Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1505216
VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P75 yet another miserable weekend by crashing out of 11th place. With three laps left, Oliveira was up to third with Vinales losing rear grip in fifth. A lap later, Bagnaia and Espargaro put the hammer down, Binder took third from Oliveira, and when they started the final lap, it looked like it would be Bagnaia who would hold on for his second win in a row. Espargaro had other ideas. Out of the Copse corner, he pulled alongside the factory Ducati and forced his way into the Maggots/ Beckets/Chapel section, held the lead down the Hanger straight, through Stowe and by the time they got to the Vale corner, it was all over. Espargaro held on for a classic win, 0.2 seconds up on Bagnaia and 0.6 up on Binder. Oliveira held on for fourth ahead of Vinales, Martin, Luca Marini, Miller, Zarco and Raul Fernandez, completing the top 10 and marking the first time Aprilia had four bikes in the top 10. "Today I realized straight away that I'd be able to do well," Espar - chi out of the race but blew Bag- naia's title lead from 32 points to an eventual 41 points over new second-placed championship position holder Jorge Martin. Bezzecchi dropped to third in the standings, 47 adrift of the lead. But if Bagnaia thought he was home and hosed, he had an - other thing coming. Specifically, Aleix Espargaro and the factory Aprilia, the Spanish veteran pull- ing clear of teammate Vinales and remorselessly closing the gap to Bagnaia. Also on the move was Oliveira. In the best ride of his year to date, Oliveira started 16th and marched forward to fifth. While just be - hind Vinales by two-thirds race distance, the dreaded British rain began to fall around select points of the vast Silverstone layout. With six laps to go, Bagnaia, Espargaro, Binder and Vinales were glued together, with Oliveira closing quickly as some of the backmarkers came in to swap bikes. The top four refused to pit as Marc Marquez compounded Bagnaia's day saw him end the Sprint Race well down in 14th, with fellow MotoGP World Champions Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) 17th, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) 18th and Quar - tararo a dismal 20th. Sunday MotoGP Grand Prix The Sunday Grand Prix would be a complete reversal of fortune for two of the biggest players in the championship. With Bagnaia finishing 14th in the Sprint, the last thing he needed was Bezzecchi scoring a heap of points and getting within earshot of his title lead. Miller again shot into the lead, but the number-one Ducati was immediately up to third, then sec - ond by the end of the opening lap ahead of Bezzecchi in third. A lap later, with a superior drive out of the Copse Corner, Bagnaia swept past Miller into the lead. Two corners later, Bezzecchi was through, and the two great friends engaged in what looked like a race-long battle for the win. Miller, struggling to keep the ferocious pace set by the two Ducatis out front, was punted wide by a wayward Vinales at Copse, sending him from third way down to 14th. He would eventually pull himself back to ninth at the flag. The pivotal moment in the race came with 15 laps to go as, head - ing into the Stowe right-hander, Bezzecchi left his braking way too late, asked too much of his front tire, and threw the Ducati into the tire barrier at high speed. The mistake not only put Bezzec - Alex Marquez was understandably stoked with his first MotoGP race win on Saturday.