Trackhouse Aprilia Racing's Raul Fernandez claimed a stunning victory at the British MotoGP at Silverstone on Sunday, overtaking pole-sitter Jorge Martin at the first corner and never relinquishing the lead.
Fernandez quickly built a comfortable gap, stretching his advantage to more than four seconds before crossing the line 2.54 seconds clear of runner-up Martin. The win was the second of his MotoGP career, following his triumph at last year's Australian Grand Prix, and marked a strong comeback after a crash in Saturday's sprint race.
"I'm really happy for the whole team. Yesterday I was quite disappointed with my mistake. But we are human and it's part of this sport," Fernandez said.
Martin, the sprint winner, suffered a technical issue with his ride-height device at the first corner, dropping him behind Marc Marquez and fellow Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi. The championship leader recovered to pass Bezzecchi for second on lap nine, but couldn't get close enough to challenge Fernandez.
The runner-up finish extended Martin's championship lead to 31 points, while Bezzecchi finished third and moved up to second in the standings. Ogura, who retired for the first time this season, fell to 37 points behind Martin.
"This result is a big motivation for me and the team," Martin said. "It seems we have found the direction to build momentum. The race was great. I had a small mistake at the start, but I'm glad I fought back."
Reigning world champion Marc Marquez endured another tough day, finishing seventh after starting from sixth, and dropped to fourth in the standings.
Bezzecchi faced fierce competition from Gresini Racing's Alex Marquez, who made a late-race error and fell back. Alex Marquez kept the pressure on Bezzecchi but couldn't catch the Aprilia rider, who took his second podium of the weekend.
The result was especially significant for Bezzecchi, who had led the championship early in the season and secured his first Sunday finish since winning the Italian Grand Prix in late May. Alex Marquez finished fourth, KTM's Pedro Acosta fifth, and VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio sixth.
