Silverstone MotoGP: Motorsport.com's rider ratings
The British Grand Prix delivered a seventh different MotoGP winner in as many races, but who else shone at Silverstone? Jamie Klein and Valentin Khorounzhiy assess the field.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Jorge Lorenzo - 4
Yamaha looked out of sorts compared to its usual dry-weather form for much of the Silverstone weekend, but it was Lorenzo who suffered the most. There was a certain irony in that he felt he made a step forward in wet qualifying, only to trail home a distant eighth when it was dry on Sunday. The reigning champion said a "gamble" on harder suspension was partly to blame for his lack of pace, but his title defence is surely over now that he's 64 points behind Marquez.
Valentino Rossi - 7
Like teammate Lorenzo, Rossi never quite got on terms with the dry pace of Vinales, Marquez, Crutchlow or even Iannone at Silverstone, but at least gave himself the best possible chance of a podium finish by annexing a spot on the front row behind Crutchlow in tricky conditions. From there, Rossi's raw speed was probably only enough for fifth, but a combination of canny racecraft and sheer consistency booked 'The Doctor' the final spot on the podium.
Marc Marquez - 6
The way Marquez went about trying to make up for his Honda's shortcomings at Silverstone was very much reminiscent of some of his wilder antics last year - indeed, the two-time champion later admitted that he pushed it too far on this occasion. He really ought to have been on the podium, but cost himself dear with his rather speculative attempt to pass Crutchlow at Stowe on the penultimate lap - and was lucky to be able to recover a spot on Pedrosa before the chequered flag.
Dani Pedrosa - 6
Pedrosa beating Marquez in qualifying is a rare occurrence indeed these days, and seemed to be a sign that the 30-year-old is slowly recovering his confidence after a very shaky mid-season patch. Remained firmly in touch with the second group behind Vinales for the majority of the race, briefly getting the better of Marquez in the battle of the Repsol Hondas but ultimately settling for fifth - his best result since standing on the podium at Barcelona.
Andrea Dovizioso - 7
Did not have much of an answer to Iannone in practice, qualifying or even the race – until his teammate crashed out. But, with both works Ducatis riders suffering from arm pain, Dovizioso deserves credit for pacing himself better than his teammate and ensuring that he brought home a result. Finishing sixth - ahead of a works Suzuki and a works Yamaha - was a respectable enough conclusion to a tough weekend.
Andrea Iannone - 6
Depending on your point of view, Iannone crashing out of second was either evidence that the Spielberg win hasn't instantly fixed all of his shortcomings or an unfortunate outcome for a rider suffering from severe forearm pain. Whatever the case, he does deserve credit for scything his way through the order and running at a level way higher than any of the other Ducati riders.
Maverick Vinales - 10
Anyone doubting that Vinales had potential to be one of MotoGP's 'aliens' surely has to revise their opinion after what can only be described as a virtuoso display at Silverstone. Taking full advantage of the Suzuki's agility through the Maggotts/Becketts complex and the final sector, the Spaniard had asserted his authority by the end of the opening lap of the restarted race, and controlled the pace from there as if it was his 50th win, rather than his very first.
Aleix Espargaro - 5
Harsh it may sound, Silverstone provided the clearest demonstration yet of why Suzuki would have felt little need to retain Espargaro for 2017 once they knew Vinales was on his way out. Six seconds off the pace in qualifying, the Granollers-born rider showed solid enough pace in the race (setting the third fastest lap behind Vinales and Crutchlow), but spent far too long behind an ailing Lorenzo and made little impression thereafter.
Cal Crutchlow - 9
What a summer it has been for Crutchlow: second at the Sachsenring, a win at Brno and now pole followed by an excellent runner-up spot on home turf at Silverstone. Despite his dominant qualifying performance, the LCR Honda was clearly not a match for the Suzuki of Vinales on race day - but, after coming out on top in fierce battles with both Rossi and Marquez, he extracted the best result possible as he claimed his best dry-weather finish of his tenure with Honda.
Alex Lowes - 7
Standing in for the injured Bradley Smith, Lowes said heading into the weekend that the difference between MotoGP and his usual series World Superbikes was not as big as people perceived – and he produced the performance to back that claim up. Impressed by qualifying just 0.029s off teammate Espargaro in the wet, and then ran a very reasonable, steady race to P13 on Sunday to bag three points on his debut.
Pol Espargaro - 6
Well clear of new teammate Alex Lowes in the dry, Espargaro just missed out on an automatic bye to Q2 when conditions took a turn for the worse on Saturday – understandable on a weekend where the Yamaha YZR-M1 did not look at home. The Spaniard then couldn't advance from Q1, and was wiped out in that terrifying first-lap shunt along with Loris Baz, an accident in which he was definitely the blameless party.
Scott Redding - 4
Seemed to have teammate Petrucci's number for most of the weekend, both in the wet and in the dry, and seemed on course for a decent enough finish after qualifying P7. The two crashes in the race, of course, put paid to any such hopes - Redding complained of a lack of front feeling after the restart, causing his initial tumble, before continuing on a "bent" bike inevitably led to a second fall late on.
Danilo Petrucci - 6
A surprise omission from Q2 given the weather, established rain-ace Petrucci unusually struggled for one-lap pace on Saturday, but felt some confidence about race trim. He ended the grand prix a perfectly respectable ninth, well adrift of the factory stars (and Crutchlow) but also comfortably ahead of other privateers on a day that teammate Redding ended up scoring nothing.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Yamamoto 'never imagined' scoring podium on injury comeback in Super Formula
Pourchaire “worried” for Super Formula prospects after nightmare debut
How Cassidy emerged triumphant from "mayhem" in Portland FE slow-burner
Why Rossi's serious approach to car racing in 2024 may create a dilemma
Valentino Rossi's team-mates revealed for BMW WEC and GTWCE campaigns
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi to sample LMP2 car in Bahrain rookie test
2024 NASCAR All-Star Race format includes different tire compounds
Brake issues hinder Rosenqvist’s chances for victory in Long Beach
Power “didn't have any defense” against Dixon due to tire strategy
Ayrton Senna's personal Honda NSX on sale for £500,000
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments