MotoGP British GP: 'I am Happy about My Weekend', Says Marc Marques After his 'Unlucky' Crash with Bastianini

After colliding with factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini with five laps to go, the race was finished for the Repsol Honda racer. With nine races remaining in the 2023 MotoGP season, Marquez has failed to complete a race. After his recent collision, which occurred after a weekend of conservative riding in the wet, Marquez admitted that he had been focusing more on the progress of his Honda than on his personal performance. He suffered injuries that kept him from competing in Argentina, Texas, and Spain, and he bowed out of competitions in Germany and the Netherlands right before the main race. With only six laps to go, the Spaniard was taken off guard by the weather and lack of downforce at the fast Maggotts/Becketts stretch and clipped the back of Bastianini. Marquez was knocked out instantly, while Bastianini went down shortly after as a result of his damaged bike. It was Marquez's fourth DNF of the season in MotoGP, with the other two GPs being injury-related DNFs.

Also Read: MotoGP: 'I Would Have Liked More Support', Says Departing LCR Honda Rider Alex Rins

MotoGP British GP: Repsol Honda Team Endures Double DNF at Silverstone

The Repsol Honda Team, who had been steadily improving over the weekend, went home empty-handed after a disappointing conclusion to the British Grand Prix. There was some rain in the hours leading up to the 20-lap race, and many people were concerned that it might be called off. Towards the end of the race, a small number of riders were forced to pull into the pit because of the rain. On his comeback to Sunday action, Joan Mir faced a difficult race. He got off to a bad start, which put him at the back of the pack. The Mallorcan tried his best to make up for lost time, but he fell on lap three without any serious consequences.

After the Silverstone race, Marc Marques said, "Our race was complicated from the start as I lost my right wing when I had a small contact in the first lap. Then I crashed in an unlucky situation with Bastianini, but it was the type of crash where you don’t lose any confidence. Without one wing I was losing a lot under acceleration but at one point in the race it started to rain and I was able to make up some ground to the other riders. Aside from this, the weekend was not so bad when we look at our approach and what we were able to do in the race before the crash. We keep working, building our confidence and following our plan."

Fellow Repsol honda Rider Joan Mir said, "It was not the comeback I had wanted. The start was not good and I lost a lot of positions at the start. Then the feeling, especially under braking, was not what I was expecting and the bike was very nervous. I ran on as a result of this and fell in the gravel. Unfortunately, that’s our Sunday. We need to check everything well with the team and the engineers to improve for the upcoming weekend in Austria. Fortunately, I was not hurt in the crash, this is important."

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

MotoGP British GP: Honda’s New Aero Update

While Marc Marquez and Joan Mir worked on finding a better base set-up for the RC213-V, Nakagami was tasked with testing Honda's only major aero upgrade for the year, which was introduced for the British GP and previously tested by Stefan Bradl in a recent test at Jerez. 

Marc Marquez, Honda's top rider, was not given access to it for "technical reasons," as the six-time world champion acknowledged. He was referring to the fact that only one front aero improvement may be homologated for every full-time rider in a particular season. Since it will be installed on Nakagami's satellite bike, he will be functioning as a racing tester for Silverstone, as is customary for satellite riders, especially since his LCR teammate Alex Rins has signed with Yamaha for 2024 and will not be relied on heavily in future Honda development work.

While Honda is no stranger to experimenting with aerodynamic concepts similar to those currently used by European manufacturers like Ducati and KTM, the company's standard setup is often far simpler than that of its competitors.