It was great to get back to the action after just shy of a month off, although when most of the talk revolves around the retro liveries worn by the bikes in celebration of 75 years of the Grand Prix World Championship, then perhaps the lustre of the early races has worn off a little.
It’s hard to put a finger on, but it seems as though there is a bit more tension in the MotoGP paddock now than there was a couple of months ago. Maybe it has something to do with the continuing fallout over who will be riding the factory Ducati in 2025, with Enea Bastiannini wondering what Ducati was thinking when it passed over both himself and Jorge Martin – the pair finishing first and second in both Sprint and Main races in Britain – for the second factory seat in favour of Marc Marquez – a DNF and a fourth place. You have to say, he does have a point.
Of course, it could also have something to do with the title battle between Bagnaia and Martin, the lead swinging this way and that, with unforced errors and below-par performances blighting both riders at different times. Martin, far from being at ease now he has 2025 and beyond settled, seems to have a point to prove to Ducati in retribution for passing him over, but that means he might not be riding with the same fluid abandon that marked his early races.
Bagnaia is his usual unflustered self but, then again, he has nothing to prove, apart from maybe retaining the title for the third year in a row. Bastiannini, if he can get a handle on his qualifying performance and put himself in a better position at the beginning of a race, could easily bring himself to the picture over the next few races. It could turn out to be a thrilling run to the championship flag in ten races’ time.
Back to Silverstone and the 75th Anniversary celebrations. All the teams adopted a retro livery for the Main race, the most spectacular being Aprilia’s all-black, Max Biaggi-250cc titles paint and sponsor decal job and the least impressive Ducati’s lacklustre recreation of the 2003 GP3. All the other bikes were painted to greater or lesser effect but it was the sight of the inaugural title-winning 1949 AJS ‘Porcupine’ standing at the head of the grid before the off that was a startling reminder of how far racing machinery has come since those first faltering steps in the immediate post-war years.
Yet again, it was a tyre-driven race. Ducati’s GP24 is so dominant because it makes the most of the Michelin rear tyre, finding the fine balance between being able to use all the available grip during braking, corner entry, mid-corner and exit and overusing the tyre to the point where it degrades too quickly. Then factor in Bastiannini’s ability to manage rear tyre wear in the first half of races by relying heavily on the front tyre when turning, giving him a rear tyre advantage in the second half and you have the recipe for his stunning weekend.
Then there was the issue of front tyre temperature. When following Bagnaia in the early stages, Martin’s front tyre was perfect but when he was running in clean air after overtaking Bagnaia, the temperature dropped and cost him ultimate grip, which is why he eventually ran slightly wide and allowed Bastiannini to overtake. The same happened to Marc Marquez in the Sprint race: fine when following, too cold when in on his own and down he went.
Another controversy that has been brewing for a while is the way that riders leaving the pits for their final time attack in qualifying will dawdle around, waiting for a fast rider – usually Bagnaia or, perhaps, Espargaro – to give them a tow. It’s frankly ridiculous considering the quality of rider we are talking about in MotoGP today but it’s been something that has blighted racing for a while. It might be understandable in Moto3, but MotoGP?
Several riders were vocal about it post-race, Bagnaia and Espargaro unsurprisingly leading the conversation and you have to sympathise. But what is the answer?
There is the Superpole system, used in World Superbikes, whereby each rider goes out on his own to set a time. “Too boring”, says Marquez. You could also go back to a full hour of qualifying but there is no doubt that the 15-minute session format has proved to be extremely exciting so there is little incentive to ditch it.
The only other alternative is to implement minimum sector times to prevent riders from slowing dramatically waiting for a tow, with harsh penalties for anyone who fails to complete any sector in the minimum time.
Something clearly has to be done about it as, besides the fact that it looks bad, it can also be dangerous when a rider on a full-bore fast lap comes round a corner to find a rider going slowly right in front of him, as happened with Marquez and Bradl in Germany. That only led to a grid penalty but it could have been much worse.
You have to feel sorry for Brad Binder; a strong fourth place in the Sprint but, no sooner had the Main race started, than he was frantically waving his arm to tell riders accelerating off the line that he was slowing and would not complete a single lap. A clutch issue was blamed but it was tough luck for the local hero.
Despite Binder’s fourth place in the Sprint, Pedro Acosta, who finished ninth in the Main race as the first KTM home claimed that Silverstone was never going to be one of KTM’s strongest tracks, their bike working better at tracks with hard braking and tight corners, not the wide open sweeping corners of Silverstone.
The problem with that is that Ducati and Aprilia seem to work well everywhere so until KTM can do the same, they won’t be challenging for titles.
Austria is up next, a track that should suit the KTMs. Let’s wait and see…
