Rennie Scaysbrook | August 7, 2022
Sunday
MotoGP
After the five week summer break, MotoGP returned to action at the legendary Silverstone circuit in the UK and it was another red letter day for Ducati and Pecco Bagnaia, the Italian taking an emphatic victory to make it two wins in a row.
Bagnaia was at his brutal best at Silverstone, marching his way forward after qualifying fifth to get off the start in fourth behind pole man Johann Zarco (Alma Pramac Ducati), World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) and teammate Jack Miller
One of those in front would take care of himself as Zarco crashed out of the lead at Vale on lap five, handing the lead to Miller who would lose it almost immediately to the charging Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar).
Bagnaia, meanwhile, kept his nose clean in third as Rins tried and failed to make a break for it as Quartararo swept into the long lap penalty lane to take his punishment for barging into Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) at the previous round at Assen. Quartararo would eventually drop back down to eighth at the flag, citing an overheating rear tire as the cause.
By lap eight, Bagnaia had dived underneath Miller and set about chasing down Rins for the lead, a feat he accomplished on lap 12. By this stage, the man on the charge was Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, the Spaniard moving into the top five on lap nine, then into the top three on lap 17 after disposing of the fading Rins, who, like Quartararo, was suffering a terminal lack of grip. Rins would eventually come home seventh.
Vinales then carved up Miller for second on lap 18 and by lap 19 had shut down Bagnaia’s 0.6 second deficit. The former Yamaha and Suzuki factory rider then briefly led a race for the first time on the factory Aprilia as he pushed past Bagnaia on the penultimate lap at the Village left hander, only to lose the lead on the cutback from the Ducati man.
Bagnaia only just held on for his fourth win of the season.
Bagnaia had a 0.3-second advantage heading into the 20th and final lap and Vinales ran wide at three separate occasions, ensuring the victory would go to the Italian. Vinales was still emphatic to take second, his best result for Aprilia and the second podium in a row after his third place at Assen. Miller held on for third, besting Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati) by one second. Jorge Martin (Alma Pramac Ducati) was fifth to make it four Ducatis in the top five, while Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM), Rins, Quartararo, the limping Aleix Espargaro and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Ducati) rounded out the top 10.
In the championship, Quartararo is still in command on 180 points from Espargaro’s 158 with Bagnaia clawing back some ground with his victory to sit on 131.
2022 British MotoGP Results
| 1 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
|
| 2 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Apr) |
+ 0.426 |
| 3 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.614 |
| 4 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Duc) |
+ 1.651 |
| 5 |
Jorge Martin |
(Duc) |
+ 1.750 |
| 6 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+ 3.021 |
| 7 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 3.021 |
| 8 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 3.819 |
| 9 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 3.958 |
| 10 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
+ 6.646 |
Moto2
In a proper British brawl, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM) broke the heart of long-time leader Alonzo Lopez (CAG Speed Up) to snatch his third win in a row and move into a 13 point championship lead.
Lopez looked set for a rookie win in just his sixth Moto2 race but once clear of the brawling pack of Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar), Aron Canet (FlexBox HP40) and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Fernandez shut down Lopez’s one second lead over the final eight laps, making the coup de grace with just three corners to go, diving down the inside at the Brooklands left hander and holding on for a minuscule 0.070 second margin of victory.
Augusto Fernandez, three in a row in Moto2 with his Silverstone win.
Third went to home hero Dixon from Ogura and Canet, while erstwhile championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Kalex) came home sixth after serving a long lap penalty for positioning himself in front of riders who were doing practice starts at the end of FP2.
Early race leader Joe Roberts (Italtrans Kalex) slipped back to seventh at the flag, American finishing ahead of Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2) and Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team).
Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Team) crashed out with 11 laps remaining for his sixth non-finish of the season. Teammate Sean Dylan Kelly crossed the line in 22nd.
Fernandez now sits as the outright Moto2 title leader heading to Austria, with Ogura and Vietti 13 and 15 points back, respectively.
2022 British Moto2 Results
| 1 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
|
| 2 |
Alonso Lopez |
(Bos) |
+ 0.070 |
| 3 |
Jake Dixon |
(Kal) |
+ 0.662 |
| 4 |
Ai Ogura |
(Kal) |
+ 1.741 |
| 5 |
Aron Canet |
(Kal) |
+ 1.946 |
| 7 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
+ 7.528 |
| 22 |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Kal) |
+40.943 |
| DNF |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
|
Moto3
Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) took his first victory since the Indonesian GP in what was an incredibly tight Moto3 battle at Silverstone that saw the top two in the World Championship crash out.
Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) came from 21st to finish second and led Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) over the line in third, as Sergio Garcia and Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team teammate Izan Guevara were unluckily taken out in separate incidents.
Dennis Foggia came out on top for the first time this year in Moto3.
Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) climbed his way up to fourth at the flag ahead of fifth place Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team). Diogo Moreira (Angeluss MTA Team) claimed sixth in front of a frustrated John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) who pipped Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) by 0.004s to finish seventh. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Carlos Tatay (CFMOTO Racing PrüstelGP) rounded out the top 10, respectively.
After all that, the gap between Garcia and Guevara remains at three points – but Foggia has closed the gap to the top. The Italian sits 42 points away from leader Garcia with eight races to go.
2022 British Moto3 Results
| 1 |
Dennis Foggia |
(Hon) |
|
| 2 |
Jaume Masia |
(KTM) |
+ 0.252 |
| 3 |
Deniz Öncü |
(KTM) |
+ 0.297 |
| 4 |
Kaito Toba |
(KTM) |
+ 0.738 |
| 5 |
Stefano Nepa |
(KTM) |
+ 0.762 |
2022 British MotoGP News—Saturday
Silverstone Long Lap Penalty Lane branded “a joke”
Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro may both have agreed the Long Lap Penalty handed to the Frenchman for his misdemeanor at the Dutch TT was incorrect. But the opinion of the pair differed when it came to the penalty itself.
Silverstone’s Long Lap Penalty Lane, situated on the outside of turn 13, is one of the shortest of the year. Quartararo repeatedly practiced taking this route on Friday, which led his title rival to posit that it isn’t much of a penalty at all.
Espargaro is clearly not a fan of the Silverstone long lap penalty.
“It will look like I’m saying it because my rival will have to do a long-lap penalty… but it’s a joke,” Espargaro said. “You lose eight tenths. You see that – he was trying today, and you lose eight tenths. We have to be more professional on this.
“Long lap is a soft penalty. I like this penalty. It’s a show, it’s nice. But if it’s, like they say, three seconds, it has to be three seconds everywhere. If in one place it’s 2.8s, it’s okay, but eight tenths? It’s ridiculous.”
Ducati debuts ‘stegosaurus’ wings
Ducati continued to push the boundaries with its aerodynamics innovations at Silverstone with a number of its riders testing a new seat unit which features four aerodynamic fins – dubbed the ‘stegosaurus’ wings due to their resemblance to the dinosaur.
Ducati’s latest aero invention had everybody talking.
The tail section of a MotoGP bike is not part of the aero body, which is deemed to be the fairing and the front fender. Thus restrictions are there only in dimensions. Aero there is allowed to be a maximum width of 250mm and height of 150mm above the plane of the seat.
Enea Bastianini was positive after trying them. “The feeling is good for the moment,” he said. “Tomorrow we have to try better, because I had to come back to the normal one. And after we tried again, because it’s important to understand if it is better or not. But my first impact was good, especially on the brake. It’s more stable. And also for the speed, it’s not bad. And I think for tomorrow it’s good for the qualifying.”
Espargaro’s GP in doubt
Aleix Espargaro’s participation in the British GP was in some doubt on Saturday evening after the Catalan’s massive highside in FP4 left him with two badly bruised feet.
Espargaro suffered the highside on his second flying lap of the session at turn twelve. Yet less than two hours later he heroically qualified his Aprilia sixth on the grid after breaking the previous outright circuit record.
Espargaro’s crash was an absolute bruiser.
Even still, his team are concerned regarding Sunday. “He is not in a super shape,” said Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola. “I would say that from the knees up he is still good, and he is still very motivated, but to be honest I’m not so sure that he can race tomorrow.
“We will see when he wakes up, maybe if he can get a good sleep, but I’m not sure. When the adrenaline goes down, I am afraid that the big pain will come. For me who was in the medical center and saw that they thought that he had two broken feet, and then after half an hour to see him do what he did – these guys are something else.”
Saturday
MotoGP
Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) will start from pole position at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix after producing a new all-time lap record at Silverstone. A magnificent 1:57.767 saw the Frenchman beat second place Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) by 0.098s as Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed a front row in P3. And after a huge crash in FP4, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) rescued a heroic P6 and finished just 0.199s away from pole – sensational from the Spaniard.
Johann Zarco blitzed the lap record for his second pole position of the season.
Zarco’s lap gives the man third in the World Championship chase his second pole position of the season. Quartararo will be praying for a great getaway from P4 as he faces the much-talked-about Long Lap penalty on Sunday afternoon, as three main title contenders line up on the second row. Bagnaia starts P5 from Espargaro in P6.
After coming through Q1, Bezzecchi starts seventh ahead of fellow Q1 graduate Bastianini – amazingly, both of the Ducati riders were under Marc Marquez’s (Repsol Honda Team) old lap record at Silverstone. That’s just how competitive MotoGP™ is in 2022.
Martin has to settle for P9 despite being less than half a second away from pole position, as Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Rins and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) round out the Q2 places in P10, P11 and P12 respectively.
