Source: Cycle World
Enea Bastianini took the win on Saturday and Sunday. (MotoGP/)In winning the Silverstone round Enea Bastianini (factory Ducati) shattered conventional expectations (it’s gotta be Bagnaia, Martín, or Márquez!) and focused attention on how this weekend began for him, and on his “weird” (Marc Márquez’s word) riding style.I have previously held forth, perhaps tediously, on the plight of several gifted riders whose sporadic success reveals their talent. The usual bushel under which they conceal their candles is that of being mysteriously faster in the race than in the practices and qualifying. This is often based upon being somehow slow on the new/soft tires that are run on Fridays and Saturdays, and remarkably faster on used tires. This, by resulting in undistinguished qualifying positions, forces them to start with the disadvantage of having to pass many riders on Sunday.Speaking Friday, Bastianini said, “It was a positive day, as I felt comfortable straight away with the base setup.” Words like these are more often heard from the top men, who are fast from FP1, advance easily to Q2, and qualify up front.The fundamental reason for being somehow slow, and therefore unable to get a front-two-rows start position? To be fast for one lap requires a quite different setup from that run in the race. The race is long, which requires being fast as the tires age and hit tire drop (it was lap 11 for many this weekend), yet must retain enough grip to fight off attacks in the final laps.Francesco Bagnaia lost valuable championship points with a crash in Saturday’s Tissot Sprint. (MotoGP/)A qualifying bike is not carrying the full load of 30 pounds of gas, but it has the extra grip usually resulting from softer-than-Sunday tire choices. Nearly all riders note that this year’s new Michelin rear tends to overcome front grip to produce push (running wide). Experienced crew chiefs see to it that effective measures are taken early in the weekend to deal with the extra push of a softer rear.Bastianini and Used TiresRiders have commented that Bastianini is usually the fastest rider in the second half of Sunday’s race. That is, he is the fastest man on used tires. What if some day his crew puts the Friday and Saturday terms into the equation? That day was August 5 at Silverstone. Francesco Bagnaia took the lead and held it for 11 laps, when Jorge Martín took it for the next seven.Bastianini had fallen back to fourth three laps after the start, but moved forward only gradually, becoming third on lap 11, then second on lap 14. On lap 17 he closed to half a second behind Martín, and made the pass on lap 19, winning by nearly two seconds. He had something extra—quite a big something—at the end.The difference that turns such late-race speed into a win? Being fast from FP1, qualifying first, and starting first. Otherwise, starting well down, his fast late laps in the past only got him to so-so finish positions, so cameras focused on others.Bastianini was nearly two seconds ahead of Jorge Martín at the finish. (MotoGP/)Bastianini also won the Saturday sprint, saying, “I’m happy because the feeling with the bike has been excellent since yesterday.Bagnaia (third, factory Ducati) described his race: “I got into the lead and tried to manage the race as best I could… I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted with the front tire. I had to use the rear tire more in order [to make the bike turn]. This led to some struggles at the end of the race.“When Martín overtook me I tried to stay with him but I almost tucked the front at turn 7.Bagnaia has issues with front grip at Silverstone. (MotoGP/)“I turn the bike with the front, and you can only do that when you have support from the tire, which I didn’t have today. With the medium, in several corners the front would lock up, I couldn’t stop, and always came a little wide. So I had to use the gas to [finish] the corner and I wore out the rear.“It’s clear that Enea, when he’s strong already from Friday, is really hard to beat, as he’s known for being very strong in the final part of the race.“Enea was good at being able to be softer on the tires in certain situations.”Fabio Di Giannantonio (fifth, VR46 Ducati) had the same problem as Bagnaia: “This bike has a push at the end of corners which makes it difficult to cut the line in a right way.“With the new tire it is even worse for us… Every time I’m not fully happy with the front tire—like today, we chose the medium—then I finish more the rear tire because I can’t force the front to turn more.”Márquez Needs to Find Several SecondsMarc Márquez (Gresini Ducati, fourth on Sunday) said of Bastianini, “His riding style is weird but at the same time he is very effective. At the beginning he struggles a bit more than Pecco and Martín with new tires, but he is always extremely fast with used tires. He can turn the bike by leaning it very little.“He was efficient and fast without too much movement. In every race he has been the fastest rider in the last 10 laps.”Less lean angle means conservation of edge grip, a handy asset to have in the last five laps.Aleix Espargaró (sixth, factory Aprilia) said of Bastianini, “He’s really smooth…slowing and accelerating really, really smoothly and taking care of the rear tire.