Quartararo ‘motivated’ by Long Lap penalty but Silverstone win ‘will be tricky’
A three-time MotoGP race winner so far this season, Quartararo heads into the British Grand Prix as one of the favourites to claim victory.
Along with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider has been the standout rider of a hugely competitive 2022 season thus far.
And although mistakes have been at a premium from the reigning world champion, Quartararo will start Sunday’s Grand Prix on the backfoot after making a significant error in Assen.
Quartararo, who crashed into Espargaro while fighting for second place, was subsequently awarded a Long Lap penalty for this weekend, the first of his MotoGP career.
Despite his disadvantage, Quartararo has his eyes set on victory: "I‘m happy to start riding again. I used the summer break to get some rest, but I also put in a lot of hours of training. My mind was always still on returning to action in the best shape possible.
"I am really looking forward to Silverstone - I won there last year. This time will be tricky because we know that we have that long-lap penalty… But if I‘m really honest, that only motivates me to do even better."
Can Espargaro, Bagnaia take advantage of Quartararo’s penalty?
While Silverstone should suit Quartararo and Yamaha, it’s also a circuit where Espargaro claimed his first podium for Aprilia last season.
And given how consistent Espargaro has been in 2022, there’s no reason to suggest he won’t be in contention for the win.
For Francesco Bagnaia, the Ducati rider will be looking to carry on the momentum from Assen after taking a dominant victory ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Maverick Vinales.
Strong at every circuit so far this season, Silverstone should be no different for Ducati despite the Italian manufacturer having not won at Silverstone since 2017 - the British Grand Prix did not take place in 2018 and 2020.
Can Bastianini take his fourth MotoGP win after ‘rollercoaster’ first-half of the year?
Although mistakes have hampered Bastianini’s early season title challenge, the Italian remains equal on three wins with Bagnaia and Quartararo, showing just how strong the Gresini rider can and has been.
But outside of his three wins Bastianini has not finished inside the top five in any race, thus consistency needs to be found following a first part of the year he described as a ‘rollercoaster’.
"We’re finally back in action! The break has been very useful to reset and look back at the mistakes made in the first part of the season," said Bastianini.
"I really like Silverstone and I really want to get a good result, so we can return to our best form. Our season has been a bit of a rollercoaster right now, so we want to be more consistent from now on."
Silverstone ‘crazy good’ - Fabio Di Giannantonio
Team-mate to Bastianini, Di Giannantonio has actually out-performed his fellow Italian in recent rounds, especially when it comes to qualifying.
Speaking ahead of his first British Grand Prix on MotoGP machinery, Di Giannantonio added: "Silverstone is a crazy good track. I like almost every circuit, but this one is simply fantastic. We return to action after a good break, which allowed us to recharge our batteries between holiday, training and WDW (World Ducati Week).
"We’re surely ready: we hope to pick up from where we left off and continue to build on it for the whole second part of the season."
