MotoGP riders reflect on what went down on Sunday at Silverstone

2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round Ten – Silverstone
MotoGP rider and Team Manager quotes

Enea Bastianini – P1

“It was a difficult race, as I made a few mistakes in the first two laps and lost some ground. Then, I was able to find the right confidence to get back to the leading group: I bridged the gap first to Aleix (Espargaró), who was not an easy one to pass, and then to Pecco. In the lasf four-five laps, Jorge was pushing really hard and it wasn’t easy to catch him. It’s a fantastic feeling to be back on top of the podium in a Sunday race. I’ve been working a lot on myself: I analysed the first half of the race – the positives and the negatives of it. Generally speaking, my pace has been strong until now, but obviously the qualifying performance surely had a negative impact on many occasions. I tried to work on the mental side of things in order to avoid being caught unprepared in this regard, and I hope I can continue this way.”

Jorge Martin – P2

“I’m proud of myself and the team, we did a really solid weekend, for sure we always want the victory but I think that was our best, and I’m confident for the next races. I think I did a really intelligent race, I tried to manage a lot of things, fuel, tyre consumption also, but Enea was at another level, I tried to keep with him the last lap but it was impossible. It was difficult to manage, but we knew before the race everything I had to manage, and I tried to be behind someone at the beginning of the race, to save some tyre, save some fuel.  And then when I was first there was nothing to conserve, we were pushing it was strong pace, even with that record pace let’s say, Enea was catching me. Second was the maximum I could get. For sure, when you lose the position because of a mistake, there’s some frustration to be honest, but I think he was much stronger so it was even if he overtakes me one or two corners later it was going to be really difficult to win, so I’m lucky to finish and be here.  I think Sachsenring was not that bad for me, here was not that good, we did a great job overall for the year, the season, we have to look at the balance of all the races, and I think the progression is really high and we have to keep this way of work and this way of thinking.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P3

“I’m satisfied because after yesterday’s crash, it was important to finish the race. It wasn’t easy: I got into the lead and tried to manage the race as best as I could but unfortunately, as I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted with the front-tyre, I had to use the rear tyre more in order to get the bike turning. This led to some struggles at the end of the race. When Martín overtook me, I tried to stay with him but I almost tucked the front at turn seven; this is when I thought that, after yesterday’s crash, it was better to think about making it to the finish line. It’s clear that Enea, when he’s strong already from Friday, is really hard to beat, as he’s known for being very strong in the final part of the race – and he show exactly that today.”

Marc Marquez – P4

“We would have saved the weekend with two fourth place finishes, so it’s a pity for yesterday’s mistake. Unfortunately we were a bit too much on the back foot this weekend as our base set-up didn’t work as well as we’d hoped. The team did a huge job and we were ready for the race. I would have signed yesterday for a fourth in the race and we achieved the goal today.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P5

“A tough race but what a fun. I had a great start, then a great fight. I lost a bit of time with Alex and Pedro (Marquez and Acosta), but a super battle and then a really strong pace at the end. A great race! I managed the tires well, especially at the start, so as not to take too many risks at the end. I am happy and very satisfied. The bike was beautiful, already on paper, then even more the real one, awesome. I paid homage to Vale with a special helmet, it was a way to say thank you for this great opportunity he gave me this year. I had a bit of pressure, but also extra motivation.”

Aleix Espargaro – P6

“This race reminded me very much of the Barcelona race. I tried to give 100 per cent and I think I rode at a rather high level, but the rear tyre wear penalised me. I tried everything to limit the damage, but it wasn’t enough. It’s a pity because I had a solid weekend, with pole position and the podium finish in the sprint race.”

Alex Marquez – P7

“I’m happy with the race and generally speaking, of the whole weekend. We should have opted for the hard front tyre, but we still put up a fight with the medium one and we had fun. The battle with Diggia was OK, we both wanted to be in front and I didn’t want to stay in the slipstream to avoid decreasing the front-tyre pressure. It’s good anyway, we scored some important points and we look forward to Austria.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P8

“It was tough, I suffered in the final despite the painkillers. The last laps were endless, I couldn’t feel my leg anymore, but the sensations on the bike were good. I didn’t start badly, then I found Brad (Binder) in the middle of the straight, he must have had some problems with the bike, then I recovered well. It’s a shame about the qualifying, it wasn’t perfect and then you pay for that over the weekend. I’m happy with the feeling today, I had better feelings in riding.”

Pedro Acosta – P9

“The race in the end was better than expected, because we expected a very tough one. Taking a look at the whole weekend, maybe we could have approached the weekend in a different way in terms of strategy. On Friday I needed to focus on which engine to choose, then I had to fight my way to Q2 on Saturday morning as I did not have a lot of time to focus on myself. Anyway, P9 is not what we want, but we knew that Silverstone would be a track where we would suffer, so in the end, we can be happy with the final result.”

