Silverstone never disappoints. And once again, the stage for the MotoGP British Grand Prix rocked the championship standings, with the current leader taking his first zero-point finish of the season.
The 2023 MotoGP title race pendulum swung one way and then another, as Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) moved into P2 in the overall standings with a Tissot Sprint P2, as current World Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) notched up his first Saturday zero of 2023.
The top two in the title race led the early running of Sunday’s 20-lap Grand Prix, but Bezzecchi’s race ended prematurely when he slid out of second place.
Bagnaia led for most of the race until Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) struck on the final lap.
Bezzecchi’s crash also handed second place in the standings back to Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), who produced a valiant comeback to finish P6 after Turn 1 contact saw the Spaniard pushed outside the points. Bagnaia’s lead heading to Austria is 41 points over Martin, with Bezzecchi a further six points adrift.
It was race winner Aleix Espargaro who left Silverstone happiest though, with 30 brand new points earned as he moves up to P6 in the championship from P8 after returning to the top step of the podium for the first time since the 2022 Argentina GP.