The British Grand Prix also saw Aprilia dominate MotoGP, writing a new chapter in a dream story built week after week throughout 2026: for the first time ever, at the end of a race weekend, three riders from the Noale-based manufacturer lead the riders' championship. The standings appear increasingly in the hands of Jorge Martin, who crossed the line second behind a brilliant Raul Fernandez. But Marco Bezzecchi once again impressed, finishing third after a battle-hardened Sunday on the extremely difficult Silverstone track, just 23 days after undergoing double surgery on his collarbone and leg. Ducati suffered a setback, particularly with Pecco Bagnaia, but Marc Marquez also had to pick up the pieces of a difficult day. Ai Ogura, too, retired and the only dark spot in the Aprilia camp.
The pitfalls of Silverstone are easily understood from one statistic. The last 12 MotoGP Grands Prix held here have seen as many different winners: Lorenzo, Marc Márquez, Valentino Rossi, Viñales, Dovizioso, Rins, Quartararo, Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaró, Bastianini, Bezzecchi, and indeed Raúl Fernández. The latter's race was masterful: leading the pack after the first corner, he built a significant gap in the first half of the race and managed to maintain it in the finale even in the face of tire wear. Indeed, by lap five, his advantage over his closest rival exceeded three seconds, rising to 4.5 by lap nine. At the checkered flag, it was just over 2.5 seconds, enough to become the fourth rider out of four to win at least one long race for Aprilia in 2026: another statistic, in addition to his third podium monopoly of the season, that helps explain the Noale manufacturer's current dominance.
But the British Grand Prix also had other issues. Martin, dominating the Sprint Race, and Ogura had a poor start, even being overtaken by a determined Marc Marquez: the problem was the brake-lowering device, one of Aprilia's few current concerns. The riders who managed to get around him were, as mentioned, Fernandez, but also Bezzecchi, who immediately moved into second place. It was difficult to hold onto him with his obvious physical problems, but the returning Martin managed to overtake him only on the ninth lap. On the following lap, Ogura crashed, while Marc Marquez (also far from his best athletically) was already in serious trouble, being overtaken by his brother Alex, Pedro Acosta, and, on the third-to-last lap, even Fabio Di Giannantonio. He finished seventh, contributing to a small revolution in the riders' standings.
While Martin is increasingly solitary in first place, many riders are shifting positions behind him. Bezzecchi's courageous third-place finish, after being attacked in vain by Alex Marquez for at least five laps, allows the rider from Romagna to move back into second place, 31 points behind his teammate. Ogura's retirement is a heavy blow, dropping him to 37 points after a day he started 17 points behind. Marc Marquez's difficulties, however, have brought the world champion back to 40 points behind and, more importantly, to fourth place in the championship, the one that "Bez" had occupied during the break. And watch out for Di Giannantonio, sixth and putting in his usual solid performance, who has since moved back to 41 points behind. But at Ducati, it's Bagnaia in particular who has fallen into an unsolvable black hole: starting sixteenth, Pecco finishes the first lap in 14th place, only to find himself 18th by lap three after being overtaken by Razgatlioglu's Honda Pramac. His ordeal ended on the eighth lap with a crash that paradoxically seemed like a lifesaver: a retirement prevents us from fully understanding how far behind the leader is the man who was fighting for the title just two years ago.
