn 1 after a phenomenal launch. While it was a great start from the #1, it was a poor opening lap from Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), who dropped to fourth position.

It was an early end to the British Grand Prix for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who suffered an issue at the race start. Later on in the opening lap, Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez races also came to an end, crashing out.

Bagnaia claimed an early lead as teammate Bastianini ran wide on Lap 2, dropping behind Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) in third. Bastianini soon dropped back to fourth with Espargaro finding a way through. The #41 was on the move, setting the fastest lap of the race – setting sights on Martin.

Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) would lose vital positions in the opening laps, as the Italian was forced to serve a double Long Lap penalty after his incident in the Tissot Sprint. This left the Italian outside the points with a big task ahead for the remainder of the race.

Further back, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) began to battle for seventh position. Di Giannantonio found his way through on the #1 and began to duel with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in sixth.

Tension built at the front of the field with Martin looking for an opportunity to pounce on Bagnaia in the lead. Martin entered the lead for the first time on Lap 12, making the move stick on the entry to Turn 3. Behind the leading duo, Bastianini found a gap in Espargaro’s armour – entering the podium places.

Martin ran wide at Turn 13 one lap later, placing Bagnaia and Bastianini on his tail. However, the change in the order inside the top three came from Bastianini, who overtook his teammate for second position.

Further back, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) had a disappointing end to the British GP, after the #36 was forced to retire while battling for the final point scoring positions.

Espargaro and Marc Marquez’ battle continued for the final spot inside the top five, with the #93 making the move stick on Lap 16. Meanwhile, at the front, Bastianini began to claw back Martin’s gap. The move for the lead came on Lap 19, with the Beast putting down the hammer.

Bastianini put together a fantastic end to the British Grand Prix, stretching out a magnificent gap to cross the line and create history ahead of Martin and teammate Bagnaia, who claimed the final spot inside the podium.

Marc Marquez would finish in fifth position with a one second advantage over Di Giannantonio, who climbed from 10^th on the grid to fifth at the chequered flag. Polesitter Espargaro took sixth position at the line and was being chased by Alex Marquez, with the #73 finishing a mere 0.227s behind. Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) took eighth ahead of Acosta in ninth. The rookie had another strong point-scoring finish and was ahead of Morbidelli, who battled through the field to take the final spot inside the top 10.

The world’s most exciting sport returns in two weeks for the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich where we will see if Bagnaia can reclaim the title lead. Join us then where another twist in the Championship awaits.

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