Fabio Quartararo – P11

“The bike looked great today, and it felt a bit better. We’ve kept the bike the same as yesterday. We’re still missing something, but we gave it all we got, so we can be happy with what we did, even if it’s not enough. This weekend, we struggled because we had a lack of grip. Pushing to the maximum was all I could do today, and at the end I could fight with Maverick and Miller, and also Franky, who overtook me on the last lap. But we know what our weak points are, and we will keep working on it so we can fight for better positions.”

Jack Miller – P12

“I was trying to get the rear tyre to work and was cycling through the maps I had. It was tricky to get the bike to stop: a weird one, maybe because of the lower temperatures. Some points on the board anyway, and some info in the books so hopefully we’ll keep getting better. We’re trying our best every weekend and we have really strong points and I hope we can take advantage of them in Austria.”

Maverick Vinales – P13

“In the last four races, we have had truly high rear tyre wear and from the seventh lap here, I had no more grip. The only thing I could do was to try to finish the race. We need to work on improving the second part of the race.”

Johann Zarco – P14

“I made a small mistake, and I tried to do my best from that moment on. Rivals didn’t make it easy, and it was a long race. I managed to control the tyre wear and reach the end of the race pushing. We’ll try again in Austria!”

Takaaki Nakagami – P15

“It’s been a tough weekend, as we are still struggling. We’ve grabbed some information that will probably help us ahead of the next races. In the end, we’ve scored points, which is always important”.

Augusto Fernandez – P16

“It has been one of the most difficult races of the year! At the start of the race, we were still on pace and fighting with the riders in the back of the group, but then the rear tyre dropped massively. Everything became so difficult, I was trying to save crashes and to just make it to the checkered flag. Not an easy one at all, but luckily we are heading to Austria next, where I hope we can be more competitive.”

Luca Marini – P17

“It’s nice to be able to stay fighting to be the first Honda through all the weekend, this is a good step compared to where we have been. We are still very far from where we want to be, but I think we are getting more and more information on where and how to work. Today we struggled in the opening laps, but from the middle of the race we were quite competitive compared to the group.”

Remy Gardner – P18

“We tried a completely different thing again in Warm Up this morning. I didn’t like it, so we went back to what we finished with yesterday. We knew we had some traction problems with that, but I wanted a bike setting I was already familiar with for the Race. When the tyre was new, I could pretty much keep the same pace as the riders in front of me for about 6-7 laps. I was in front of Takaaki for a few laps as well. But I don’t have the experience to keep the pace when the tyre drops. That’s all down to race experience, and we haven’t focused on race pace this weekend, it’s all been about testing.”

Brad Binder – DNF

“Not much to say. Unfortunately, I had a small clutch issue and could not get away from the line. I tried to get back to the pits to change bikes but had to park it. This morning we’d made some changes to the bike and it was the fastest I’d been all weekend on the medium tire. We know it would have been a hard race all the way to the end but we’d been fastest in warm-up, so that’s something at least. My crew are working so hard, and we tried something different for today. We’ll have to try again in Austria.”

Joan Mir – DNF

“My feelings in the race were my best feelings of the whole weekend. We modified the setting a bit and it was the right choice. I was just behind Luca, controlling the rear tyre life and waiting for the best moment to make a move. Unfortunately, when Morbidelli went past I had a warning come up on the dash and I had to retire. Now we check the bike. It’s a shame because I think I could have scored points today.”

Miguel Oliveira – DNF

“I’m a little bit bruised, but nothing too serious. I did just a couple of corners and I was already in turn 6 when Raul’s bike hit mine and that was it. I braked a little bit too late and went wide, then Raul was inside and his bike just hit my bike. So, there is no blame to give, it was an absolute shame that ended both of our races and the reality is that we’re going back home with no points, even if this was a good chance to score. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Raul Fernandez – DNF

“First of all, I would like to say sorry to the entire team because I crashed and the moment that I was on the ground my bike hit Miguel. It was quite difficult today, yesterday we had some problems with the soft tire and so on the grid we decided to use the hard front. We found that was the best choice but at the beginning of the race I made a mistake with a full tank and I crashed. I didn’t touch Miguel before the crash, but just took him out once I went down. We worked really well so now I feel very upset with myself and so sorry to the team. This was such an important weekend and because of my mistake, nobody gets points. In the Warm Up this morning, I felt very comfortable with the bike and I think, in the race, I could have reached the top 10, but I lost all chances for me and also for Miguel and I’m really sorry about that.”