2022 British MotoGP Results—Saturday
| 1 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
1:57.767 |
| 2 |
Maverick Vinales |
(Apr) |
+ 0.098 |
| 3 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.164 |
| 4 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.171 |
| 5 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
+ 0.194 |
| 6 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 0.199 |
| 7 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
+ 0.334 |
| 8 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Duc) |
+ 0.339 |
| 9 |
Jorge Martin |
(Duc) |
+ 0.407 |
| 10 |
Luca Marini |
(Duc) |
+ 0.550 |
Moto2
For the first time since the 2019 Catalan GP, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) starts on pole for a Moto2™ race thanks to 2:04.103 in qualifying at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. Second place in Q2 went the way of Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) as the American finishes just 0.034s off Fernandez, with Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) rounding out the front row.
Fernandez took his first pole since 2019 in Moto2.
Roberts set the pace in the early exchanges after setting a 2:04.752, with Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) slotting into P2 just 0.020s adrift. Jake Dixon’s (GASGAS Aspar Team) first time attack attempt placed the British rider in P4 before Fernandez, then Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team), went P1. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) soared to second before we then saw the Italian and Dixon crash in separate incidents. Vietti wasn’t able to get back on the bike, but luckily for Dixon, he was able to get going again.
Fernandez returned to the summit by a couple of tenths over Arenas as we then saw Roberts pounce to pinch P2 from Arenas, as the American followed Dixon over the line – the Briton recovering to P6 with one flying lap to go. Dixon improved again on his final lap but could only manage P6, with Roberts also going quicker to cement P2. Fernandez didn’t need to but he too found time on his last lap to make sure he would be starting from pole position, his first since 2019.
2022 British Moto2 Results—Saturday
| 1 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
2:04.103 |
| 2 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
+ 0.034 |
| 3 |
Ai Ogura |
(Kal) |
+ 0.177 |
| 4 |
Albert Arenas |
(Kal) |
+ 0.283 |
| 5 |
Celestino Vietti |
(Kal) |
+ 0.395 |
| 13 |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
+ 0.831 |
| 28 |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Kal) |
+ 1.873 |
Moto3
Diogo Moreira has scored a first grand prix pole position in qualifying for Round 12 of the Moto3™ World Championship at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. It was also a maiden pole for MT Helmets – MSI, and Ryusei Yamanaka even gave the new-for-2022 team a double front row result by qualifying third. Splitting them at the head of the starting grid at Silverstone will be the Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team’s Izan Guevara, who was 0.068 seconds off the pace, with his World Championship-leading team-mate Sergio Garcia managing 11th-fastest in Q2.
Diogo Moreira took the first pole of his GP career at Silverstone.
2022 British Moto3 Results—Saturday
| 1 |
Diogo Moreira |
(KTM) |
2:10.951 |
| 2 |
Izan Guevara |
(GasGas) |
+ 0.068 |
| 3 |
Ryusei Yamanaka |
(KTM) |
+ 0.078 |
| 4 |
Riccardo Rossi |
(Hon) |
+ 0.10 |
| 5 |
Stefano Nepa |
(KTM) |
+ 0.180 |
2022 British MotoGP News—Friday
Andrea Dovizioso to retire at Misano
Andrea Dovizioso announced his plans to retire from the MotoGP class at the Misano GP, six races before the end of the season, when his contract was set to expire.
Andrea Dovizioso will call time on his MotoGP career in three races’ time.
The Italian has endured a dreadful campaign for RNF Yamaha in which he has failed to finish closer than 27s to the race winner. It has been clear for some time that the 36-year old has accepted his riding style is simply not compatible with the M1. “As a rider, when you are during the practice, the race and you are not able to be where you want your mind starts thinking about these things and you realize it’s the moment,” he said.
Asked when he knew it would be next to impossible to adapt his renowned heavy braking style to Yamaha’s sweet handling M1, Dovizioso said the impression of a lack of rear grip in acceleration came almost immediately. “From the beginning when I jumped on the bike, I was a bit surprised about the grip. I always said that and that was the biggest characteristic I really fought against.”
Espargaro deal signed with KTM
Pol Espargaro has signed a deal to return to KTM in 2023 and ’24 with the Austrian factory’s satellite team, Tech 3. The Catalan has endured a miserable time at Repsol Honda this year, a season which he described as “going from paradise to hell in a couple of races.”
Pol Espargaro will head back to his happy hunting ground of KTM for next year and 2024.
“My future is clear,” he said on Thursday. “So I have signed already for the next two years, so in the next races, we will announce. But about that, I’m quite happy. I’m going in the place I want, and also racing, and always thinking you could end up at home because of the current situation with the bikes. Also with the salaries it’s quite difficult in MotoGP.
