SILVERSTONE, England — With the MotoGP mid-season summer break over, Francesco Bagnaia came back to work raring to go by taking victory in the Monster Energy British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Maverick Viñales finished second for Aprilia Racing, with Jack Miller in third, giving Ducati Lenovo Team a double podium alongside Bagnaia.
Polesitter Johann Zarco looked to be in prime position to win his first career MotoGP race, however a crash on lap fiveended his chances.Â
Despite a crash during practice, championship contender Aleix Espargaro managed to tough it out and receive valuable points with a ninth-place effort.
Getting by his championship rival on the final lap, points leader Fabio Quartararo finished eighth, after having to serve a one-lap penalty during the event.Â
“I’m not happy about my race. I was just suffering so much,” Quartararo said. “I wasn’t having fun. With that medium rear tire we struggled so much. After the long-lap penalty I was behind four riders and the rear tire overheated. There was no more performance, and the tire drops much quicker. So, at that moment our race was gone. I was suffering. I was suffering from this lap to the end.”
During the early laps, Alex Rins set a track record, beating Marc Marquez’s 2019 record with a time of 1:59.346.
Blistering hot temperatures led to a new race duration record of 40:10.260 – also beating the 2019 previous best time.
With eight races remaining in the season, Quartararo holds a 22-point lead over Espargaro. Behind them, a surging Bagnaia has closed the gap to first to just 49 points, after two victories in a row.Â
Â