Team Managers

Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager

“All riders did a fantastic race and today was another highly exciting Sunday. The battle on the track was incredible and I’m truly happy for Enea, who managed to get his first Sunday race win of the season. His pace in the final laps was unmatched, which shows that when he also performs well in qualifying, he can battle for the win on every occasion. Pecco did well in bringing home a good result despite the grip issues encountered in the end and managing to stay close to the championship lead in the process. In two weeks’ time there’ll be another opportunity to do well in Austria, on a track where our technical package has always been competitive.”

Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager

“A great comeback for all our riders. Fabio is getting closer and closer to the Top3 and he really had an exemplary race conduct. He started well, he managed the tires and finished very strong and close to the podium. For sure it will arrive! Marco also did well, he needs to find these positive feelings again. Yesterday he took a big hit, but he didn’t give up and today he kept a good pace. A special Sunday for the Team also with the special Sun&Moon livery: Valentino will forever be a fundamental chapter of MotoGP.”

Massimo Rivola – Aprilia

“First of all, congratulations to Aleix for his 329 Grand Prix races. As for the race, managing rear tyre wear continues to be a challenge for us. Aprilia confirmed that we are fast at Silverstone, as Espargaró’s record lap in qualifying and in the race demonstrate, but over the long distance, we were not competitive. Expectations were high for Maverick as well, but unfortunately, we were unable to pull out our best.”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“Sometimes we are reminded that this is motorsport! The weekend started so well and then did not finish as we wished. I think we have to look towards the positives and that we had good feedback on the parts we tested, qualifying was strong and we had good speed. Today was obviously not what we expected, including Jack’s lack of rear grip because we were quite sure about the tire choice. We’ll look forward to the next race – our home race – where we will concentrate all our efforts. We’ll also have Pol [Espargaro] with us.”

Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Team Manager

“This weekend in England was trickier than what we expected. After yesterday’s sprint, we had hopes that we could perform well today, but the truth is that as soon as both Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez lost the performance on the rear tyre, everything became tricky, and the bike was difficult to ride. Pedro tried to find options, and somehow he managed to keep a decent pace. In these conditions, a P9 is probably the best we could do, we have to accept it. On his side, Augusto struggled to maintain the pace and finished outside of the points, which was not our target. Everyone in the garage and back at the factory is working extremely hard to improve our package, and we are all doing everything we can to achieve our target. Next race will be very special, in Austria at the home of Pierer Mobility, so let’s analyse everything from the weekend, and arrive in Spielberg strong.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“It was another tough GP weekend, but this is to be expected when you use GPs to test many things on the bike. Fabio had a good start again and that allowed him to ultimately battle for a top-10 position, and he came very close. Of course, the top 10 is not our goal – we want to be fighting for podiums and wins, but to get there we have to do the legwork first. After such an historically-significant GP, our thoughts go out to Álex, who we are sure is very disappointed to have missed it. We wish him a speedy recovery, and we hope to be able to welcome him in our garage in Austria.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Team Manager

“This Silverstone race result is obviously very disappointing. As a team there is no worse scenario than your two riders taking each other out. The reason was clear; Raul was tight on his line, he had to brake hard and deep and basically took out Miguel. One corner in the first lap having both riders on the floor – this is definitely not what you wish as a team, but it’s the reality. Of course, these boys are trying hard to do their best, but unfortunately things like that happen. Luckily both are unhurt and we are able to focus on Austria and this is where our attention needs to move on to now.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Team Manager

“That was, of course, a disappointing Sunday but these are things that can happen. Raul tried to avoid contact while braking but, at the end, he crashed and thereby he also made Miguel crash. This is obviously a very unfortunate situation, very sad to be in that position on the first lap of a race, where we think we could have done something good. There’s nothing we can do, that’s the sport, that’s racing and we just look forward to the next one. The positive is that, at the end of the day, Miguel was feeling comfortable with the bike and Raul adapted very quickly to the 2024 RS-GP. Both got on to the new aero package, so we take that and look forward to Austria.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“Thanks to the consistent performance and versatility of our tyres, we had some very intense battles throughout the weekend, regardless of the compound chosen.  The weather conditions were quite good, although the temperature differences recorded on the ground throughout the weekend changed the situation. The fact that all the rubber compounds were used in the races demonstrated the relevance of the work carried out in advance by our teams. While certain technical choices were essential for the races, we were also able to see that the overlap zones of the performance windows of our tyres were a real asset. When the track changes quickly under the effects of the wind, it counts! Here at Silverstone, the level of wear is not very high, but the acceleration and braking generate high loads, and the riders need stability, including from a thermal point of view as they approach braking points. The metronomic performance observed, as well as the various lap records broken this weekend, demonstrate that we have worked in the right direction.”

MotoGP Silverstone Race Results

Silverstone MotoGP Top Speeds Across Weekend

MotoGP Championship Standings