“But I’m a lucky guy about that. We get a very good bike with a very good salary, good people around me, and this is everything I was wishing for when Suzuki decided to leave MotoGP.” While not stating exactly where he was going, his reply to whether he was returning to a factory he knowns intimately well, he stated, “Maybe, yes.”
Riders react to Quartararo penalty
Thursday was the first opportunity for riders to express their opinion on the FIM Stewards’ decision to hand Fabio Quartararo a Long Lap Penalty at the British GP after he crashed when attempting an overtake on Aleix Espargaro at the previous race, a move that pushed the Catalan off track.
Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo crash at Assen. Riders are split on the penalty decision.
Most expressed exasperation at the penalty, citing the lack of penalty for Takaaki Nakagami after his first corner spill in Barcelona. Johann Zarco felt the location of the fall should also have been factored in. “We forget that in racing, we need to fight to race, and there can be some contact, then there are some other things that judge well where it’s dangerous or not. For example, what Fabio did was not dangerous. In the worst case, they both crash, but no one will kill himself in that corner.”
Pol Espargaro was possibly the only voice that agreed with the Stewards’ decision. “It’s a big mistake. So you need to pay for it. I understand that Fabio is pissed off with this, but it’s the only way to avoid these kinds of things.”
Friday
MotoGP
World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) fronts the premier class field on Day 1 at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix after setting a 1:58.946 in FP2. The Frenchman beat 2020 World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) by 0.154s with Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales closing out the top three at Silverstone on Friday.
After a pair of Ducatis occupied P1 and P2 in FP1, it was soon a couple of Aprilias that were sitting top of the tree as Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia Racing teammate Viñales got down to a 1:59.681 and 1:59.737 respectively, as Quartararo and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ventured into the 1:59 bracket too in the early stages.
Fabio Quartararo shot to P1 at Silverstone on Friday.
Rins was then the first rider to slot in the soft, soft Michelin tire combination. The 2019 British GP race winner’s opening lap saw him climb to P1 by 0.330s, and his second lap was a 1:59.246 – the gap to Aleix Espargaro extend to 0.435s. And with five minutes to go, things go busy.
Mir shot up to P2 before Aleix Espargaro reduced Rins’ gap to 0.180s. Mir, on his second soft tire flying lap, then leapt to P1 to make it a Suzuki 1-2 with two minutes left on the clock. But soon after, Quartararo was the pacesetter after setting the first 1:58 lap time of the weekend.
And that’s how it stayed in terms of the top two. Viñales pocketed P3 on his last flying lap and another improver on their final push was FP1 pacesetter Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing). The Frenchman – who crashed at Turn 7 in the morning – finished fourth, 0.188s away from his compatriot Quartararo, while Aleix Espargaro had to settle for a solid P5 on Friday.
2022 British MotoGP Results—Friday
| 1 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
1:58.946 |
| 2 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 0.154 |
| 3 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Apr) |
+ 0.177 |
| 4 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 0.188 |
| 5 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 0.207 |
| 6 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+ 0.217 |
| 7 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 0.300 |
| 8 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Duc) |
+ 0.412 |
| 9 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.418 |
| 10 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
+ 0.439 |
Moto2
Augusto Fernandez has finished fastest in FP2 for the Moto2™ field at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider clocked a 2:04.573 just inside the final five minutes of the second practice session at the Silverstone Circuit, and that turned out to be the most rapid lap of the day for the intermediate class. Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) was classified second after a late spill, with Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up) completing the top three.
Moto2 form man Augusto Fernandez topped the class on Friday at Silverstone.
2022 British Moto2 Results—Friday
| 1 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
2:04.573 |
| 2 |
Jake Dixon |
(GASGAS) |
+ 0.187 |
| 3 |
Alonso Lopez |
(Bos) |
+ 0.556 |
| 4 |
Tony Arbolino |
(Kal) |
+ 0.576 |
| 5 |
Albert Arenas |
(GASGAS) |
+ 0.785 |
| 8 |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
+ 0.939 |
| 12 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
+ 1.054 |
| 25 |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Kal) |
+ 2.540 |
Moto3
John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) couldn’t have wished for a better start to his home Grand Prix as he set a blistering 2:10.919 in FP2 to boast a 0.433s advantage over the field on Friday. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) ended Day 1 in second place with his compatriot Xavier Artigas (CFMOTO Racing PrüstelGP) rounding out the Moto3™ top three at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix.
The Wee McPhee headed the Moto3 field at home at Silverstone.
2022 British Moto3 Results—Friday
| 1 |
John McPhee |
(Hus) |
2:10.939 |
| 2 |
Izan Guevara |
(GASGAS) |
+ 0.433 |
| 3 |
Xavier Artigas |
(CFMoto) |
+ 0.584 |
| 4 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
+ 0.610 |
| 5 |
Lorenzo Fellon |
(Hon) |
+ 0.744 |
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