Enea Bastianini delivered a stellar performance at Silverstone to claim victory in the 2024 British MotoGP, further solidifying his dominance after securing the Sprint race win earlier in the weekend. Despite Jorge Martin's early lead, a mistake by the Spaniard in the closing stages allowed Bastianini to pounce and take the top step of the podium.
Here is the video:
🚨 ONE TO GO! 🚨@Bestia23 has a dream Silverstone double in the palms of his hands! 👀#BritishGP 🇬🇧 | #MotoGP75 pic.twitter.com/foqxTKaiSr
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 4, 2024
The race began under challenging conditions, with cold temperatures and intermittent rain making tyre selection a critical factor. Most riders opted for medium tyres both front and rear, but the Aprilia duo of Aleix Espargaro and Raul Fernandez took a gamble with a harder front tyre. Unfortunately, Fernandez's race ended prematurely following a first-lap collision with teammate Miguel Oliveira.
As the race unfolded, pole-sitter Espargaro was quickly overtaken by the Ducati GP24s, but he managed to reclaim third place from Bastianini in the early laps. The lead group, consisting of Francesco Bagnaia, Martin, Espargaro, Bastianini, and Marc Marquez, soon settled into a rhythm, with the top three drivers engaged in a tight battle for supremacy.
Alex Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio had a duel
Martin made his move for the lead with eight laps remaining, passing Bagnaia at Turn 3. However, the reigning world champion struggled to maintain pace and eventually relinquished second place to Bastianini after running wide.
With seven laps to go, Bastianini began closing the gap on Martin, who was 0.8 seconds ahead. Bastianini's relentless pursuit paid off when Martin made a critical error, allowing Bastianini to surge ahead and secure victory.
Behind the leading trio, Marc Marquez, who had a relatively quiet race, managed to overtake Espargaro for fourth place in the final laps. Meanwhile, Fabio di Giannantonio, battling hard with Alex Marquez, eventually finished in fifth place after passing Espargaro, who was making his 329th Grand Prix start.
Here are the final results:
Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP24) | 39m 51.879s |
2 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP24) | +1.931s |
3 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP24) | +5.866s |
4 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP23) | +6.906s |
5 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | VR46 Ducati (GP23) | +7.736s |
6 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | +9.514s |
7 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP23) | +9.741s |
8 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | VR46 Ducati (GP23) | +14.016s |
9 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16)* | +16.386s |
10 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pramac Ducati (GP24) | +23.609s |
11 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +24.202s |
12 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +25.767s |
13 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | +26.751s |
14 | Johann Zarco | FRA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +26.953s |
15 | Luca Marini | ITA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +31.507s |
16 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +37.278s |
17 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16) | +37.605s |
18 | Remy Gardner | AUS | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +59.137s |
- | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | DNF |
- | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | DNF |
- | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24) | DNF |
- | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24) | DNF |