2023 British GP MotoGP Rider Ratings - Aprilia Glory In The British Rain
Categories: MotoGP
On a weekend with unsteady weather, the British Grand Prix provided plenty of MotoGP action. Here are MGP1’s 2023 British Grand Prix rider ratings.
Aleix Espargaro - 10
Started: 12th
Sprint: 5th (+7)
Race: 1st (+11)
From twelfth on the grid, expectations were probably low for Aleix Espargaro, for both races. A good performance saw him finish fifth in the Sprint as an even better performance on Sunday was looming on the horizon.
A brilliant first lap meant he immediately gained six positions in the Grand Prix and his great pace put him in victory contention.
He seized upon the opportunity with a brave move at Maggotts that gave him his second career MotoGP victory. He remains Aprilia’s sole MotoGP race winner.
Francesco Bagnaia - 8
Started: 4th
Sprint: 14th (-10)
Race: 2nd (+2)
Given the smart race he rode on Sunday, it’s more Saturday’s performances that means Bagnaia isn’t higher on this weekend’s ratings.
In the main race, he did the wise thing of pushing as hard as he was comfortable with in tricky conditions before settling for safe points.
But a champion of his calibre shouldn’t still be having a complete nightmare result in the wet, and finishing the sprint far outside the points should be raising red flags about where the all-conquering combination of Bagnaia and Ducati still has room for improvement.
Brad Binder - 8
Started: 10th
Sprint: 9th (-1)
Race: 3rd (+7)
With conditions very much in his territory, with a damp track in both races that called for brave moves, many expected Brad Binder would be right at the sharp end. However, not much came together in Saturday’s wet Sprint at Silverstone.
After claiming the final sprint race point, Binder was back to his best in the Grand Prix as he battled hard throughout.
Getting the better of Maverick Vinales, Binder then did the same to Miguel Oliveira but ran out of time to have a crack at his first main race victory of the season.
Miguel Oliveira - 9
Started: 16th
Sprint: 10th (+6)
Race: 4th (+12)
Being one of the riders profiting most from tricky conditions, Miguel Oliveira showed what he’s capable of when in full health.
After the wet Sprint on Saturday didn’t give way for an even better performance than gaining six positions just shy of the points, the Portuguese went on to deliver one of the best overall performances in the main race.
Picking off Maverick Vinales late in the race, Oliveira fell just shy of a first podium finish of the season, gaining a whopping twelve positions to finish 4th at Silverstone.
Maverick Vinales - 8
Started: 8th
Sprint: 3rd (+5)
Race: 5th (+3)
Having been without a podium finish since the first race weekend of the year, Maverick Vinales was able to turn his huge potential into P3 in the sprint after impressive overtakes on Miller and Martin.
Like his teammate, Vinales certainly had the pace to challenge for victory, but his charge faded as the race entered the closing stages.
Having finally stopped his DNF streak from before the summer break, Silverstone might have come at the eexact right time for the Spaniard to get back into consistent Top 5 fights
Jorge Martin - 7
Started: 7th
Sprint: 6th (+1)
Race: 6th (+1)
Having been Francesco Bagnaia’s closest rival heading into the summer break, Jorge Martin disappointed result-wise at Silverstone.
Martin started the weekend well fighting for the early race lead in the sprint before ultimately fading and struggling for grip on the rear.
Setting out to top his P6 finish from Saturday, it got even worse on Sunday when Martin got tapped by KTM rival Brad Binder heading into Turn 1 which made him drop back to last.
Despite the huge challenge ahead and tricky conditions around Silverstone, the Spaniard managed an incredible comeback to finish 6th again.
Luca Marini - 7
Started: 6th
Sprint: 11th (-4)
Race: 7th (-1)
In a word, Luca Marini’s Silverstone was steady. There were no dramatic heroics from the VR46 Ducati racer, no particularly special performances, and if anything he was one of a few Ducati riders who really struggled on Saturday.
Able to control his pace better during the Grand Prix, Marini avoided a slid down the order despite late contact with Fabio Quartararo. Another solid points haul for the Italian who has been strong on Sundays in 2023.
