The start of the 2024 British MotoGP was marked by controversy in the qualifying sessions. Marc Marquez was criticised for trying to take advantage of other riders’ slipstream to improve his times, which many considered dangerous and unethical. Aleix Espargaro, without mentioning him directly, was one of the most critical, stating that some riders would do anything for a pole position.
The attitude of Marquez, an eight-time world champion, was questioned, especially now that he is racing with Ducati and is in top form. Espargaro’s comments were also considered inappropriate.
Sprint Race
What a hit at the start 😰
Franco Morbidelli was unable to stop the bike and hit Marco Bezzecchi#MotoGP 🏁 #BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/A1afRwy9i4
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 3, 2024
The short race started with an incident involving Morbidelli, who lost the braking reference at the first corner and collided with Marco Bezzechi, taking them both to the ground. Fortunately, there were no physical consequences, but Morbidelli received a penalty of 2 long laps for Sunday’s race.
OH MY GOD! PIECES OF THE MOTORCYCLE FLYED! And there’s a 2 for 1 on overtaking! 🤯🤯🤯
Pedro Acosta 🆚 Brad Binder 🆚 Marc Marquez
WHAT A SHOW#MotoGP 🏁 #BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/RVbMOvIhFC
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 3, 2024
There was also a clash between Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta. The Australian damaged the aerodynamics of Acosta’s bike, but that did not prevent him from finishing in a creditable 5th place.
World championship leader Pecco Bagnaia crashed at Turn 4 after losing concentration, and Marc Márquez also crashed at Turn 16 when he was fourth, losing his third place in the general standings and not being able to recover it in Sunday’s long race.
NOOOO! Marc Marquez crashes!
He was riding in fourth position and crashed at turn 16 😪 His Ducati got stuck in the stands when he tried to get back on track 😓#MotoGP 🏁 #BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/mkw25yumQl
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 3, 2024
The podium was occupied by Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martín and Aleix Espargaró in that same order. Bastianini, with an impressive pace, won his first sprint and left behind Martín and Espargaró, who admitted that 23rd seemed unattainable for them.
MotoGP Great Britain 2024: Bastianini rounds off a perfect weekend.
Sunday’s race was a bit dull in terms of spectacularity or on-track battles. Only Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio brought some spice to the race by exchanging a series of intense overtaking maneuvers with 13 laps remaining. The VR46 rider even managed to give the Catalan that typical Moto3 gesture as if saying with his hand… «Come with me, your brother is getting away from us!«.
Knife fight between Alex Marquez and Di Giannantonio 💥
The Italian gestures to the Spaniard not to bother him 👀#MotoGP 🏁 #BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/oHRH3ZCEJO
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 4, 2024
It all started with Pecco Bagnaia leading from the exit of the first corner and being chased by his teammate, Enea Bastianini. Jorge Martin moved up to third place while poleman Aleix Espargaro dropped to fourth place.
MARTINATOR IN COMMAND! 🫡
Jorge Martin overtakes Pecco Bagnaia to take the lead in the race #MotoGP#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/sie49P19ea
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 4, 2024
Espargaró would gradually fade away over the rest of the race. Perhaps he opted for a bad choice of front tyre, as the Catalan was one of the few who went for the hard compound, with track conditions perhaps a little cooler than he had expected.
With 9 laps to go, Jorge Martín took the lead over Pecco, at a moment when the Italian went wide at turn 3. The official Ducati rider would declare after the race that the bike tended to close up too much at the front.
From that moment on, Jorge began to set a very strong pace, which allowed him to put distance between himself and his pursuers. Perhaps he was trying one last effort to save the unsaveable. Enea was coming up behind him.
ENEA BASTIANINI TAKES FIRST PLACE! @88jorgemartin He went long and @Bestia23 got over it#MotoGP 🏁 #BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/aLy2nBq5E7
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 4, 2024
Bastianini would overtake Pecco with 7 laps to go when the number 1 was having trouble closing one of the corners again, leaving all the space in the world for his teammate to get in. It was then that Bastianini, with his now well-known late race runs with all the rear grip available, began his final push for first place. It’s incredible how this driver takes care of his tyres, nobody does it like him.
The number 23 kept increasing the pressure on the race leader until, with two laps to go, he caused Martín to make a mistake at Turn 3, which opened up the gap that allowed him to consolidate his path to victory.
The weekend at Silverstone ended with Bagnaia losing the lead to Martin, who was just three points ahead, and with the entry of a brilliant Bastianini into third place, causing Marc Marquez to drop to fourth. As for the constructors’ championship, we saw a crushing dominance by Ducati, who placed all eight of their bikes in the top 10 in Sunday’s race.
Next stop, from August 16 to 18, where the Red Bull Ring awaits us.
