MotoGP readying to hit Silverstone as round seven beckons – MotoGP/2/3 Previews

MotoGP 2025

Round Seven – Silverstone – Preview

MotoGP is heading to the iconic Silverstone circuit for the Tissot Grand Prix of the United Kingdom. Held in May for the first time since MotoGP has landed at this track. It could be sunny all weekend, it could be raining all weekend, it could be a bit of everything, we never know… That’s the magic of Silverstone! One thing is sure, racing is expected to be fantastic!

Silverstone’s first motorcycle Grand Prix was held in 1977, and has been the playground of champions ever since. The UK has produced some of the best riders in MotoGP’s history – Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Phil Read and Barry Sheene, just a few of the Brits who’ve won the hearts of the crowds, and championships, but a Brit has never won the British GP at Silverstone!

With a length of 5.9 km, Silverstone is the longest track on the MotoGP calendar, and its long straights require a lot of hard braking. Following on from a mega French GP which resulted in unbridled joy for the home fans, can Silverstone serve up a treat?

Even though Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) has won every Sprint in the 2025 season, his success hasn’t been as prominent on Sundays. At times he’s been expected to dominate but his own mistakes or inclement weather have kept him from capitalising on his pace. However, two crashes in the French GP for brother and title rival Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) mean that 22 points split them in the standings, with Marc back ahead. Marc last won at Silverstone in 2014 – whilst Alex won the first Tissot Sprint at the venue in 2023.

Meanwhile, it was a complete disaster at Le Mans for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), admitting that unless a good feeling with the bike returns soon, the gap will soon become insurmountable. And that was before a crash on Sunday through zero fault of his own skittled him out of contention. Victory in the 2022 British GP and podiums in 2023 and 2024 are a good CV at Silvestone though, and Bagnaia will be desperate to claw back points and shrink the 51-point margin to teammate Marquez.

As for our most recent winner of the season, nobody could have predicted that the oldest rider on the grid, Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR), would end France’s 71-year wait for a MotoGP winner at home. One of the most emotional victories we’re likely to see, the Frenchman’s form in 2025 will be worthy of a watchful eye in the UK.

Back-to-back poles for Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) have seen him on the podium at Jerez before he crashed out of a near-certain podium at his home GP last time out. A winner at Silverstone en-route to the title in 2021, Quartararo and Yamaha’s competitivity will again be something to watch, particularly after the manufacturer’s recent Misano test.

For Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Le Mans showcased his strongest weekend thus far, knocking on the door of the podium, only to be pipped by top rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), who bagged his first MotoGP rostrum. Both will likely battle it out again in the UK – Acosta got points in both the Sprint and GP last year whilst Aldeguer was the 2023 winner in Moto2.

Maverick Viñales, now with Red Bull KTM Tech3, is both on form in 2025 and took his first-ever GP win at Silverstone. He will most definitely be a rider to keep an eye on. Last year though, it was his now-team-mate Enea Bastianini who rode a flawless British GP to secure victory – his penultimate one to date- whilst in 2019, Alex Rins won one of the greatest British GPs in an outstanding final corner pass on eventual Champion Marc Marquez. The aim for both will be altered slightly for 2025, but sights on the top ten will remain with both having featured in there in the last couple of rounds. KTM were strong last year with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) likewise the first non-Ducati rider home. The South African seeks a return to the top ten after a second DNF of 2025 at Le Mans.

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“We have just recovered from our emotions after a hectic race in Le Mans, and we are now moving across the English Channel for the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom on the longest track of the championship, Silverstone. Races at this track have always been in August, so this year is a bit unusual, we will have to see how the conditions are. Eitherway, Maverick Viñales will go there with his confidence level at maximum, as he continues to follow his impressive adaptation to our KTM bike, in addition to being happy with both bike and team. The French GP was his best weekend of the season with two top 5, so we can for sure count on him to continue his progression this week. Enea Bastianini’s weekend in Le Mans was tricky, but still he managed to collect 3 points. Silverstone might be the race where he could click on the bike, because he loves it, as he showed it in 2024 winning both sprint and race. Unfortunately, he will have to serve a long lap penalty during the race, but I am sure that it will give him extra motivation to perform in the UK.”

Grand Prix winners in 2023 with Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia come into the British GP after having three bikes inside the top ten at Le Mans. With Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) still out injured and replaced by Lorenzo Savadori, teammate Marco Bezzecchi will be expected to fly the flag once again and arrives at a circuit where he was on pole in 2023 and in contention for victory. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and rookie teammate Ai Ogura both have high hopes for Silverstone, with Fernandez targeting his first back-to-back top tens this season, whilst Ogura seeks three in a row; he was on pole in Moto2 in 2024.