“…this weekend the feeling—looking from outside—is that it was very easy for him.”Martín (second, Gresini Ducati) said of his race, “Behind Pecco I actually felt good, but when I was in front I struggled to stop the bike.“I tried to stay with [Bastinanini] but it was impossible to beat him. He was on another level today.”Jorge Martín said it was impossible to beat Bastianini this weekend. (MotoGP/)Inevitably, Bastianini was besieged by journalists wanting to know his strategy for winning the championship.He said, “I don’t think I’m in contention for the title. Pecco and Jorge have shown more consistency in every race and are always at the top of their form. Often, I don’t find the right feeling right away or I find myself starting behind. To be able to fight for a title you need to improve in this sense.“[My] first goal is to find more consistency in qualifying.”For those who urgently expect Márquez (fourth, Gresini Ducati) to shine with his former intensity, he said, “This was my worst Friday, and I was far away. But little by little I managed to recover. On Saturday I worked until the evening with the team and today I managed to stay close to Pecco, who suffered in turn.“At the moment we are on average four to five seconds slower in the race (than the Pecco-Martín duo) so we have to improve more than two- or three-tenths a lap if we want to fight with them, but it’s a lot.”Sports broadcaster and former rider Neil Hodgson said, “It’s the worst weekend that we’ve seen him on the Ducati: inconsistent through practice, mistakes, crashes. Crashed out of the sprint race.“We saw a few aerial views… He’d gain on entry, gain two bike lengths on the way in, but lose five on the way out.”Márquez had spoken of a shortfall in acceleration.Hodgson continued, “You know when Marc is having a bad weekend because he rides it (the Ducati) like a Honda, and it doesn’t work.”Aprilia’s New AeroEspargaró (sixth, factory Aprilia) had won Silverstone from Bagnaia last year, so eyes were on him to repeat. “We did a great job during this weekend. Yesterday we set a new lap record in qualifying and also today in the race.”Aprilia deployed its single in-season aero update at Silverstone. It features a rounded front, radical venturi sides, angled to parallel the pavement at full lean. A two-element slotted airfoil attaches to the “chin,” its tips terminating in upswept winglets as seen on airliners. The underseat area is sheeted in, presumably in hope of ducting away hot air with minimum rider contact.On Friday, Espargaró said, “The new aerodynamics seem to be working well—the bike is more agile.Aleix Espargaró said the Aprilia is more agile after the new aero, but despite setting a new lap record, he couldn’t break the top five on Sunday. (Aprilia/)“…it’s not a step forward in terms of temperature.” (A 280–300 hp engine is an air fryer.)“The ground effect downforce has been improved when the bike is at lean angle…and sensitivity to side winds has decreased.”1950s GP rider Bill Lomax spoke of Guzzi’s work in its own wind tunnel to decrease gust response. High tech! The designers made the sides of the fairing rounded rather than flat!Espargaró fended off expectations of higher placing by saying, “…in terms of management of the rear tire, there was nothing I could do.”Maverick Viñales (13th, factory Aprilia), said, “We need to understand…what we’re missing to get back to being competitive…since we’ve gone from winning races to suffering. Here…after the fifth lap I had no more rear tire.”When asked if the problem was Ducati’s growing strength, he said, “They’re not the ones who have progressed. We’ve taken a step back.”KTM’s Continued StrugglePedro Acosta was KTM’s top finisher (ninth). In calling for increased corner apex speed capability, he echoed Andrea Dovizioso’s years of similar urgings ignored at Ducati. Acosta said, “From the beginning of our (KTM’s) history in MotoGP…we were strong in braking and tight corners (the classic point-and-shoot strengths). It’s nothing new.”He noted that point-and-shoot fails on fast and flowing circuits like Silverstone; “To ride the V-line, it’s not the way [here]. To brake hard is not the way. Because if you brake hard here, you break [your] speed. And if you break your speed, you are done.”Remember that not so long ago, Ducati planners were sure that they could beat Honda by hammering point-and-shoot even harder. Only once it was realized that a multi-capable motorcycle could excel over bikes built for a single style were they able to ascend to their present height—all eight Ducatis in the top 10 this past weekend.Without Bastianini’s breakthrough in being fast from FP1 onward, Silverstone would have been another Martín-versus-Bagnaia weekend. Can Bastianini and his crew now repeat this at will, or was it happenstance? Austria will tell us.Can Bastianini repeat his front-row start to set him up for a win going forward? (MotoGP/)There is still no good news from either Yamaha or Honda. New parts arrive and tests reveal nothing of note.Martín has narrowly regained the point lead, at 241 versus 238 for Bagnaia. Bastianini now has 192, Márquez 179, and Viñales 130.Austria is next, August 16–18.
