– Since last Saturday, the Silverstone Circuit has been the third fastest track in the current MotoGP calendar. With the incredible pole lap by Aprilia factory rider Jorge Martin of 1:56.160 minutes, the average speed on the 5.9-kilometer course in Great Britain has risen to over 182 km/h. This means Silverstone has now overtaken Mugello in terms of the fastest tracks in the current MotoGP calendar.
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Honda was the stronger of the two Japanese manufacturers throughout the Silverstone weekend. However, Honda riders could not keep up with KTM, Ducati, and let alone Aprilia. Joan Mir started from P12 after securing direct entry to Q2 in Friday’s practice. In the sprint, Mir finished P7, just a few thousandths of a second behind Pedro Acosta on the KTM. In the Grand Prix, Luca Marini was the strongest Honda rider. Starting from 15th on the grid, he moved up to P9.
What troubled the Honda riders most at Silverstone were the numerous fast corners. Specifically, the problem was the speed at the corner entry. “I would like to enter the fast corners faster, but when I try, I go too wide,” Marini described the problem of the RC213V on the British high-speed track directly on Friday.
Teammate Mir sounded very similar. When the MotoGP world champion was asked on Saturday if he could even remotely keep up with the Aprilias, he explained: “In the second free practice, I was behind Ogura. They simply have so much more grip. As far as we are concerned, we lose our time right at the corner entry. They brake a bit stronger and can carry more speed through the corners. And at the corner exit, they can get on the throttle earlier.”
“Especially in the fast corners, they are very strong. And there are quite a few of those here,” was Mir’s assessment of the Aprilia riders. They occupied the first three positions in the Q2 segment of qualifying, the sprint, and the Grand Prix at Silverstone weekend.
Mir says he is “proud” of his ride to seventh place in the sprint. Why? “It was a solid race. We didn’t have the pace I wanted, but I made no mistakes.” However, the Spaniard did not finish the Grand Prix. He crashed directly in the first lap when the entire field was still tightly packed.
“I don’t know what happened,” was Mir’s first reaction on Sunday. “First, I felt a hit from behind, then one from the front. And then I basically spun. That was strange, very strange. But I don’t blame anyone. It was just a chaotic situation.”
As part of the explanation for why he “stumbled” in the start melee, Mir added: “I tried to take it easy. Especially with the medium tire compound [on the rear], we have to be careful in the first laps. It was just bad luck. But I also have to say: in terms of performance, that is not a good tire. In the sprint, I was able to defend myself [with the soft rear tire]. In the race, that would have been much more difficult.”
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At least: after Mir’s P7 in the sprint on Saturday, teammate Marini also finished in the top 10 as ninth in the Grand Prix on Sunday. Thus, in both races of the Silverstone weekend, the best-placed Honda rider finished ahead of the best-placed Yamaha rider.
Marini reports: “Unfortunately, I am never shown on TV, but that was really a very good race on my part with really good overtaking maneuvers. My start was really bad. I lost a lot of positions in the first two corners, but then I managed a comeback. I am very satisfied with the management of fuel reserves, tires, and my overtaking maneuvers.”
After starting from 15th and initially losing a few positions, he came back as 15th after the first lap, which ended for teammate Mir. Marini then passed Francesco Bagnaia and Iker Lecuona one after the other, benefited from Ai Ogura’s crash, and then overtook Jack Miller, Fabio Quartararo, and Franco Morbidelli.
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“That’s what I am now aiming for for the rest of the season,” says Marini, meaning personally strong races under the given conditions that the Honda RC213V offers him. “With the motorcycle we have, hardly more is possible at the moment. We changed everything possible in the first half of the season, but the basic behavior of the bike, the DNA, always remains the same.”
“Therefore,” Marini continues, “I just try to keep working on myself. I try to maintain my base and get a little more performance out here and there. This applies especially to qualifying because that is our weak point this year.”
“On Sundays, I am often the best-placed rider on a Japanese motorcycle. That shows that the potential is there on Sundays. But if I always start only from P15 or P16, then it becomes difficult. I would really like to start more races from around P8, P9. That would be fantastic,” says Marini.
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In the Honda satellite team LCR, MotoGP rookie Diogo Moreira finished P10 on both race days at Silverstone after starting from P14. Teammate Cal Crutchlow, who still acts as a replacement for the injured Johann Zarco, recorded two retirements at his home Grand Prix weekend. Starting from P20, Crutchlow crashed in both the sprint and the Grand Prix. After the crash in the sprint, he continued for a few laps but then gave up.
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