The Beast Bares His Fangs at Silverstone

MotoGP could not have celebrated its 75th Anniversary in a better way than seeing Enea Bastianini at his beast at the 2024 MotoGP British Grand Prix, along with some crucial twists in the title race

- Charan Karthik

THE SUMMER BREAK for MotoGP was finally over and it was a ceremonious return to racing at the 2024 British Grand Prix. That’s because it was the weekend of MotoGP’s 75th anniversary and the sport really went all out and gave a fine blueprint to other motor sport on how to celebrate history. Every team on the grid ran a beautiful classic livery representing key eras from MotoGP’s 75-year history.

The race weekend started off in interesting fashion as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) had a sensational pole lap to sneak ahead of the two factory Ducatis of Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).

Sprint

OFF THE LINE, IT WAS A dogfight among Bagnaia, Espargaro, and Bastianini for the lead of the race, but it was Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) who sneaked ahead on the opening lap, with Bastianini chasing behind in second, shadowed by Espargaro and Bagnaia in third and fourth positions respectively. When it seemed like things were settling down, drama ensued in the title race as Bagnaia crashed out on lap five, handing the points lead back to Jorge Martin who was leading the Sprint at the time. It was then that Bagnaia’s teammate, Bastianini, began to showcase his laterace pace supremacy to then make the pass for the lead and help give Bagnaia a one-point lead in the standings. In the end, it was Bastianini who posted his first-ever Sprint victory.

Race

MANY WOULD SAY THAT THE main Grand Prix was simply a rehash of what Enea Bastianini did in the Sprint, but it was far from straightforward in comparison. This time, Bastianini struggled off the line, dropping to fourth and it was his teammate instead who had a great start to take the early lead.