It was perhaps appropriate that, on the weekend of the most boring (if not the most picturesque) F1 Grand Prix of the year, Monaco, we also had a MotoGP race full of drama and fantastic racing at the circuit that hosted the very first post-war F1 Grand Prix in 1950, Silverstone.
Anyone who was at Silverstone for that first Grand Prix would struggle to recognise the place today; certain parts remain the same, but it has undergone significant changes over the years. Thankfully, the basic ingredients that made it one of the better racing circuits in the world have been retained – a fast, wide, sweeping layout, rewarding both power and agility that invariably produces great racing.
After Ducati’s winning streak was, at last, brought to an end in Le Mans thanks to a brilliant ride by Johann Zarco on his Honda RC213V, we could have been forgiven for assuming that normal service would be resumed at Silverstone; a circuit where you could reasonably expect the Bologna Bullets to thrive given their power advantage. But no one could have predicted the outcome of a fantastic race, one in which Ducati played a very subdued part.
The first shock was yet another unbelievable pole lap by Fabio Quartararo and his Yamaha, his third in a row. The Yamaha might be down on power but if its riders can run the lines they like – long, sweeping lines as opposed to the Ducatis that can dive into the corner, stop and turn and punch out of them, a movement that upsets the following Yamahas – then, as Quartararo showed in qualifying and the Main race, they can be untouchable.
The other factor was that the Yamahas were running the soft front tyre, giving them an early race advantage (although no one knew if they would last the race distance at that pace), while the Ducatis didn’t look happy on any front tyre, especially not the medium front they chose to run on.
If the Sprint race conformed to expected practice, with a fine win for Alex Marquez, followed by Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio to complete yet another all-Ducati podium, the top ten looked distinctly varied, with Aprilia, Honda, Yamaha and KTM all represented.
This was but a taste of what was to come the next day in the Main race. At the start, Marc Marquez showed his intent and led into the first corner, while brother Alex sensationally slid ignominiously out of the race before he had even negotiated that corner. This was huge for the Championship, especially as Bagnaia was sitting in third behind Quartararo, but such is the lack of confidence Bagnaia has in his GP25 that it seemed almost impossible that he would feature in the race. What a change from last season.
Then it happened! Marc Marquez lost the front at the Becketts complex and, all of a sudden, perhaps Bagnaia could gain valuable points on his title rivals. But out came the red flags to stop the race, the reason given that there was oil on the track, not where Marc Marquez had crashed, but where Franco Morbidelli and Aleix Espargaro had crashed at the last chicane at the end of the first lap. As less than three laps had been completed, the race would be restarted with all riders eligible to form up on the grid, including both Marquez brothers! Talk about luck being on their side.
At the restart, Bagnaia got the hole shot but Quartararo was past into the lead by turn three, while Marc got past his brother at turn four, as did Jack Miller; the Yamahas have definitely improved, a point proven by Quartararo as he simply disappeared at the front, while Miller got by Marc for third place and then Bagnaia for second, the latter then overtaken first by Johann Zarco and then by Marc Marquez.
It was definitely not Ducati’s day as both the factory bikes then ran wide at Copse, and re-joined in ninth and tenth, Marquez still ahead of his team mate. But Bagnaia was looking in real trouble as he was clearly struggling with grip and, inevitably, he slid out and his miserable season continued.
By this time, Quartararo was 4.5 seconds up the road, and it was looking unlikely that anyone would be able to do anything about him. For Yamaha to find its form again in 2025 would be hugely appropriate as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the manufacturer’s first premier class world title (then for 500 cc-engined bikes, all of which were two strokes) back in 1975, courtesy of Giacomo Agostini.
Almost unnoticed in all the excitement was the fact that Marco Bezzecchi on the Aprilia was lying third behind Quartararo and Miller, with Zarco fourth, Alex Marquez fifth, Morbidelli sixth, Mir seventh and Marc Marquez eighth. Bezzecchi and Zarco got past Miller, and now we had a race on as, even with a five-second deficit to make up, Bezzecchi looked as if he had the speed to catch up to Quartararo, while Marc Marquez was making progress up to fourth.
Then Yamaha managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as the rear ride-height device on Quartararo’s bike stuck in the lowered position and he had no choice but to retire the bike, leaving the Frenchman distraught; he really didn’t deserve that. When the emotion subsides, he will realise that there is nothing but positives to take from Silverstone, but the pain will never fully disappear.
And that, to all intents and purposes, was that. Bezzecchi was out front by 4.5 seconds, and Zarco led Marc Marquez by just over a second, and he in turn was having to defend from Morbidelli behind. Indeed, into the last lap, Morbidelli was right on Marquez’ tail and, coming into the final chicane on the last lap at Vale, Morbidelli got past Marquez, only to run slightly wide and allow Marquez back through and cross the line half a bike’s length ahead. But neither of them could do anything about Zarco, who took a well-deserved second place just two weeks after his Le Mans victory.
Honda, Yamaha and Aprilia back in the mix for victories? That’s going to spice things up nicely. It’s hard not to think of 2025 as another Ducati walkover, but perhaps they won’t have it all their own way?
The day belonged to Bezzecchi and Aprilia, however, and what perfect timing it was, with the news leading up to the British Grand Prix being dominated by the continuing Jorge Martin/Aprilia, will-he-leave/will-he-stay saga. You knew the team realised this was a pivotal moment as they not-so-subtly pointed out that the RS-GP was a winning machine, a message clearly directed at Martin; “This is a message to Jorge. Our bike can win,” team boss Massimo Rivola said.
“I think the best way we can do it is to show that we have a fast bike.” Mind you, if the reports about Martin’s desire to activate the get-out clause so early in the season are true, without having had the chance to see for himself what the Aprilia can do, would it be once bitten, twice shy for Aprilia to put their faith in the reigning world champion heading into 2026? Also, surely any other team would be wary?
So, a victory for Aprilia at a circuit that has been good for them in the 2020s, which might mean that it is a flash in the pan, but it’s encouraging nonetheless. But what about KTM? Pedro Acosta finished an anonymous sixth, with Maverick Viñales four seconds behind in eleventh, Brad Binder five seconds behind Miller in 14th and Enea Bastiannini a ridiculous 48 seconds behind Acosta in 17th. In a week when news came through of a huge bailout of KTM by Bajaj, all but securing the future of the Austrian company, these dire performances will not help the race team’s prospects.
It’s back to Spain in two weeks’ time for the Aragon MotoGP round, the eighth of the season, and the championship is really coming alive. Surely Quartararo’s forward progress will net him a win soon, while both Zarco and Bezzecchi have proved that we can’t afford to count them out when things fall into place for them and their teams. Will it be enough to deny Ducati title glory? Maybe not this year, but then again, stranger things have happened.