But, knowing what Marini can do on the GP22, and while P7 is far from his best weekend of the year, it was a long way away from being a terrible one either.
Jack Miller - 6
Started: 2nd
Sprint: 7th (-5)
Race: 8th (-6)
Not for the first time this season Miller made a lightning start as he took the lead into turn three. But despite holding off the challenge from Jorge Martin and Bezzecchi initially, the factory KTM rider then slid back down the order as grip became an issue.
Having missed pace in the sprint on Saturday, Miller dropped all the way down to 12th in the main race after being nudged wide by Vinales in the early laps which doomed another opportunity for the Australian to fight the top positions.
Johann Zarco - 6
Started: 9th
Sprint: 4th (+5)
Race: 9th (±0)
A steady weekend with no issues for Johann Zarco, but ultimately not the result he was hoping for. A good result in the Sprint was promising ahead of the Grand Prix.
The Frenchman decided to risk though, and he decided to start with soft tires. Despite an early charge to fourth, the drop-off was too severe and only allowed the Pramac Ducati rider a ninth-place finish.
With a Bezzecchi Pramac Ducati engagement looming around the paddock, Johann Zarco’s Silverstone performance certainly wasn’t enough to convince his supremes to keep him.
Raul Fernandez - 7
Started: 20th
Sprint: 19th (+1)
Race: 10th (+10)
We are pretty sure Raul Fernandez is still not at his very best but, although profiting a bit from crashes in front, the Spaniard’s Silverstone performance showed glimpses of what he will be able to do once fully accustomed to his Aprilia.
Having desperately needed a good result just to silence some of those critics and cement his place in MotoGP, Fernandez did that in fine style at Silverstone, making sure that he didn’t miss out on the Aprilia party by completing a first: all four of its bikes in the top 10.
Augusto Fernandez - 7
Started: 5th
Sprint: 8th (-3)
Race: 11th (-6)
Augusto Fernandez continues to impress the MotoGP fans. Under a fair bit of pressure with Pedro Acosta’s MotoGP step-up looming above the GASGAS Tech3 team, Fernandez put in an epic qualifying performance on Saturday morning.
Having started 5th, MotoGP’s sole 2023 rookie was able to secure a strong 8th place finish in the Sprint but fell a bit short in the main race after not being able to reproduce his Saturday race pace on an almost full dry Sunday.
Pol Espargaro - 8
Started: 15th
Sprint: 16th (-1)
Race: 12th (+3)
Keeping in mind the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was basically the first time Pol Espargaro got to take the RC-16 around a track, the Spaniard did nothing wrong in mostly keeping out of everything and prioritizing finishing.
Finishing just one place behind his more 2023-experienced teammate is mental given what the GASGAS Tech3 rider went through in the last couple of months.
Fabio Di Giannantonio - 6
Started: 18th
Sprint: 12th (+6)
Race: 13th (+5)
Working his way through six riders to finish twelfth in the Sprint should have been just the start for a big comeback later the weekend for Fabio Di Gianntonio.
Given the desperate situation he is in and with a MotoGP exit very much imminent, going for the wets early hoping for some rain magic on Sunday was understandable.
However, although some solid pace until then, the Italian robbed himself of a chance at a great main race performance.
Franco Morbidelli - 5
Started: 11th
Sprint: 15th (-4)
Race: 14th (-3)
Fighting his way through Q1 to qualify 11th on the grid was pretty good, especially considering Franco Morbidelli beat his teammate once again.
However, trying to keep up the top-ten pace in the sprint, the Italian faded massively towards the end to finish 15th.
Like on Saturday, Morbidelli started Sunday’s main race off well, however, after a small mistake later in the free agent was not able to claw back the positions lost. Desperately pitting to swap to wets when the rain started to hit the track didn’t pay off.
