MotoGP Recap - Aprilia dominates at Silverstone
20 August 2026MotoGP returned from the summer break to bring us another thrilling weekend at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Great Britain for Round Twelve of the 2026 MotoGP season, as lap records were smashed, and MotoGP’s record at Silverstone was extended once again.
The weekend saw three stand-in riders on the MotoGP grid, as British rider Cal Crutchlow continued his stint for Honda LCR, filling in for Johann Zarco, who is aiming to return to the paddock in September following extensive recovery and rehabilitation for his injuries sustained back at the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya. KTM test rider Pol Espargaro was back on the grid with Red Bull KTM Tech3, standing in for Maverick Viñales, who continues to struggle with a shoulder injury sustained during the 2025 season, and WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona returned to MotoGP once again to ride for BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, filling in for Fermin Aldeguer, who is aiming for a return at Aragon after injuring his V7 vertebrae during the Friday Practice session at the Tissot Grand Prix of the Netherlands.
The Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Great Britain also marked Augusto Fernandez’s final MotoGP wildcard appearance for Yamaha, bringing the grid up to 23 riders for the weekend, as Marco Bezzecchi was declared fit to participate in the weekend’s action after breaking his collarbone during qualifying at the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany.
Martin achieves dream Saturday at Silverstone
Current leader of the MotoGP World Championship standings Jorge Martin secured pole position late in Saturday’s Q2 session with a new lap record, smashing the new record set on Friday by teammate Marco Bezzecchi, with an astonishing 1.56.160s, and became the eighth different MotoGP polesitter in the last eight Grands Prix at Silverstone. Aprilia confirmed their position as the manufacturer to beat after qualifying, with Superfile Trackhouse MotoGP Team’s Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura joining Martin on the front row.
Martin later led every lap of Saturday afternoon’s Sprint to take his nineteenth Sprint win, extending his Championship lead. It was another Aprilia masterclass, despite Raul Fernandez crashing out of 6th on Lap 4, as Ogura claimed 2nd, and Bezzecchi fought his way through the pain to finish 3rd, seeing Aprilia celebrate their first Sprint podium lockout, another achievement unlocked for the manufacturer in 2026.
Raul Fernandez becomes the twelfth different consecutive MotoGP Grand Prix winner at Silverstone
Eager to recover from his crash in Saturday’s Sprint, Raul Fernandez dominated the field on Sunday to take his first Grand Prix victory of the 2026 MotoGP season, and added his name to the list of different MotoGP Grand Prix winners at Silverstone, taking the record to a remarkable twelve riders. After leading into the first corner, Fernandez’s pace saw him riding with a gap of over 1 second back to Bezzecchi in 2nd by the end of the first lap. Whilst the riders behind him worried about tyre management, Fernandez maintained a commanding lead to take his first Grand Prix victory of 2026, becoming the seventh different Grand Prix winner in MotoGP so far this season. Aprilia achieved their second podium lockout of the weekend, with Martin coming across the line 2.538s behind Fernandez, and last year’s winner Bezzecchi finishing 3rd. Behind the Aprilias, Alex Marquez, who regularly performs well at Silverstone, who was the only Ducati rider who really posed a threat to the Aprilias, finished 4th, with Pedro Acosta behind him in 5th.
Salac takes maiden Moto2 victory
Sunday’s Moto2 race was packed full of action, with six different race leaders across the 17 laps. Polesitter Izan Guevara got a great start, and led the field for the first 8 laps whilst riders battled behind him, but Lap 9 saw Daniel Holgado make his first successful challenge for the lead. By Lap 12, six riders were fighting for the three podium positions, as Holgado, Guevara, Ivan Ortola, Tony Arbolino, Manuel Gonzalez and Filip Salac all attempted to stake their claim, with Alex Escrig in 7th attempting to break a gap of over 1 second to catch up to the leading group. Arbolino’s fight for the podium came to an end with five laps remaining after he crashed out of 2nd, having led during the previous lap.
The closing laps saw Holgado and Gonzalez taking turns in leading the race, and it was Gonzalez who led over the line into the final lap. But further drama unfurled as Gonzalez mistakenly believed the race was over, and began celebrating, leading to contact between him and Holgado, allowing Salac to take the lead. Salac held onto the position to take his first Grand Prix victory, ahead of Ortola in 2nd, with Escrig taking his first Moto2 podium with a 3rd place finish. Gonzalez eventually finished 14th, picking up just two points from the race that saw him in contention for the win.
Almansa takes the win in dramatic Moto3 race
With Moto3 Championship leader Maximo Quiles missing Sunday’s race after sustaining a broken collarbone during qualifying, several riders had their eyes on a potential victory, but it was David Almansa who took his second victory of the 2026 Moto3 season, his first since the season opener in Thailand, in a dramatic race that at one point featured a leading group of thirteen riders. Crashes for Adrian Cruces and Hakim Danish at the end of Lap 6 opened up a gap after the leading seven riders, with a crash from polesitter Scott Ogden on Lap 7 then reducing that leading group to six riders. The latter half of the race saw intense battles as Almansa, Brian Uriarte, Valentin Perrone, Alvaro Carpe, Joel Esteban and Adrian Fernandez swapped positions and paint as they fought for the victory, but after a late crash from Uriarte during the final lap, it was Almansa who took the win, ahead of Carpe in 2nd, with Perrone rounding out the podium in 3rd.
2027 MotoGP rider contract announcements continue
The summer break saw more rider contract announcements for the 2027 MotoGP season, giving us a clearer picture of what next year’s grid will look like.
Fabio Quartararo confirmed that after eight seasons with Yamaha in MotoGP, he will be moving to Honda next season to race with their Factory team, a huge move that Quartararo will be hoping gets him back onto the top step of the podium. Honda also announced that current Moto2 rider David Alonso will be moving up to MotoGP in 2027 to ride for them, but whilst they are yet to confirm which team Alonso will be riding for, he has confirmed that he will receive a factory bike. Additionally, it was confirmed last week that Raul Fernandez will remain with the Superfile Trackhouse MotoGP Team for two more seasons, seeing Sunday’s MotoGP race winner remain in the paddock until at least the end of 2028.
Silverstone and MotoGP renew partnership for two more years
Thursday’s Media Day saw the announcement that Silverstone and MotoGP have extended their partnership for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, continuing the strong partnership based on the shared goal of enhancing MotoGP’s presence in the UK, and delivering exhilarating, world-class racing.
The weekend’s racing at Silverstone now sees Aprilia holding the top three positions in the MotoGP Championship standings for the first time. As riders and teams now prepare to head to Aragon in a few week’s time, attention will be focused on whether the Aprilia riders can continue their dominant form, and which other World Championship contenders may be able to rise to the challenge of standing on the top step of the podium.
