The MotoGP British GP was a great celebration for the championship’s 75th anniversary. There were period decorations and helmets paying tribute to the great legends of the sport, as well as several special events throughout the weekend, but ultimately the spectacle was modern. Enea Bastianini, with one of his film-like finishes, was able to slightly change the script of the last few races and cut the streak of his teammate and defending champion, Pecco Bagnaia, who had just won four consecutive Grand Prix and climbed to the lead. Jorge Martín, in second place and dressed like Ángel Nieto with the 1983 Garelli, recovered his best form and also the lead of the championship, again in a handkerchief.
The reigning world champion had to settle for third place after dominating the opening stretch of the race, when it seemed that the story would remain intact after the holidays. However, the wear and tear took its toll on the Italian leader. After a couple of scares, Martín caught up with him after a 12-lap chase and overtook him without too many complications. Bastianini, a true specialist in managing the final stretch of long races, was far behind them. In a couple of laps, and thanks to a mistake by the Spaniard, he caught up with the leaders of the championship and put the screws to them to force their errors and escape alone to victory.
With six laps to go, Bagnaia lost the front end and narrowly escaped the crash. His teammate passed him and the three-time champion decided to settle for the podium, his seventh in a row. A couple of laps later, Bastianini was already threatening Martín’s lead, who held on like a wild boar but made a mistake on the penultimate lap with two crashes in a row. The winner did not forgive in the MotoGP return to school, adding his sixth victory in the premier class and Ducati’s 100th in the competition. His presence on the top step of the podium was the only concession to the never-ending history of the world of motorcycling, and the Italian factory dominates with an iron fist the current era marked by the unstoppable advance of technology.
For the seventh consecutive race, three Ducatis occupied the podium, a new record for the category. They will be fighting for a title that Marc Márquez has lost at Silverstone, resigned to his chances, already 62 points behind the leader. On Saturday he fell due to pushing too hard and on Sunday he managed to better regulate his hunger for victory and settle for fourth place, his most realistic aspiration at the moment. “I said it in the Netherlands and I repeated it in Germany: we are not in a position to win the World Championship,” insisted the 93. Since the beginning of the season, the Catalan has pointed to the three on the podium as strong candidates for the championship, although it has not been until this return to action that Bastianini has shown all his cards.
Unlike in the past, MotoGP is now marked by unprecedented equality. “We are reaching an incredible level. We always go to the limit,” confessed Martín, satisfied after shaking off the mistakes of Jerez and Sachsenring. “Enea has been the strongest, he has been at another level. The championship is very long and we count on him for the fight. I am happy because we have regained the lead,” added the Madrid native. ‘Bestia’ did not want to take up the challenge for now: “I must not think about being champion, but about being more consistent.”
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