MotoGP 2016 Silverstone Results

A red flag on Lap 1 lead to a 19-lap race on Sunday in the British midlands. For the first time since 2007, a Suzuki won a premier class race, Maverick Vinales ending his day standing on the top step of the podium. He was joined there by Cal Crutchlow, who kept another streak alive, and a desperate Valentino Rossi, who fought Marc Marquez tooth and nail for the final podium spot. Despite this, Marquez leaves Britain leading the season by 50 points, having gotten some angry juju out of his system.

Vinales got out front early in both starts, and led wire to wire in the race that counted. Cool weather, dry track and a friendly layout led to the seventh different winner in the last seven races, a clear sign that Carmelo Ezpeleta’s diabolical scheme to have a 21-bike tie for first in Valencia in 2018 is working. No question that it’s better than the same four guys each time out.

Plenty went on behind Vinales. An all-day joust for second place evolved featuring Rossi, Crutchlow and Marquez, with Andrea Iannone and Dani Pedrosa in supporting roles. Crutchlow, on the heels of his surprising win in Brno last time out, finished a very competent and aggressive second, thereby keeping the record of no Brit having ever won the British Grand Prix intact for another year at least. If there was any such thing as a moral victory in MotoGP, today’s award would surely go to Crutchlow.

The most entertaining rider of the day was, of course, Marquez, who enjoys competing with Valentino Rossi. The two spent a good part of the day together grinding their teeth before Marquez tried to put an extraterrestrial move on the Italian at Lap 18 and ended up running off (for the second time) and losing two spots. Those two or three laps, with Rossi fighting for his life and Marquez seeing red, were as good as it gets. In the context of the rivalry, it was Rossi and Stoner 2008 Redux, the intensity off the chart. But, Marquez is the future, Rossi the past.

Rossi’s best efforts today resulted in getting briefly punked by Marquez on Lap 17 and failing to make a meaningful dent in the Catalan’s daunting championship lead. At a track he, Rossi, loves. With Jorge Lorenzo fighting to remain relevant, crossing the line in eighth place. There is no joy in the Movistar Yamaha digs tonight.

Silverstone failed to mark, at the 2/3rds pole, an inflection point for the 2016 season, in either direction. Marquez could have left leading by a number approaching 60 or 70 but failed to close the deal. He could have crashed out, lizard brain in control, and watched his challengers halve his lead. Though he surrendered a podium in today’s race, it didn’t really hurt him. He took on all comers – Crutchlow, Rossi (epic), and Pedrosa, who, finishing fifth, gave us a glimpse into our recent past. The Ducatis should have loved this track, but Iannone lost his marbles, a wounded Andrea Dovizioso could manage only sixth, and the remaining combatants were shut out of the top ten.

On Saturday night, it looked like Sunday was going to be dry. Excuse me for the déjà vu, of covering my very first MotoGP race in Laguna in 2008 when Rossi put it to Stoner in the Corkscrew and I thought, having watched it on cable TV (knowing nothing about it), that it seemed pretty cool. Vinales denying Crutchlow an important win and applying a facial to the rest of the field felt like deferred gratification rewarded. We knew the 21-year-old Spaniard would start winning races sooner than later. Happy he gave the win to Suzuki; it’s not as touching when it’s the factory Yamaha in Parc Fermé. His Alien card is stamped and waiting.

Sidebar: Jorge Lorenzo leaves Yamaha for Ducati on a pronounced downturn, winless since Mugello. Vinales leaves Suzuki for Yamaha on a definite upturn, great expectations intact. The Great Ducati Jinx continues.

The above standings constitute The Big Picture. Marquez is in a class by himself this season; the championship is probably over already; we just haven’t heard the echo. I may be being generous with Pedrosa and Dovizioso and mean to Iannone and Crutchlow. Don’t care, it’s my column. Plus it gets a lot of readers off their bums logging into their Disqus accounts. My last line of defense: Scoreboard.

Lorenzo could fall out of Tranche Two if he doesn’t get his act together soon.

What we learned today in Britain: Vinales has finally arrived. No more excuses, no more feeling sorry. He is a legitimate threat in the right (dry, cool) conditions. Crutchlow, had he not laid waste to the first half of his season, could be in contention for a top four finish this year. I under-tranche him just for sport. Rossi may be showing his age slightly, while Lorenzo looks lost out there, capable of going slowly in both wet and dry conditions. The Dueling Andreas may be part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Dani Pedrosa is still fast. Scott Reading still has plenty to learn. Loris Baz and Pol Espargaro are lucky to have only been injured during their close encounter on the first lap. Seeing riders laid out on the tarmac is a vision I never want to see again.

Tom Luthi, somehow, won the Moto2 tilt; homeboy Sam Lowes got worked and dumped by Johann Zarco, who had 30 naughty seconds added to his time – ride-through equivalent – in addition to having possibly ruined Lowes’ season. The penalty makes things easier for wounded Alex Rins, who now trails Zarco by only 10 points. A great year continues in Moto2.