Honda team-mates Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) shared the podium with race winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) at Silverstone.

Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) made it three Hondas in the top four with a fighting ride to fourth, his best-ever MotoGP result, just behind his fellow RC213V riders.

Stoner was in the lead group from the very beginning, shadowing Ben Spies (Yamaha) in the early laps before moving into first place on lap five. The Australian kept pushing hard, opening a gap of almost one second at one point, but in the end he could not resist Lorenzo because he lacked edge grip, especially from the left side of the rear tyre.

Championship leader Lorenzo first took the lead on lap 11, Stoner immediately fighting back. The pair swapped position several times on the next lap, Lorenzo coming out of this skirmish in front and leaving his rival to come under increasing pressure from Pedrosa.

During the latter stages of the race Stoner, Pedrosa and Bautista circulated together, the two full-factory riders eventually dropping Bautista. In the final lap Pedrosa did everything he could to pass Stoner, but then decided that attacking at the final chicane might be too risky, so they finished in that order, 0.286s apart.

Stoner and Pedrosa also struggled with the new construction Bridgestone front tyre, which from this race is the only option for the rest of the season. Both men find the tyre deflects too much during braking, making it difficult for them to stay with their rivals.

Bautista turned his season around this weekend, scoring his first-ever pole position yesterday, then running with the lead group throughout the race to finish just 5.196s behind the winner. The secret to this renaissance was two recent test sessions, during which his crew modified steering geometry and front suspension settings to put more weight on the front for better braking stability and turning.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) rode to a brave eighth-place finish after injuring the fourth finger on his left hand when he crashed on Saturday morning. The injury made the start and the rest of the race a real challenge for the reigning Moto2 World Champion.

Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR-Honda) had a strong ride to 13th, crossing the line as the third CRT machine, just three seconds behind top CRT rider Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia). Pirro used a new FTR frame and fairing for the first time here.

Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex) scored a brilliant victory in the Honda-powered Moto2 race, first event of the day. The Spaniard was joined on the podium by Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team-Kalex) and Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter) who fought a thrilling battle for second place during the final few laps.

Espargaro started from pole, but it was Britons Redding and Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing – Tech 3) who made the early running, swapping the lead no less than four times in the first lap. Espargaro was right behind them, however, with Andrea Iannone (Speed Master – Speed Up) and Marquez next up.

By one-third distance Espargaro was homing in on Redding, eventually finding his way past as they swept down Hangar straight for the eighth time. And that was that – Espargaro had more pace than anyone here and quickly built an unassailable lead. His second win of the year – after Jerez – puts him second in the championship, six points behind Marquez.

Things were less certain behind the leader, with Marquez, Redding and Iannone swapping places repeatedly. During the closing stages Iannone slipped backwards to argue over fourth place with Simone Corsi (Came Ioda Racing Project – FTR), focusing the interest on the Redding/Marquez duel.

With four laps remaining Marquez moved past the Briton, using a slight speed advantage on Hangar straight. But every time he got in front, Redding counter-attacked. On the final lap Marquez again outpaced Redding down Hangar, but he got into Stowe a bit hot and had to fight a wobble on the exit. That allowed Redding to get alongside and make a pass on the brakes into Vale. The pair touched as they fought for position at the final corner and were separated by a mere 0.059s at the flag.

Iannone bettered Corsi by less than one second for fourth place. Claudio Corti (Italtrans Racing Team – Kalex) finished sixth, just a fraction ahead of Smith and Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock-Suter). Luthi had a difficult weekend. He fell in practice and then nearly fell on the first lap today, which lost him contact with the leaders. Later he recorded the fastest lap of the race, but his eighth-place finish lost him the World Championship lead.

Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda) came out on top of a breathtaking Moto3 race, the last GP event of the day. At one point in the second half of the race there were 11 riders in the lead group, positions changing constantly from first place to 11th. In the final laps, however, Vinales upped his pace and only Luis Salom (KTM) and Sandro Cortese (KTM) were able to go with him.

Spaniard Salom led on several occasions and got back in front on the penultimate lap, but Vinales always seemed able to find a way past his compatriot. Cortese also found his way past Salom on the last lap but Salom counter-attacked at the final chicane to grab the runner-up sport. Vinales’ third win of the year moved him back into the World Championship lead, two points ahead of Cortese.

