By Matt Hardy
As Francesco Bagnaiastormed into first place at the Silverstone MotoGP earlier this afternoon, organisers had been hoping for a big turnout after last month’s record-breaking crowds at the racetrack.
In July the largest ever F1 British Grand Prix was held at the 5.89km track in Northamptonshire, bringing an estimated £100 million to the county. A staggering 401,000 visitors watched Lewis Hamilton and rivals over the race weekend, enjoying an atmosphere of liberation and “revenge travel”, after two long hard years of Covid restrictions.
MotoGP’s Doctor
After Valentino Rossi, also known as “the Doctor”, officially retired from MotoGP at the end of 2021 at Mugello, many considered this a sport in need of new icons to lead the way forward.
2021 World Champion Fabio Quartararo, coming in at eighth position, was not able to do enough to mitigate his Assen penalty, despite being confident from the beginning of the weekend that he could win at Silverstone this year.
“I hope I can be one of the icons of MotoGP,” Fabio Quartararo said, after admitting that this year got off to a difficult start. “The first races were tough.”
Undeterred from his overall goal and with idiosyncratic flair, he took his seat along the press bench, joking, “so when do we start guys.”
Joan Mir defended his 2020 World Champion status, responding to critics who do not recognise the immense work that goes on behind the scenes.
“I don’t care what people say about my title, I know how hard I worked to be where I am.”
The Spanish Suzuki rider had a tough weekend – crashing outin front of an appreciative crowd. “There are a lot of fans in England that love Suzuki,” he said.
‘Special one’
“Silverstone is one of the special ones in the calendar. It’s a track that the Suzuki has always shown good performance at, with its fast corners.”
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that rookies Marco Bezzecchi and Darryn Binder saw this weekend as the perfect opportunity to reach new audiences with their talents.
In June Italian rider Bezzecchi took second place at the Dutch MotoGP in Assen, a career-best for the 23-year-old.
At 24 South African rookie Darryn Binder has taken a huge leap of faith by entering MotoGP in 2022 from the Moto3 class to compete with the big dogs, a move that is almost unheard of in the sport.
The Yamaha has taken rookie Binder through some strong performances in this year’s calendar. The main challenge has been getting used to the quicker pace.
“That bike is a different beast compared to a Moto3,” he said. “The biggest thing to get used to is the speed. It feels like you’re starting from zero again.”
Binder’s goal for 2022 is to “fight amongst the rookies to be the best one.”
From rookies to champions, the sunny weekend at Silverstone brought to light the new personalities coming up through MotoGP and proved that no World Champion status is safe.
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