A weekend of highs and lows, joy and disappointment. In MotoGP, Pecco struggles and raises a warning sign within the team, while Moto2 delivers what the premier class could not: Ortolà takes second place on the podium after a spectacular race!
The British GP got off to a difficult start for our Pecco Bagnaia: 16th place in qualifying (his worst result of the season) and a Ducati that gave him virtually no feeling. The recurring issue was above all grip, something Pecco says he has been unable to find consistently since the beginning of the season. Saturday’s Sprint confirmed the worrying signs: 17th and last among the Ducati riders who finished the race. The rear tyre completely dropped off towards the end, to the point that Bagnaia said he was barely able to get his knee down on the asphalt. On Sunday, the hope was at least to limit the damage. Pecco started from 16th and managed to climb up to 15th, but his pace was still far from the top ten. Then, on Lap 9, the final blow: a crash on corner exit forced him to retire. It was an especially difficult incident to explain even for Bagnaia himself, who described an almost instantaneous loss of the front, something he had never experienced before, as the crash did not happen on corner entry, as would normally be expected, but on exit. Moto2, fortunately, delivered a spectacular display and a showcase of the talent of our Ivan Ortolà, who led the race for several laps. An outstanding demonstration of his talent and physical and mental strength, which saw him bring the 12th round of the season to a close on the second step of the podium, raising his S1 XR-GP high into the air.
SPRINT RACE
Silverstone 2026 will be a Sprint Race our Pecco will probably not be eager to remember in the future. Francesco, starting from 16th on the grid, crossed the finish line in 17th place. Bagnaia was never able to find the pace needed to recover ground and, particularly during the second half of the Sprint, had to deal with a significant drop in rear tyre performance. The issue progressively compromised his performance, making any meaningful comeback attempt impossible. The British Sprint therefore ended with no points and more questions than answers.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting these difficulties. Unfortunately, we have been struggling with grip throughout this weekend: because I can’t get the bike to stop, I have to push very hard through the corners with the throttle to make it turn, and this leads to extremely high tyre consumption. I made a good start, moving from 16th to 12th, but unfortunately I was struggling and there were many riders who were faster than me. Towards the end, I was even struggling to touch the asphalt with my knee. We need to find a different approach to really understand why we are lacking so much rear grip.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Sprint Race 17°
RACE
A DNF: that was the conclusion of Pecco Bagnaia‘s Sunday at Silverstone. After an extremely difficult Sprint Race, the Ducati rider was unable to turn things around in the full-length British Grand Prix, bringing to an early end a race that had seen him start from 16th on the grid. Bagnaia tried to manage the initial difficulties and recover ground, but once again the feeling with the Ducati was missing. His pace did not allow him to close in on the leading positions and, after just a few laps, his race ended with a crash. A particularly bitter outcome for Pecco, especially considering the work carried out by the team in an attempt to find a solution to the grip issues that had emerged throughout the weekend. Even in the race, however, the bike failed to give the rider the sensations he needed to ride with his usual effectiveness. The Silverstone result therefore leaves Bagnaia without points and with the need to quickly turn the page. The British weekend highlighted significant difficulties, but also the determination of both rider and team to continue working to understand the causes of a situation that, race after race, is making the relationship between Pecco and his Ducati increasingly complicated. The objective now is to leave Silverstone behind, analyse all the data collected over the weekend and rediscover as soon as possible the feeling that has allowed Bagnaia to be a leading force at the highest level of MotoGP a feeling that increasingly seems like a distant and faded memory.
“Unfortunately, here at Silverstone, I struggled throughout the entire weekend. I knew that, in the race, I wouldn’t be able to fight with the front runners, so I tried to stay calm at the beginning, aiming to improve lap by lap. I was managing to do that, as I started lapping in the 1:59s without destroying the rear tyre, until the crash. I didn’t expect to lose the front on corner exit. It was an unusual crash, probably one of the strangest I have ever experienced. We will analyse the data to understand what happened.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Race DNF
MOTO 2
Ivan Ortolà secured a valuable second place in the British Grand Prix Moto2 race, at the end of one of the most fiercely contested and spectacular races of the Silverstone weekend and indeed of the 2026 season so far. The QJMOTOR Biolec MSI rider was one of the protagonists of a strong and hard-fought race, remaining within the leading group for all 17 laps and fighting for victory right up to the chequered flag. In a race characterised by constant position changes, Ortolà was able to maintain his composure and pace, securing an important result on an especially demanding day. He crossed the finish line just 0.303 seconds behind the winner, once again confirming his place among the leading riders in the category. For Ortolà, this represents another highly valuable result in a season that has already seen him claim two victories, first at Brno and then at the Sachsenring. Silverstone therefore adds another important chapter to the Spanish rider’s development. On the fast British circuit, Ortolà once again demonstrated his competitiveness, speed and ability to manage pressure during the decisive stages of a race. A second place that is worth far more than the points alone: Ortolà leaves Silverstone with the confidence that he has firmly established himself among the leading protagonists of Moto2, together with renewed belief ahead of the remainder of the season.
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #SuomyCrew during the weekend in Great Britain.