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Enea Bastianini took the win on Saturday and Sunday. (MotoGP/)
In winning the Silverstone round Enea Bastianini (factory Ducati) shattered conventional expectations (it’s gotta be Bagnaia, Martín, or Márquez!) and focused attention on how this weekend began for him, and on his “weird” (Marc Márquez’s word) riding style.
I have previously held forth, perhaps tediously, on the plight of several gifted riders whose sporadic success reveals their talent. The usual bushel under which they conceal their candles is that of being mysteriously faster in the race than in the practices and qualifying. This is often based upon being somehow slow on the new/soft tires that are run on Fridays and Saturdays, and remarkably faster on used tires. This, by resulting in undistinguished qualifying positions, forces them to start with the disadvantage of having to pass many riders on Sunday.
Speaking Friday, Bastianini said, “It was a positive day, as I felt comfortable straight away with the base setup.” Words like these are more often heard from the top men, who are fast from FP1, advance easily to Q2, and qualify up front.
The fundamental reason for being somehow slow, and therefore unable to get a front-two-rows start position? To be fast for one lap requires a quite different setup from that run in the race. The race is long, which requires being fast as the tires age and hit tire drop (it was lap 11 for many this weekend), yet must retain enough grip to fight off attacks in the final laps.
Francesco Bagnaia lost valuable championship points with a crash in Saturday’s Tissot Sprint. (MotoGP/)
A qualifying bike is not carrying the full load of 30 pounds of gas, but it has the extra grip usually resulting from softer-than-Sunday tire choices. Nearly all riders note that this year’s new Michelin rear tends to overcome front grip to produce push (running wide). Experienced crew chiefs see to it that effective measures are taken early in the weekend to deal with the extra push of a softer rear.
Bastianini and Used Tires
Riders have commented that Bastianini is usually the fastest rider in the second half of Sunday’s race. That is, he is the fastest man on used tires. What if some day his crew puts the Friday and Saturday terms into the equation? That day was August 5 at Silverstone. Francesco Bagnaia took the lead and held it for 11 laps, when Jorge Martín took it for the next seven.
Bastianini had fallen back to fourth three laps after the start, but moved forward only gradually, becoming third on lap 11, then second on lap 14. On lap 17 he closed to half a second behind Martín, and made the pass on lap 19, winning by nearly two seconds. He had something extra—quite a big something—at the end.
The difference that turns such late-race speed into a win? Being fast from FP1, qualifying first, and starting first. Otherwise, starting well down, his fast late laps in the past only got him to so-so finish positions, so cameras focused on others.
Bastianini was nearly two seconds ahead of Jorge Martín at the finish. (MotoGP/)
Bastianini also won the Saturday sprint, saying, “I’m happy because the feeling with the bike has been excellent since yesterday.
Bagnaia (third, factory Ducati) described his race: “I got into the lead and tried to manage the race as best I could… I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted with the front tire. I had to use the rear tire more in order [to make the bike turn]. This led to some struggles at the end of the race.
“When Martín overtook me I tried to stay with him but I almost tucked the front at turn 7.
Bagnaia has issues with front grip at Silverstone. (MotoGP/)
“I turn the bike with the front, and you can only do that when you have support from the tire, which I didn’t have today. With the medium, in several corners the front would lock up, I couldn’t stop, and always came a little wide. So I had to use the gas to [finish] the corner and I wore out the rear.
“It’s clear that Enea, when he’s strong already from Friday, is really hard to beat, as he’s known for being very strong in the final part of the race.
“Enea was good at being able to be softer on the tires in certain situations.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio (fifth, VR46 Ducati) had the same problem as Bagnaia: “This bike has a push at the end of corners which makes it difficult to cut the line in a right way.
“With the new tire it is even worse for us… Every time I’m not fully happy with the front tire—like today, we chose the medium—then I finish more the rear tire because I can’t force the front to turn more.”
Márquez Needs to Find Several Seconds
Marc Márquez (Gresini Ducati, fourth on Sunday) said of Bastianini, “His riding style is weird but at the same time he is very effective. At the beginning he struggles a bit more than Pecco and Martín with new tires, but he is always extremely fast with used tires. He can turn the bike by leaning it very little.
“He was efficient and fast without too much movement. In every race he has been the fastest rider in the last 10 laps.”
Less lean angle means conservation of edge grip, a handy asset to have in the last five laps.
Aleix Espargaró (sixth, factory Aprilia) said of Bastianini, “He’s really smooth…slowing and accelerating really, really smoothly and taking care of the rear tire.
“…this weekend the feeling—looking from outside—is that it was very easy for him.”
Martín (second, Gresini Ducati) said of his race, “Behind Pecco I actually felt good, but when I was in front I struggled to stop the bike.