In the final few laps the second group comprised seven riders, the six survivors crossing the finish line separated by just 1.108s. Le Mans winner Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany – FTR Honda) was the only one of the group not to finish, the Frenchman tumbling with just a few hundred metres to go. Alexis Masbou (Caretta Technology – Honda) came out on top of this particular contest, his best result of the year.

Efren Vazquez (JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda) was next up in fifth, with Romano Fenati (Team Italian FMI – FTR- Honda) seventh. Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0.0 – Suter Honda) finished tenth, six seconds behind the second group.

The MotoGP circus now returns to the continent for a gruelling run of three GPs on consecutive weekends. The Dutch TT first, on Saturday June 30, then the German and Italian GPs.

MotoGP

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 2nd

“It wasn’t a great race for us today, we saw the pace the Yamahas had in the early laps and it was really worrying to me. As early as lap three the bike wasn’t feeling good, especially on the left side, the tyre destroyed itself almost immediately. My plan was to try and get to the front and hold them up, but Ben was proving difficult to pass, then he made a small mistake and I was able to slip through and I tried to hold it from there. We knew we didn’t have a better pace than the other riders and it wouldn’t be long until they were on us, so I did what I could to stay in front. We were losing so much grip on the edge of the tyre that we had no mid-corner speed and we were having to make up for this with the entry and a clean exit, which made things difficult. Today we needed a little more grip and we would have been able to fight for the win, but looking at the rear tyres at the end of the race, there was definitely something wrong with ours.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd

“I have mixed feelings after this race. I’m happy to be on the podium at this circuit for several reasons: it’s a track where I have always struggled a lot. We had a very tough weekend – It wasn’t easy for us to learn the circuit and set up the bike with these weather conditions. Also, I didn’t have one of my best race starts. I was seventh on the first lap, but I managed to remain calm and get faster lap after lap, maintaining my rhythm. I saw that Jorge was the man to follow, so I managed to pass Dovizioso, Bautista and Spies and caught Casey, who was second. But at this time, Jorge was gone and I tried twice to pass Casey, but he pulled a little again and in the last chicane, I tried to overtake him, but I had a flash in my mind and I saw both Repsol Hondas on the ground, so I settled for third place. It’s positive to both be on the podium if we consider that it’s the first race for the team with this new front tyre, but for the championship it is not good. We need to make a step forward to solve the problems we have with the chattering because right now, Jorge is too strong for the Hondas.”

Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 4th

“It has been a great weekend and it has confirmed the progress we have made since Catalunya. I am so happy to finish so close to the podium. Maybe I could have attacked for third at the end, but it would have been risky and I just wanted to run with them to the end and not make mistakes. We have brought home some big points for the championship, which was important for me and the team. Yesterday on pole and today just five seconds off the win – that is a very positive weekend and I hope we can continue from here. I’m pleased with the progress we have made, which is credit to the team engineers and to Showa. Our objective now is to take another step forward and run with the front guys on a more consistent basis.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 8th

“We can be happy overall because today we improved our pace, both in the warm-up and in the race. Unfortunately yesterday I crashed in FP3 and that cost us a lot of track time, but it could be worse than this: I mean I could have broken my finger. So it’s not been the perfect weekend for us, but we have to take the positive things. Today my start was not perfect due to the injured finger and I lost the feeling for the first laps. Then I got passed by some riders and it was tough to overtake them again. In the middle of the race Crutchlow passed me and I made a small mistake with the clutch because the downshifting was harder with this painful finger. Anyway our lap times until the end of the race were pretty fast so this means we have a good potential.”

Michel Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 13th

“I tried my best to the end, but I am a little disappointed that I couldn’t get close enough to attack the two guys in front of me. Anyway I am happy because we have taken another step forward this weekend and now we can be fighting with them more often. Another step forward from here and then we will really be having fun.”

Moto2

Pol Espargaro, Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex: race winner

“The race was so difficult and so fast – I couldn’t have imagined it would be so fast. I tried to push at the start because Scott’s first laps were incredibly quick. Then we got ahead and made a little gap, and when I saw that Marc had got into second I pushed a bit harder to make more of a gap, so I could be alone at the end of the race. It was completely perfect. The feeling is great with the team and my feeling with the Kalex is also so good.”

