Author: Myanna Wedes

The 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix was excellent from lights out and French rider Fabio Quartararo put on a dominant display demonstrating his strengths even with a soft front tyre choice that caused grief for Pecco Bagnaia and Joan Mir. The title lead Quartararo has achieved to date is exemplary and a real indicator of his focus to be the World Champion. He finished first whilst the other Yamaha machines were 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th. The reflection on the Yamaha team is that all their cards are with Quartararo for the title and further bike development though it was announced that Andrea Dovizioso will be returning to the grid onboard the Petronas Yamaha SRT and Franco Morbidelli promoted to be Quartararo’s teammate which means Cal Crutchlow will return to his test rider duties. The results at Silverstone set a major milestone for Aleix Espargaro who achieved Aprilia Gresini’s first ever podium finish in the premier class which was well deserved fighting off fellow rival Jack Miller over the last five laps and into the last few corners. Whilst it was a refreshing race finish and second place for Alex Rins who had a 2021 track record for crashing!

The weather did have a role to play with tyre choices as the colder temperatures arrived and the last-minute changes by Bagnaia and Mir end up being troublesome and denting their title bids. Mir and Bagnaia both went for a soft front tyre though medium rear tyre and the issues that hit both of them were interesting: Mir’s front tyre gave him grief and Pecco had no rear grip. Bagnaia appears to have conceded defeat feeling like the title has already been won by the French Yamaha rider and was in a very negative mindset after failing to fire his Ducati this weekend to battle the frontrunners. If anything, he went backwards lap after lap. Whilst others are smiling, there is heartbreak for those chasing Yamaha and one of those is Johann Zarco who was nowhere the entire weekend. He looked uncomfortable and no doubt will see the title leader look to close down the Championship as soon as possible. If you are the most consistent rider across all sessions and races it will show and Fabulous Fabio as he is known is certainly making that mark.

Fabio Quartararo:

“This win felt great! In Austria I was thinking of the championship when we were switching bikes, but here I thought of nothing. I was feeling great on the bike, and I enjoyed fighting for the victory. It was perfect. I enjoy racing like that, living in the moment. I felt great at the start and stayed calm. I only made a few mistakes, and I felt like I was really good on braking. It was better than expected, and because of that I had kind of a change in strategy during the race. When I had a 3s lead I said, ‘Okay, now it’s time to go slowly and not make any mistakes’, and then on the last lap I was just enjoying the track, still riding slowly. I’m so happy about this result. It’s a really special win. When I won in Assen, I already had some fans there. I don’t know how many fans there were here today, but it was massive, and it was great to share this moment with them. I want to thank them. For a Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider, it’s always nice to win a Monster Energy Grand Prix, so I basically got it all, it’s amazing! It’s a great win for them, and also for my family and the team. I have a mechanic who couldn’t come here, Daniele Grelli, so this one is for him. I can’t wait to be with the crew to celebrate.”

Cal Crutchlow:

“I did enjoy the race. Obviously, I'm disappointed about where I finished, but overall I was pleased with my performance and pleased with the lap times I was doing. We came here to do a good job, and I feel we did that. During this weekend we worked in a great way with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team, but I just started too far back. It was as simple as that, because I felt that I had a bit of a better pace to run with the guys nearer the front. In the mid-race I was quite pleased with my pace. It was probably a little bit faster than the pace I was doing over the weekend, so I stayed consistent. We saw a lot of guys dropping with the tyres, which we knew would happen. I was in the exact same boat with the rear tyre, but I was able to manage it well, which was quite pleasing. Overall, to be racing here in Silverstone in front of the home fans, I got great support. I'm glad they got to see three great races today. We can go away from here proud about our weekend.”