Le Mans wasn’t the easiest for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team duo Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio; a top ten last year at Silverstone and P5 in 2019 for Franky will spur him on, whereas is just 11 points behind his teammate in the standings and was fifth last year at the British venue.

Elsewhere, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP duo Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira hope for a strong showing; Miller crashed at Le Mans and could have been in with a shout of victory whilst Oliveira’s return likewise ended in the gravel despite a strong display in the trickiest of conditions on Sunday. Both have been top four at Silverstone, with Miller on the podium in 2022.

The only rider to score points in every GP so far, Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) aims to continue that form in the UK whilst teammate Joan Mir will undergo an assessment on Thursday following his crash at Le Mans. Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) will also need to be cleared after missing Le Mans due to arm-pump surgery after the Jerez Test. Elsewhere at Honda, however, there’s a completely new proposition too: former Silverstone winner Aleix Espargaro will wildcard with HRC. That could be interesting – and right after fellow Honda development rider Takaaki Nakagami took P6 at Le Mans on his first wildcard of the year.

MotoGP Championship Standings

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Moto2

It’s been the Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) show in the last couple of races and heading to the UK, the Spaniard has opened up a 16-point lead in the Moto2 title chase. But Silverstone’s stunning, fast, and flowing nature presents a different challenge.

And it’s a challenge that in 2024, Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) conquered. A dream home Grand Prix victory was clinched by the Brit last season in an intense late race fight with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego), and it’s those two who land in Northamptonshire as Gonzalez’s closest threats in the early Championship race.

Canet’s P3 in Le Mans was his third podium finish of the year, while Dixon’s P5 meant he was the lead Boscoscuro rider in France. Both, however, need to shift the momentum in their favour soon to try and halt Gonzalez’s magnificent form.

Speaking of momentum, Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) has back-to-back P2s to his name and arrives at Silverstone just four points shy of two-time 2025 race winner Dixon. Diogo Moriera’s (Italtrans Racing Team) three consecutive top five finishes, including P4s in Jerez and Le Mans, demonstrate the Brazilian’s good form too.

Elsewhere, Celestino Vietti (Folladore SpeedRS Team) was the other podium finisher at the 2024 British GP, so a repeat performance would go down well for the Italian who sits P6 in the overall standings.

Young Australian Senna Agius will be striving to get back inside the top ten and build on his tally of 39 points to push further up the points table.

It’ll be all eyes on home crowd favourite Dixon, so can he deliver the goods for a second year in a row?

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

A fourth win of 2025 didn’t look like it was on the cards in Le Mans for Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo), but come Sunday, the #99 laid down his biggest gauntlet yet. A last corner victory and a DNF for chief title rival Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) have seen Rueda stretch his points advantage to a healthy 29 ahead of a date with Silverstone.

Rueda was handed those precious 25 points on a plate after David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Joel Kelso’s (LEVELUP-MTA) penultimate corner contact saw both run wide. The latter led for most of the race but ultimately fell just shy of a debut Moto3 win following Muñoz’s aggressive move. Still, a P2 – Kelso’s equal best career result – was the Australian’s third podium of the year and one that moves him 10 points behind Piqueras as the #66 continues to look in fine shape. Surely that first win isn’t far away…

Muñoz’s first podium of the year was much needed, with the 19-year-old and his team hoping it can really fire his campaign into life. The #64 is P13 in the Championship, but behind the lead trio of KTMs in the standings are a Honda duo who will be desperate for a rostrum return: Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia). Can the Spaniard and Japanese riders get themselves back in the top three mix after claiming top eight results in France?

Another podium result is what Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will be searching for too after the lead rookie picked up his best finish – a P4 – since that Thai GP P2. And on rookie watch, plenty of spotlight will be on Le Mans polesitter Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) after the Spaniard’s fantastic pole position and P7 performances last time out.

Young Australian Jacob Roulstone and Kiwi teenager Cormac Buchanan will be searching for more top ten finishes.

And what about our Moto3 home heroes this weekend? Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) has four P12s to his name this year, so the British rider will be pinning his hopes on a top 10 and more at Silverstone. Meanwhile, Eddie O’Shea and the GRYD – MLav Racing team will be seeking a points-paying result in front of their supporters.