Ducati’s Enea Bastianini clinched victory at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone on Sunday, marking a remarkable double win for the weekend. He crossed the finish line ahead of newly crowned world championship leader Jorge Martín and two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Starting from second on the grid, Bagnaia took control from pole-sitter Aleix Espargaró on the first lap. However, he found himself battling for third place as Martín made a move on him with eight laps remaining.
Martín, who had displayed impressive speed throughout the event, seemed poised for victory but faltered in the race’s closing stages, allowing Bastianini to seize the opportunity after qualifying in third.
“It was a challenging race for me because I made some errors at the start and dropped to fourth place, but I regained my confidence,” Bastianini shared. “I closed the gap to Aleix and Pecco [Bagnaia]. In the last four or five laps, Jorge pushed hard, which made it tough to catch him.”
With this victory, which followed his sprint race win on Saturday, Bastianini has now become the 10th different winner at Silverstone in the 10 MotoGP races held there.
“I was aware Enea had better pace towards the end of the race,” Martín remarked. “Our pace was exceptional, and we seem to be pushing the limits. I noticed Enea was closing in, so I tried to maintain my speed and manage my energy for the final parts, but he clearly had the upper hand today. Kudos to both Ducati and Enea for their outstanding performance.
“We’re back on top of the [championship] rankings, which makes me quite happy as we head into Austria.”
Completed the race in fourth, six-time MotoGP champion Marc Márquez started from seventh on his Gresini Racing bike. Martín now leads the championship with 241 points, three ahead of the reigning champion Bagnaia (238pts), who has slipped to second after his previous win in Germany. Bastianini remains in third with 192 points, while Márquez is fourth with 179 points.