Working hard is a requirement in the sport of MotoGP and Aleix Espargaro has been that leader for Aprilia for the last five years. His belief in the team is incredible and the taste of Prosecco long overdue after his last podium was seven years ago. The 2021 Aprilia is a totally different machine and one that is shaping up to be a quality competitor and the rider smiling from ear to ear is Maverick Vinales after seeing the result achieve by Espargaro battling fellow manufacturers Yamaha, Honda, Ducati and Suzuki! With his family by his side, Espargaro dedicated the victory to his wife as a result of all their sacrifices as a family in order for him to be successful. What was a cheer for one Espargaro was also a cheer for the other with Pol Espargaro achieving his best result with Honda to date! Pol Espargaro qualified on pole and put up a good fight, finally finding his feet and being the main Honda rider for the weekend which was a new experience for him after a turbulent season on board the Honda bike. The tyres and grip felt good and he was fast. The same methods and results need to be consistent in order for Honda to see a future beyond next year with the Spanish rider. In comparison, it was a horrible race for Marc Marquez who was too ambitious taking out Jorge Martin in a dramatic fashion so early into the race. Watching Marquez try to re-start his bike, failing to do so and returning to his motorhome is tough because as an eight-time World Champion, it is not the place he is used to being and this takes its toll emotionally and mentally. Regardless of the negativity, he will have seen Aleix Espargaro celebrate and this will motivate him more than ever to regain the confidence, feeling and strength required to finish the season in a strong form.

Aleix Espargaro:

"We’ve come so close. We have almost had it several times and finally we did it! A deserved podium that we’ve worked hard for and I dedicate, first and foremost, to Aprilia. The team has always worked to the utmost during these years. We have overcome difficult times together and now we are reaping the fruits of our labour. On the podium, I thought about Fausto, my family, and all the people who have been close to me. Our growth over the last two years has been extraordinary. We have improved in every aspect, but we needed a podium to lend credence to what we’ve done. I knew we had a chance today. We built our performance throughout all the sessions and I felt good in warm up this morning too. I had a few doubts at the start on tyre choice but in the end, we got it right. I lost a few positions at a certain point but I was able to recover, except on Fabio, who pulled away and created a gap. In the finale, I was struggling a bit with the front, but to compensate, I had good traction and that’s why I didn’t fight Jack in the braking sections, relying instead on crossing the trajectory and exploiting my acceleration. Now we need to celebrate and then get refocused straight away. There are more races coming up where we can be competitive. One podium can’t be enough to make us happy. We want more."

Pol Espargaro:

“I enjoyed the race a lot, this was the feeling I was looking for after struggling. To be leading the race was something really special. We went with the soft rear because it gave us the best feeling, but it wasn’t enough to fight for the podium and there’s still some more work to do. Anyway, until the middle of the race I was there, fighting and enjoying it so much – even closing the gap to Rins and Aleix when my tyre was still performing well. As the grip dropped, I controlled the gap and finished the weekend well. It has been a great weekend overall, we’ve been able to show what we can do and now we head to Aragon where Honda has been very strong in the past.”

Marc Marquez:

“First of all I want to say sorry to Jorge Martin, already I went to him and his team to say sorry after the race. It was my mistake; I was too optimistic with that overtake. Races are sometimes like this and today it was me who made the mistake. Overall the weekend has been quite good as we have been fast in a lot of sessions, even after a big crash on Friday. It’s a shame to make this mistake in the race because we had the pace to do something interesting here today.”

The battles across the weekend were superb and Jack Miller put on a show catching his rivals in the second half of the race. His confidence grew lap after lap which was nice to see after tyres deciding his fate in the last two events. The Australian rider was the top performing Ducati and is excited to see how the second half of the season will shape up. The flip side of Bagnaia was a disaster and the commentators baffled at his lack of pace. Whether it ends up as a front or rear tyre issue, lack of grip continues to upset numerous teams and the Italian was one of those this weekend.

Jack Miller:

"I would have been happier if I could have finished on the podium today, but I'm delighted with the result because we showed that we have good potential. If I had qualified better, maybe I could have done something more today in the race. Fortunately, I didn't lose any positions after the start, and after a few laps, I found my rhythm again. I struggled a little bit to catch the front group in the last laps because I couldn't brake in the same way as before, but I still managed to attack Aleix, which was a lot of fun! We'll try again in the next race!"

Francesco Bagnaia:

"Unfortunately, after a perfect weekend where I felt really strong, today in the race, something didn't work. Now we're going to analyse all the data and understand why I didn't have any rear grip from the first few laps. I am very disappointed because I was sure I could have a really good race after being fast all weekend. Now let's move on and try to come back stronger at Aragón".

