MotoGP British GP: Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro Wins at Silverstone with Brilliant Last Lap Pass on Bagnaia

Aleix Espargaro beats Francesco Bagnaia on a thrilling last lap to win the first MotoGP race for the Aprilia factory team in the 2023 season.  Marco Bezzecchi was unable to fight off Jack Miller's defences, and he settled for second place behind the KTM rider, who was followed by three Ducati riders and Maverick Vinales. Bagnaia got off to a great start in the Grand Prix, passing Alex Marquez for third and then passing Bezzecchi for second with a daring move up the inside. Bezzecchi retaliated instantly, but the world champion was not to be denied, as he went outside his fellow Italian at turn nine. Due to a collision in the British MotoGP at Silverstone, Marc Marquez has yet to complete a race on a Sunday in 2023. A collision with factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini, with five laps to go, ended the race for the Repsol Honda racer. Initial replays indicated that Bastianini had collided with Marquez. Marquez has yet to finish a grand prix in the 2023 MotoGP season, which is already nine rounds in. 

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MotoGP British GP: Silverstone Race Result

By the conclusion of lap seven, the Aprilia rider had caught his Italian competitor, but he was still unable to overtake him five laps later. They had instead fallen back into the clutches of Maverick Vinales and Brad Binder, teammates of Espargaro's. The race grew increasingly chaotic when the rain flags were raised and the two leading riders combined into one. The last stretch of the lap, from Stowe to the finish line, saw the heaviest downpour of the whole race. With five laps remaining, this caused several riders to go off the track, but the leaders kept going on slicks. A bike switch would not have given me enough time to catch up and win the race.

After the first riders stopped to switch bikes, Miguel Oliveira emerged out of nowhere to enter the fight for the win one lap later. He quickly overtook Binder and Vinales, leaving 'just' Espargaro and Bagnaia in his wake. When he finally did capture them, he took Binder with him. With just two circuits remaining, any one of the four riders, including Vinales, may take the victory. At the start of the last lap, Bagnaia was in the lead. However, Espargaro had a superior driving grip and used it to overtake Bagnaia on the exit of Copse, then placed himself out of range of attack into Stowe on the exit of Chapel, and finally left Bagnaia with no choices on the departure of Stowe going into the final chicane. This was Espargaro's first victory in almost a year, and he stole it from Bagnaia in the closing lap battle, one of the Italian's strong suits.

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MotoGP British GP: Honda's Marc Marquez Crashes out of Silverstone Race

The race was over for the Repsol Honda rider when he was involved in a collision with the factory Ducati rider, Enea Bastianini, with five laps to go. Initial replays indicated that Bastianini had collided with Marquez. Marquez has yet to finish a grand prix during the 2023 MotoGP season, which is now nine rounds in. Marquez revealed that he had been focusing more on the improvement of his Honda than on his personal performance following his last crash, which occurred after a weekend of cautious riding in the rain. He was unable to compete in Argentina, Texas, or Spain because of injuries, and he pulled out of the competition just before it was to begin in Germany and the Netherlands. The next race will be held in Austria.

In the British MotoGP at Silverstone, Marco Bezzecchi, riding for Mooney VR46, was just one of several riders to fall out. When he crashed, he was making a daring pass on factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia. Bezzecchi lost the front end when under-braking and crashed out of the race at 205 mph, with 15 circuits remaining. While Bezzecchi was in the lead to begin the race, Jack Miller quickly passed him and eventually put him in third place, behind Bagnaia. After regaining ground on Bagnaia, he watched as the defending champion retook the lead. Now that Bezzecchi was back in second, he made an unsuccessful bid to regain the lead. In the MotoGP standings, Bagnaia had a 27-point advantage over Bezzecchi after Saturday's short race at Silverstone.