“I tried to stay with [Bastinanini] but it was impossible to beat him. He was on another level today.”
Jorge Martín said it was impossible to beat Bastianini this weekend. (MotoGP/)
Inevitably, Bastianini was besieged by journalists wanting to know his strategy for winning the championship.
He said, “I don’t think I’m in contention for the title. Pecco and Jorge have shown more consistency in every race and are always at the top of their form. Often, I don’t find the right feeling right away or I find myself starting behind. To be able to fight for a title you need to improve in this sense.
“[My] first goal is to find more consistency in qualifying.”
For those who urgently expect Márquez (fourth, Gresini Ducati) to shine with his former intensity, he said, “This was my worst Friday, and I was far away. But little by little I managed to recover. On Saturday I worked until the evening with the team and today I managed to stay close to Pecco, who suffered in turn.
“At the moment we are on average four to five seconds slower in the race (than the Pecco-Martín duo) so we have to improve more than two- or three-tenths a lap if we want to fight with them, but it’s a lot.”
Sports broadcaster and former rider Neil Hodgson said, “It’s the worst weekend that we’ve seen him on the Ducati: inconsistent through practice, mistakes, crashes. Crashed out of the sprint race.
“We saw a few aerial views… He’d gain on entry, gain two bike lengths on the way in, but lose five on the way out.”
Márquez had spoken of a shortfall in acceleration.
Hodgson continued, “You know when Marc is having a bad weekend because he rides it (the Ducati) like a Honda, and it doesn’t work.”
Aprilia’s New Aero
Espargaró (sixth, factory Aprilia) had won Silverstone from Bagnaia last year, so eyes were on him to repeat. “We did a great job during this weekend. Yesterday we set a new lap record in qualifying and also today in the race.”
Aprilia deployed its single in-season aero update at Silverstone. It features a rounded front, radical venturi sides, angled to parallel the pavement at full lean. A two-element slotted airfoil attaches to the “chin,” its tips terminating in upswept winglets as seen on airliners. The underseat area is sheeted in, presumably in hope of ducting away hot air with minimum rider contact.
On Friday, Espargaró said, “The new aerodynamics seem to be working well—the bike is more agile.
Aleix Espargaró said the Aprilia is more agile after the new aero, but despite setting a new lap record, he couldn’t break the top five on Sunday. (Aprilia/)
“…it’s not a step forward in terms of temperature.” (A 280–300 hp engine is an air fryer.)
“The ground effect downforce has been improved when the bike is at lean angle…and sensitivity to side winds has decreased.”
1950s GP rider Bill Lomax spoke of Guzzi’s work in its own wind tunnel to decrease gust response. High tech! The designers made the sides of the fairing rounded rather than flat!
Espargaró fended off expectations of higher placing by saying, “…in terms of management of the rear tire, there was nothing I could do.”
Maverick Viñales (13th, factory Aprilia), said, “We need to understand…what we’re missing to get back to being competitive…since we’ve gone from winning races to suffering. Here…after the fifth lap I had no more rear tire.”
When asked if the problem was Ducati’s growing strength, he said, “They’re not the ones who have progressed. We’ve taken a step back.”
KTM’s Continued Struggle
Pedro Acosta was KTM’s top finisher (ninth). In calling for increased corner apex speed capability, he echoed Andrea Dovizioso’s years of similar urgings ignored at Ducati. Acosta said, “From the beginning of our (KTM’s) history in MotoGP…we were strong in braking and tight corners (the classic point-and-shoot strengths). It’s nothing new.”
He noted that point-and-shoot fails on fast and flowing circuits like Silverstone; “To ride the V-line, it’s not the way [here]. To brake hard is not the way. Because if you brake hard here, you break [your] speed. And if you break your speed, you are done.”
Remember that not so long ago, Ducati planners were sure that they could beat Honda by hammering point-and-shoot even harder. Only once it was realized that a multi-capable motorcycle could excel over bikes built for a single style were they able to ascend to their present height—all eight Ducatis in the top 10 this past weekend.
Without Bastianini’s breakthrough in being fast from FP1 onward, Silverstone would have been another Martín-versus-Bagnaia weekend. Can Bastianini and his crew now repeat this at will, or was it happenstance? Austria will tell us.
Can Bastianini repeat his front-row start to set him up for a win going forward? (MotoGP/)
There is still no good news from either Yamaha or Honda. New parts arrive and tests reveal nothing of note.
Martín has narrowly regained the point lead, at 241 versus 238 for Bagnaia. Bastianini now has 192, Márquez 179, and Viñales 130.
Austria is next, August 16–18.
