Aleix Espargaro wins British Grand Prix

Aleix Espargaro aced a four-rider scrap at a windy and showery Silverstone to win the British Grand Prix. The Catalan’s second career win was achieved by less than 0.8 seconds from all three of his pursuers as European manufacturers continue to dominate MotoGP.

The 34-year-old, who secured his maiden podium in 2021, earned his latest spoils in spite of cool temperatures and brief light rain that made the 200mph speeds perilous on slick tyres. He sliced past world champion Pecco Bagnaia into Maggotts curve on the final lap.

“I was super-committed, braked very late and accelerated better than him,” he grinned afterwards.

The first Japanese bike to the flag was Franco Morbidelli’s Monster Energy Yamaha in 14th. The results again highlighted the deepening chasm between European and Japanese manufacturers in the series.

Up until Ducati’s second-ever championship success in 2022, Japanese brands had ruled MotoGP every single year bar one since 1975. Now Honda and Yamaha have just two podium finishes between them from nine races. They have just one win since June 2022.

Ducati’s weight in MotoGP is vast but Aprilia are the most reactive brand – the Italians already have a full carbon chassis in late development stages. In Silverstone they introduced a new fairing to Espargaro’s benefit. There were three Aprilia RS-GPs in the top five.

“The fairing was an important upgrade,” Espargaro said. “I felt like I could close the corners better and pick up the bike a bit earlier. It was the key, and I had a lot of traction. Our bike is very competitive but not the best one so hopefully we can one day arrive to be the reference.”