JAKARTA – The victory at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone, Sunday, August 29, made Fabio Quartararo further strengthen his position as the leader of the MotoGP standings. The Monster Energy Yamaha team rider now has 206 points. He widened the gap from nearest rival Joan Mir, who moved up to second with 141 points.
Quartararo avenged his disappointment when he fell on the first lap of the 2019 British race by appearing mighty to win the British GP for the first time in the premier class for his fifth win of the season.
The 2019 British GP Champion Alex Rins also impressed after starting from P10 and claiming the podium as runner-up for the Suzuki Ecstar team while Aleix Espargaro presented Aprilia's first podium in third place, according to the official MotoGP website.
Pol Espargaro translated pole position well at the start to take the lead after Turn 1. But it didn't take long for the Repsol Honda rider to lose his position when Quartararo got a gap on lap five to take the lead.
Meanwhile, Suzuki team duo Joan Mir and Alex Rins posed a threat at the back and needed just six laps to push into the top six from the fourth row starting position, defeating Ducati team duo Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller who were unable to find their rhythm at Silverstone.
The championship stretches out of reach a little further! @FabioQ20 extends his lead to 65! #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/FzkpDXLSsU
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 29, 2021
Passing his teammate, Rins, the 2019 British GP champion, maneuvering to overtake Pol Espargaro for a place on the podium after the eighth lap.
After half the race distance, Quartararo kept his distance of 2.9 seconds from Aleix Espargaro who was trying to defend against Rins' attack who was stuck tight behind.
However, the Aprilia rider made a mistake and went wide, giving Rins an opening to move up to second.
In the last six laps, Miller found the pace to catch up with the leading riders, overtaking Mir and moving up to P4 after Pol Espargaro made a corner error.
Miller had a tight battle with Aleix Espargaro on the final lap as both riders scrambled for position, but the Spaniard held on to his podium chances after exiting at the last corner and finishing ahead of the Australian.
The podium was also the first time for Espargaro since the 2014 Aragon GP.
Miller had to settle for P4 while Pol Espargaro slipped to P5. Iker Lecuona got his best result for the Tech3 KTM team in P7, ahead of Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) and Joan Mir, who had to settle for dropping to P9.
Johann Zarco rounded out the top ten for the Pramac Racing team as Valentino Rossi, starting from P8, bid farewell to British fans at Silverstone by finishing P18.
Pramac Racing team rookie Jorge Martin had to end his struggle early after being involved in a collision with Marc Marquez on the first lap. The Repsol Honda team rider also failed to finish the race despite showing promising pace in practice and qualifying amid his physical condition that has not fully recovered from injury.
With five wins and eight podiums, Quartararo now has 206 points. His closest competitor is the defending champion, Joan Mir, who has now moved up to second place with 141 points.
It's a fantastic five in 2021! @FabioQ20 picks up another #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/5bPjLKOgIu
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 29, 2021
Zarco moved up to third with 137 points, shifting Francecso Bagnaia to fourth after the Italian was only able to finish P14 at Silverstone.
MotoGP is back at Silverstone as the 12th series on the calendar this season after last year's British Grand Prix was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the start of the season there were no British riders racing in the premier class, but at Silverstone this weekend at least two of the home riders had the opportunity to perform in front of their home crowd.
Following the departure of Maverick Vinales from the factory Yamaha team in the middle of the season, Cal Crutchlow, who was previously assigned by Yamaha to replace Franco Morbidelli who is still recovering from injury, will wear the Monster Energy Yamaha team as Quartararo's tandem at Silverstone.
Then Moto2 rider Jake Dixon has the opportunity to debut in MotoGP with the Petronas Yamaha SRT team and will ride Morbidelli's 2019 M1 motorcycle. Crutchlow finished P17, while Dixon was two positions behind him.
Lorenzo Savadori withdrew from the British GP following his physical condition that was not fully fit after surgery. The Aprilia rider suffered an ankle injury after being involved in an accident with KTM's Dani Pedrosa at the Styria Grand Prix.
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