2023-08-06 19:04:07
«There are days, and in my sports career I have had few, in which you go out on the track and feel invincible. Today I was one of them.” With these words, Aleix Espargaró explained the determination with which he had faced the British GP, whose victory was the second in his long career. A plan started on Friday, when he was already the fastest in the dry, leading his rivals by more than half a second; that Saturday was cut short by rain; and that on Sunday he was also about to go to ruin when he began to sparkle on the asphalt of Silverstone.
The race reached the equator, just completed the first ten laps of the twenty scheduled, and the rain flags began to wave on the circuit. Until then, Pecco Bagnaia was leading a race in which both of his title rivals were ruled out for victory. His compatriot Marco Bezzecchi had crashed on the fifth lap when he was second, and Jorge Martín had been involved in a collision at the start and was running in the last positions.
The champion Bagnaia led from the start, but had Aleix Espargaró glued to his wheel, who had planned to let the Italian carry the weight of the race and wait for his moment to attack. But when the fine rain made an appearance, the whole plan fell apart and we had to improvise.
New main actors appeared ahead, like his teammate Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder or Miguel Oliveira. He was no longer going to be one-on-one with Bagnaia, and he had to protect even the podium in more than delicate conditions. It didn’t rain hard, nor did it stop falling. And no one ahead chose to enter the pits and change motorcycles.
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The victory was going to be decided in the last lap and it was going to be a one-on-one between Bagnaia and Aleix. The Spaniard’s Aprilia looked like an extension of the Italian’s Ducati and the attack came at one of the most iconic points on the legendary English track, the Maggotts and Becketts junctions. The driver from Granollers determinedly got rid of the reigning champion and from then until the end he defended his position on a circuit that was slowly getting soaked.
Silverstone was once again a talisman for Aleix and for the Aprilia. On this track the Spanish-Italian tandem had already achieved their first podium; and Oliveira’s fourth place and Viñales’ fifth confirmed that the transalpine motorcycle is very good at this track. With this victory, the eldest of the Espargaró climbed to sixth place in the championship, although the title is a chimera after a discreet first half of the year. They are 107 points behind Bagnaia, who reinforces his leadership this weekend, leading Jorge Martín by 41 points, who finally moved up to sixth position, and Bezzecchi by 47.
Cross and cross for the Márquez
If in the sprint on Saturday Álex was the face of the coin and Marc was the cross, in the long race on Sunday neither of the two brothers could finish the race. The youngest of the Márquez family had to retire on the fifth lap due to a mechanical problem on his Ducati. Until then he was fighting in the front group, as he was fourth behind Aleix. “I had the pace to be with the leaders and after yesterday’s victory this weekend leaves a bit of a bittersweet taste,” he lamented.
For Marc, Sunday lasted a little longer on the track, but the result was just as unsuccessful. He stayed in the third group throughout the race, fighting to enter the ‘top 10’, but a contact with the Italian Enea Bastianini with six laps to go caused his umpteenth crash of the year. One more Sunday he was left without points, something he has not yet achieved this year. «Today is one of those days in which all the bad luck has come together. I had a touch on the first lap that broke my wing and when it started to rain harder, Bastianini made a mistake, my front brake hit his rear wheel and I crashed”, he analyzed.
Another great blank prize for Marc Márquez from which, however, he took a positive reading: «I am satisfied with myself and with how we have worked with the team. Today I had the feeling that I could have gone a little faster, but my goal was to have a solid weekend without crashes because we continue to build for the future.
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