This weekend held the 13th consecutive Monster Energy British Grand Prix, and it didn’t disappoint. Last lap battles, championship stir-ups and a start to silly season were all part and parcel of this drama-packed weekend. Here are it’s top 5 moments digested:
1- Pecco Bagnaia doesn’t exceed track limits
The 11th round of his season saw one of the most dramatic races yet. The battle for podium positions became so close that at one point, any one of the top-5 could have snatched victory. This proximity of racing is perhaps why Pecco’s drift onto the green on the final lap has caused such controversy.
A reminder of the rules before we delve any deeper: a rider is allowed to “exceed track limits” and touch the green paint on a circuit 3 times during a race, when they will receive a warning. If the green is touched 5 times, a rider will receive a penalty, usually Long Lap. On the last lap, howver, a drift onto the green when fighting for a position with another rider, a penalty is incurred no matter how many previous mistakes. This penalty is usallly time added after the race, to push the penalised rider down the finals standings.
Brad Binder fell subject to these sanctions twice in Assen this year, when a stray off the track on the final lap lost him a podim position in both the sprint and the main race.
At Silverstone, TV footage seemed to show Pecco with one wheel firmly off the track when battling for a podium position against Aleix Espargaró and Brad Binder. Many took to social media to express frustration that there was no penalty and he held 2nd place.
Despite KTM submitting a protest, FIM stewards confirmed that despite what the camera shows, as no sensors were triggered, no penalty will be given.
The sensors in question are small strips of wire placed along the entire length of a circuit, that should send a message to the race directors when touched. Unfortunately, sometimes the sensors are laid a few cm away from the edge, or placed slightly too deep to pick up the faintest of touches. This does mean that the race directors take a “computer says no” situation, no matter what the camera may show.
2- Silly Season begins with a shock move to Yamaha
In a season where both Yamaha riders seem to be planning any escape route possible, Alex Rins has decided to sign a contract with Factory Yamaha for at least one season, starting 2024. For 18 of the 22 riders on the grid, a move to Yamaha may seem rather misguided given the state of their developments and result this season, however for Honda riders, it’s a situation of getting out of the fire and into the frying pan.
This leaves an empty seat at LCR Honda, currently linked to Johann Zarco, although nothing is confirmed.
Whilst Franco Morbidelli’s desire to depart from Yamaha was well documented, and Rins clearly hasn’t been getting on with Honda, this move firmly marks the beginning of what could be a very messy Silly Season.
3- Jake Dixon loses his temper
MotoGP has no shortage of hot-headed riders, however Jake Dixon’s rant this weekend has got to rank as one of the most unhinged. His strong words came after a collision with Darryn Binder, resulting with Jake crashing out of his home GP.
On his return to the pits, Jake gave a strongly worked interview to TNT Sports, calling for Binder to receive a racing ban for his actions. The interview clearly references Darryn’s previous notoriety as a reckless rider, however, it’s worth noting that over the past 3 seasons, his actions have all but erased that reputation. Furthermore, many commentators and journalists agree that Sunday’s incident was nothing more than an unfortunate racing incident.
Whether he truly meant what he said will only ever been known by Jake, however it is hard to believe that any rider would knowingly sully their reputation that much. Interview any rider immediately after a crash and you will likely find a similar reaction. Unfortunately, TNT and Jake’s press officer have failed him here, and that interview should never have been allowed in the first place. Regrettably, it seems that this has formed an opinion of Jake for many people, which he will fid very hard to shift.
4- Attendence is up, but there’s still work to do
The attendance figures for this year’s British GP have increased on last year’s by around 7,000 people over the whole weekend. This increase is a very positive sign, although in comparison to other British motorsport events, there is still a significant lag.
| Friday | 26, 501 |
| Saturday | 32, 897 |
| Sunday | 41, 002 |
| Total | 100, 400 |
| Friday | 27, 285 |
| Saturday | 39,110 |
| Sunday | 48, 564 |
| Total | 115, 959 |
Surprisingly, an increase of roughly 7,000 attendees over both Saturday and Sunday doesn’t seem to indicate a significant attraction for the Sprint. This is shown by the fact that the number of people attending on Saturday in 2022, without the Sprint, remains proportionally similar. Conversely, the weather on Saturday this year was so vile that it must have put a fair few people off.
There have been a few measures that Silverstone put in place this year to help boost figures, most noticeably by opening select grandstands for general admission ticket holders. This has been a win-win, offering fans much elevated viewing experience, and making the event look much more populated on TV.
Despite the increase, these figures are far cry from F1 a few weeks prior, and even look poor in comparison to several other national events held at the circuit over the year. Perhaps Silverstone have done all they can to encourage fans, and really the rest is down to poor commercialisation by Dorna. It is hoped that the employment of new CCO Dan Rossomondo will finally address this glaring issue.
5- David Alonso begins a prosperous career
If you missed the Moto3 race this weekend, go back and watch it now. It had all the classic ingredients of a Moto3 race- overtakes every lap, going through corners 6 a breast, and an inability to predict the winner until the final corner. However the stand out performance came from 17-year-old Colombian, David Alonso.
Alonso approached the weekend with only 10 Moto3 race starts, and having never ridden at Silverstone before. His season so far has been promising, with a handful of top-5 finishes and even a 2nd place podium in Spain. Silverstone, however, was a masterclass in how to climb a pack, and find the weak points of even the strongest of riders.
A wet qualifying placed the GasGas Aspar rider at the back of the grid, in P28. A strong start pushed him up to 18th by the second corner, coming down the Hamilton Straight in P13 in the first lap alone, an incredible 15 position improvement.
The end of lap 2 found David in 9th place, on the back of the leading group, but lap 3 is where he really impressed. In any Moto3 race, being in the top-10 can find you in the lead, and this race was no exception. An incredible overtake half way through the third lap saw David in 2nd place- that’s a gain of 25 places in 3 laps.
The rest of the race continued to showcase Alonso’s skill, effectively battling with championship leaders and riders with years of experience on him. The race concluded with hearing the Colombian national anthem for the first time in MotoGP history, and David’s first ever race win in the world championship.
This statistics of this performance are incredible enough, but the skill shown during this race has quickly propelled Alonso as one to watch this year. Overtakes and braking have been branded as Pedro Acosta-esque. It’s clear that the Colombian will be one to watch.
MotoGP has a break this weekend, and will return to Austria on the 18th-20th August.
Elbows Down 
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