As the weekend arrived, we thought to ourselves that Rins was a good bet in terms of being comfortable enough to push for the win. It was so vital that he finished the race and to bag a podium is even sweeter for the Spanish rider as the walls around him were closing in after such a poor season to date when you weigh up his results from previous seasons and alongside his teammate Mir. This time it was Mir who had front tyre problems and Rins feeling on top of his game. The aggressive moves of Rins were calculated and precise as opposed to lunges of hope, so it was nice to see his persona reflect his talent this weekend. Right now, he has to continue this momentum and allow Suzuki to keep developing their machines as Aprilia catches up and the other teams keep progressing in order to be ahead of their rivals for the remainder of 2021 and the upcoming 2022 season. Suzuki have a dynamic duo and their results need to reflect that power horse of a team.

Alex Rins:

“I’m super, super, super happy because we’ve put in a lot of effort and work to get back on the podium. It hasn’t been easy, because even when I’ve had the pace, I’ve had crashes and problems. I was aiming for a Top 5 finish today, but in the end I felt really good and comfortable with the bike so I was able to push. I was fast but without taking risks or having to make aggressive moves. It’s a great feeling to be back on the podium and celebrate with all my team.”

Joan Mir:

“Well, honestly, the feeling today was really good and I was able to ride in a nice way and be in the positions that I wanted. I felt confident with my bike and I knew that I could have good race pace. Even if my results this weekend haven’t been really strong, I was feeling very strong in the race. But then I started struggling with the front end, which was completely unexpected, and I lost a lot of time in the last laps. This problem started from the 10th lap, and from then it was a bit of a struggle and I’m disappointed because I was hoping for a better result, even for my first time here.”

Overall, the KTM project is doing a wonderful job in developing their bikes and squad. With the new rider line up for 2022 with Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez, it makes us very excited to see the orange beasts in action. The improvement by Brad Binder and Iker Lecuona has been nice to watch, no doubt, Binder a future World Champion and Lecuona enjoying his time before deciding which direction he will be going in whether it is back in Moto2 or another series. The smiling and lovely Danilo Petrucci enjoyed a top ten finish whilst Miguel Oliveira was not even competitive to say the least. He lacked performance, pace, confidence and is still suffering from a wrist injury. As with any team, the expectations are high and those who continue to rise to the occasion race after race will be the ones standing!

Brad Binder: 

“Today was a solid day, all things considered. I had a tough start to the race and struggled a lot in the first few laps but as the race went on I got stronger and stronger. I’m really happy with the rhythm I managed to keep until the end. I want to say a huge thanks to the team; this weekend has not been easy for us and the guys have worked non-stop. We tried everything and the best bike we had all weekend is the bike we had for the race.”

Iker Lecuona: 

“I’m really, really happy! Qualifying yesterday was difficult for me. I made some mistakes but I knew the pace was there. In Warm Up this morning, I felt really strong, finishing in P5 and I knew if I can recover some places, I can fight in the front group. The start of the race was ok, although I tried to save the tyre a bit because the conditions were cold. Lap by lap I managed to improve my lap time. On the last lap, I overtook the last rider to finish in P7, which is my second best result in MotoGP and it happened in the dry. I want to say thanks to my team because this weekend was very good and very strong.”

Danilo Petrucci

“It was a good top 10 result. We managed to hit the target we set yesterday. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time in overtaking, mainly on the straights, so it was difficult for me to pass other riders. In the end, it was pretty decent. I think we could have been a little bit better. Anyway, it’s a good result. Now I really have a very good feeling on the bike, maybe Aragon will be even better with the KTM for us. We will fight for a good result there as well.”

Miguel Oliveira

“It was not the race we were looking for, at least the result. It felt like I didn’t have a lot of grip from the beginning. Nothing really clicked for me this weekend. Hopefully we can keep working with a positive attitude and get things going in our way again in Aragon.”

Next up we have Aragon, a Spanish home race for many and it will be a thrill to see who tops the timesheets and drives forward to take it to Quartararo! We feel as though the Frenchman will start analysing the title when Misano arrives because it will be all about Valentino Rossi and the lights not shining so much on him which can play on your mind as a professional athlete considering his racing performances. If the Yamaha can remain competitive at almost every circuit, Quartararo will be virtually impossible to beat. The writing is on the wall as to when he inks his name into the record books. Meanwhile, we look forward to seeing how Vinales gets acquainted with his new Aprilia bike because there is a chance that by Misano, there could be three Aprilia bikes on the grid! Vinales wants to succeed and he is feeling refreshed leaving behind the emotionally draining past couple of weeks to which will define his 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Protect your Motorcycle. Call Shannons Insurance on 13 46 46 to get a quote today.