Scott Redding, Marc VDS Racing Team-Kalex: 2nd

“I’d led quite a bit of the race, so when I knew Marc was coming I was like, come on dude! He passed me on the straight, but he was also fast in the corners. I knew it would be elbows at the finish, because we are both hard riders. I made my move at turn four on the last lap, I was a bit late in there, I’ll admit it. After that I could feel he was right there behind me and I could feel the crowd too. He passed me again on the straight and I knew the only place I could pass him was at the final chicane. He had a slide [out of Stowe] and I was sliding too. It was very intense! Okay, so I’m going to go for it on the brakes. It worked and after that I tried to hold a tight line in the final corner. I could see his orange front wheel on the inside and the finish line 100 metres away – you can’t do this to me! We came together and touched at that point. It was a great race.”

Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter: 3rd

“It’s been such a difficult weekend for us – we’ve struggled with the set-up here. During morning warm-up we found something, so I was more confident on the bike, but still not enough. I tried to do my best, but I think in the race I actually had less confidence with the bike. I’m happy for the 16 points for the championship and now we will think how to make things better for Assen.”

Moto3

Maverick Vinales, Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda: race winner

“It was another very difficult, very tough, with lots of hard overtaking, but in the end we pushed very hard, as hard as the tyres would allow, and we timed our attack at the right moment. We did a very good race and I think we worked well all weekend – pole and victory is the best you can hope for. Now we are looking towards then next race and how we can improve the bike, always working step by step.”

Alexis Masbou, Caretta Technology – Honda: 4th

“I am happy even, though I was hoping for something more. I started well and had a good feeling, but a clutch problem forced me to slow down. Riding in those conditions was not easy because the rhythm of the top riders was really high. I thank the team for their good work.”

Efren Vazquez, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda: 5th

“It was a difficult race. Of course, not the kind of result I hoped. I knew there would be a quarrelsome group, but to me, what we had today wasn’t racing – all that was happening is that we were annoying each other! The team is working hard and well, but we still need a little more motor in order to fight for the podium. Forgetting what happened in the race, the weekend has not been too bad. We are working well and always moving forward, but of course after being second in qualifying I was expecting a better result.”

MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix
Round 06: Great Britain

MotoGP

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha Factory Racing)
2	Casey STONER (Repsol Honda Team)
3	Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)
4	Alvaro BAUTISTA (San Carlo Honda Gresini)
5	Ben SPIES (Yamaha Factory Racing)
6	Cal CRUTCHLOW (Monster Yamaha Tech 3)
7	Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati Team)
8	Stefan BRADL (LCR Honda MotoGP)
9	Valentino ROSSI (Ducati Team)
10	Hector BARBERA (Pramac Racing Team)
11	Aleix ESPARGARO (Power Electronics Aspar)
12	Randy DE PUNIET (Power Electronics Aspar)
13	Michele PIRRO (San Carlo Honda Gresini)
14	James ELLISON (Paul Bird Motorsport)
15	Yonny HERNANDEZ (Avintia Blusens)

Moto2

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	Pol ESPARGARO (Pons 40 HP Tuenti)
2	Scott REDDING (Marc VDS Racing Team)
3	Marc MARQUEZ (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol)
4	Andrea IANNONE (Speed Master)
5	Simone CORSI (Came IodaRacing Project)
6	Claudio CORTI (Italtrans Racing Team)
7	Bradley SMITH (Tech 3 Racing)
8	Thomas LUTHI (Interwetten-Paddock)
9	Dominique AEGERTER (Technomag-CIP)
10	Mika KALLIO (Marc VDS Racing Team)
11	Alex DE ANGELIS (NGM Mobile Forward Racing)
12	Toni ELIAS (Mapfre Aspar Team)
13	Esteve RABAT (Pons 40 HP Tuenti)
14	Randy KRUMMENACHER (GP Team Switzerland)
15	Ratthapark WILAIROT (Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2)

Moto3

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	Maverick VINALES (Blusens Avintia)
2	Luis SALOM (RW Racing GP)
3	Sandro CORTESE (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
4	Alexis MASBOU (Caretta Technology)
5	Efren VAZQUEZ (JHK Laglisse)
6	Danny KENT (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
7	Romano FENATI (Team Italia FMI)
8	Arthur SISSIS (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
9	Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN (AirAsia-Sic-Ajo)
10	Miguel OLIVEIRA (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
11	Jakub KORNFEIL (Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta)
12	Hector FAUBEL (Bankia Aspar Team)
13	Niccolo` ANTONELLI (San Carlo Gresini Moto3)
14	Niklas AJO (TT Motion Events Racing)
15	Alberto MONCAYO (Bankia Aspar Team)