RIDER RATINGS: Three 10/10s but we give Quartararo a dreadful score...
Francesco Bagnaia - 10
(Qualified 5th, finished 1st)
Unlike Jerez, Mugello or Assen where Bagnaia clearly demonstrated the potential to win prior to the race, Silverstone was not really one of those occasions. And in the early laps it appeared to be the case as Jack Miller and Johann Zarco were stronger than him. But as the race developed, Bagnaia’s pace got better and better before making brilliant overtakes on Miller and Alex Rins who led at the time. Holding off a quicker Vinales during the final two laps, a 10/10 grade is a must for the Italian, who is now just 49 points behind Fabio Quartararo in the standings.
Maverick Vinales - 10
(Qualified 2nd, finished 2nd)
After a good launch, Maverick Vinales was pushed down to fifth place as contact with Quartararo affected the Aprilia rider on the entry to turn one. Although Vinales dropped a further position when Jorge Martin came through, it was only a matter of time before he began a chargeback through the leading group. Faster than most of the riders around him, Vinales picked off Martin, Alex Rins and Jack Miller to put himself in position for a first win with Aprilia. Much different to the Vinales we saw at Yamaha, the Spaniard was full of aggression before he attempted to take the lead from Bagnaia on the penultimate lap. Vinales was unable to get it done for the victory, however, this was yet another sign that the 27 year-old has officially arrived with Aprilia in 2022.
Jack Miller - 9
(Qualified 3rd, finished 3rd)
So nearly a perfect score for Miller, the future Red Bull KTM rider was in with a shout of victory but was unable to match Bagnaia when it mattered most. Like Vinales, Miller was strong towards the end but ran out of time to make a move on either Vinales or his team-mate.
Enea Bastianini - 9
(Qualified 8th, finished 4th)
Like Vinales, Bastianini had late race pace that saw him sustain a brilliant set of overtakes on Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro, Joan Mir and Jorge Martin. Bastianini was also missing one of the many Ducati winglets on his machine after contact at the start with Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. Importantly, Bastianini also got the better of Martin, his direct opponent in the battle to be Bagnaia’s factory Ducati team-mate next season.
Jorge Martin - 8
(Qualified 9th, finished 5th)
After Zarco’s early fall, Pramac Ducati’s hopes rested on the shoulders of Martin, who at one stage was the quickest rider on circuit. The Spaniard looked set to fight for the podium until the final few laps when rear grip started to become an issue.
Miguel Oliveira - 9
(Qualified 13th, finished 6th)
His best result since his home round in Portimao, Oliveira’s brilliant start to the British MotoGP was exactly the launch pad he needed to secure a good result. Taking advantage of Espargaro’s injury woes and Quartararo struggling for pace, Oliveira moved up from ninth to seventh with a few laps remaining before hunting down a fading Rins.
Alex Rins - 7
(Qualified 11th, finished 7th)
Despite making the best start of any rider - Rins moved up from 11th to fifth come the exit of turn one - the Suzuki rider faded badly during the final few laps as he went from first to seventh place.
Fabio Quartararo - 4
(Qualified 4th, finished 8th)
After looking like a favourite to win during the early laps, Quartararo’s race fell apart after taking his Long Lap penalty. The reigning world champion, who had a medium front tyre fitted to his M1, seemed to once again be affected by following other bikes, something the Yamaha struggled with more than most. The French rider appeared defenceless as the race went which was a very big surprise.
Aleix Espargaro - 10
(Qualified 6th, finished 9th)
After a monster highside in FP4 where he crashed at over 110mph, today's race was clearly going to be difficult for Espargaro. On another day this could have been a 10/10 for winning the British MotoGP, however, the same grade is given to Espargaro as the Aprilia rider battled a severe right foot injury to not only finish near the leading group, but also challenge Quartararo until the very end of the Grand Prix. Espargaro once again showed us that if injuries like the one he suffered at Silverstone don’t cost him in the championship fight, then it will take a very big effort for Quartararo to hold off the one-time MotoGP race winner.
Marco Bezzecchi - 7
(Qualified 7th, finished 10th)
Once again the top rookie after qualifying, Bezzecchi had a decent but relatively quiet British Grand Prix. Unable to find the same pace he had in Assen, Bezzecchi dropped off the rear of the leading group once Bastianini got ahead of him.
Brad Binder - 6
(Qualified 14th, finished 11th)
Known for being a Sunday specialist, the British MotoGP was a disappointing one for Binder as the South African was at no point able to match Oliveira, who instead got stronger as the race went on.
Luca Marini - 5
(Qualified 10th, finished 12th)
Once again out-performed by his less experienced team-mate Bezzecchi, Marini struggled for pace throughout the Grand Prix.
Takaaki Nakagami - 6
(Qualified 21st, finished 13th)
Narrowly able to get the better of Espargaro, Nakagami was again the top Honda rider in a race despite starting down in 21st position.
Pol Espargaro - 6
(Qualified 19th, finished 14th)
On pole at the 2021 British MotoGP, qualifying was anything but a success for Espargaro this time around. The Spaniard was almost seven tenths off the time needed to advance to Q2. In the race Espargaro was able to make solid progress, although crashes further up the order also helped the Repsol Honda rider.
Franco Morbidelli - 5
(Qualified 20th, finished 15th)
Another tough round saw Franco Morbidelli collect just one point. Hoping for more performance after the summer break, it appears as though the 2020 runner-up is in store for another difficult eight races of the season.
Andrea Dovizioso - 4
(Qualified 24th, finished 16th)
Perhaps in retirement mode already after announcing on Thursday that he will leave MotoGP after the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, Dovizioso suffered his worst qualifying performance ever as a premier class rider. Last of the 24 runners, Sunday’s Grand Prix was slightly better as Dovizioso made progress up to 16th, however, it’s another round without a points finish.
Alex Marquez - 4
(Qualified 17th, finished 17th)
Another lacklustre weekend for LCR Honda rider Alex Marquez, who is surely wishing for the end of the season so that he can make the switch to Ducati.
Remy Gardner - 5
(Qualified 16th, finished 18th)
Much closer to both factory Red Bull KTM riders Oliveira and Binder, Gardner put together one of his better qualifying performances of the season. Gardner was unable to move forward in the race although he was second of the rookies, which hasn’t been the case very often this year.
Stefan Bradl - 5
(Qualified 18th, finished 19th)
Last of the Honda riders, test rider Bradl collected valuable data for the Japanese manufacturer.
Darryn Binder - 4
(Qualified 23rd, finished 20th)
What’s expected to be his one and only season in MotoGP, Binder came home in 20th place for RNF Yamaha.
Raul Fernandez - 4
(Qualified 22nd, finished 21st)
Another hugely disappointing weekend adds to what has been a first season in MotoGP to forget for Fernandez.
Fabio Di Giannantonio - 4
(Qualified 15th, finished 22nd)
It’s unclear whether Di Giannantonio suffered with any issues aboard his GP21 machine, but the Italian was last of the runners who finished the Grand Prix.
Johann Zarco - 3
(Qualified 1st, DNF)
What was quickly turning out to be a dream start to the British MotoGP ended in disaster for Johann Zarco as the Pramac rider crashed from the lead. After resisting early pressure from Quartararo, Zarco lost the front-end of his GP22 at turn eight which gifted the lead to Jack Miller. Another massive opportunity to claim his first MotoGP win goes missing.
Joan Mir - 3
(Qualified 12th, DNF)
A promising race ended in disaster for Mir when he crashed out at turn seven. The Spaniard’s tough season continues despite showing pace at times this weekend.