Fabio Quartararo - 2
Started: 22nd
Sprint: 21st (+1)
Race: 15th (+6)
Probably the worst weekend of his career for Fabio Quartararo. The first sign that Fabio Quartararo was in trouble at Silverstone was when he finished Q1 not only last on the grid but a full seven seconds behind recently-sacked team-mate Morbidelli.
That he wasn’t able to climb up the ladder in the sprint shows his horrendous qualifying performance wasn’t just a one-off.
Sunday started slightly better for the Frenchman who certainly had a great main race until losing a big amount of bodywork in a failed overtake on Luca Marini.
The single point he took home is a drop in the ocean considering Quartararo profited from crashes and failed flag-to-flag decisions.
Takaaki Nakagami - 3
Started: 21st
Sprint: 20th (+1)
Race: 16th (+5)
Despite a new fairing that looked suspiciously like Ducati’s solution, Takaaki Nakagami could not get any more performance out of the RC213V.
Although the bike is most likely the most hindering part of the whole Nakagami-Honda package, you would, knowing Nakagami is a well-experienced MotoGP veteran, expect the Japanese to score at least a single point in flag-to-flag situations.
Iker Lecuona - 6
Started: 17th
Sprint: 22nd (-5)
Race: 17th (±0)
Albeit finishing both British Grand Prix races at the bottom of the field, Iker Lecuona did all he could in the tricky British weather.
Subbing in for Alex Rins the Spaniard’s job was to stay out of trouble, collect some data and bring the bike home. Still finishing ahead of one or the other established MotoGP rider would have been nice considering Lecuona started 17th on the grid.
Marco Bezzecchi - 5
Started: 1st
Sprint: 2nd (-1)
Race: DNF
Marco Bezzecchi was the man to beat in the sprint after starting from pole position. Thinking about the championship, the Italian calculated the risk and was happy with the second-place finish he got thinking about the championship.
However, it’s all the more surprising that he recklessly threw away what could have been another important top-position finish in the fight for the title on Sunday.
Given Bezzecchi had gotten a warning a lap before in the same corner, crashing out in 2nd when rival Jorge Martin was not able to fight for the Top 5 could come in costly at the end of the season.
Alex Marquez - 9
Started: 3rd
Sprint: 1st (+2)
Race: DNF
After a solid start to the sprint race, Marquez made two overtakes in four corners which allowed him to take over the lead of the race. A brilliant performance in difficult conditions, Marquez secured his first win despite late pressure from Bezzecchi.
In the main race, Marquez was in P3 after the initial stages and on course for another big result before a problem with his Gresini bike meant he had to enter pit lane and retire.
Enea Bastianini - 4
Started: 13th
Sprint: 13th (±0)
Race: DNF
Knowing from 2022, Enea Bastianini was good for quite the comeback after a bad qualifying, starting 13th after a wet Saturday morning was a bummer, but shouldn’t have been the problem it became.
With the Italian fully fit for the first time after a shoulder injury dogged the first half of 2023, MotoGP fans expected more from last year’s championship third.
Never really looking competitive, colliding with Marquez which subsequently caused Bastianini to crash and later retire was a fitting end to the Ducati rider’s British Grand Prix weekend.
Marc Marquez - 1
Started: 14th
Sprint: 18th (-4)
Race: DNF
Maybe for the first time in his whole MotoGP career, Marc Marquez spent most of the weekend at Silverstone resigned to his fate, simply making up the numbers and not risking too much after what has already been a punishing first half of 2023.
He managed to make things marginally worse in Sunday’s race, reverting somewhat to old-school Marquez mode, making contact with Enea Bastianini before crashing out and, as Bastianini describes it, ruining the Italian’s race. Marquez is yet to finish a main race in 2023.
Joan Mir - 2
Started: 19th
Sprint: 17th (+2)
Race: DNF
Joan Mir came back from a three-race absence to prove he is able to understand the Honda. However, after another crash, there is understandable criticism of the Spaniard’s work.
Never making any impression at all, the sole highlight of his weekend is that he was the top Honda in Saturday’s sprint before doing what he’s gained a reputation for in the main event and crashing out – his eighth non-score in a row from the opening nine grands prix of the year
