Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) took his second ever Moto2™ win in the British GP, making a good start from fourth on the grid to chase down Championship leader Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and take over at the front. Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) was also able to charge past his compatriot to take second, with Morbidelli completing the podium in third.
Of the front row it was P2 starter Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who bolted off the line, with the rider from Cervera a margin ahead by the end of Lap 1 - and polesitter Pasini dropping back into the clutches of Nakagami. And Morbidelli, soon on the rear wheel of the Japanese rider, was in P2 by the end of the first lap – soon starting to reel his teammate in.
After steadily catching Marquez, the Championship leader pounced and the two EG 0,0 Marc VDS bikes were locked together at the front. Marquez then hit back, before suddenly sliding out at Turn 14 in a dramatic twist to the race. That left Morbidelli in some free air, but not for long – with Nakagami quick to catch and pass the Italian.
After hitting the front, the Japanese rider was uncatchable, initially disappearing into the distance – but the story had another chapter as Pasini went on a late charge, closing up but not able to quite get close enough. Over the line, Nakagami was seven tenths clear to take his second Moto2™ win and celebrate his recently-announced move to the premier class in style, with Pasini taking another podium as his run of good form in 2017 continues. Morbidelli completed the podium, and gained another small margin in his Championship lead.
Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) – another recently-announced addition to the MotoGP™ grid - took fourth and made a considerable move up from his P9 on the grid, and crucially crossed the line only one place behind key title rival Morbidelli. Top rookie Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) completed the top five and was another to gain big after a more difficult Saturday, ahead of compatriot Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) in sixth.
Stefano Manzi (Sky Racing Team VR46) had an incredible race for his best result yet in the intermediate class, taking seventh and once again showing serious pace at Silverstone to follow on from his performance in Moto3™ at the venue last year. He beat Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) over the line by only 0.061, with second Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder another few tenths back to take another rookie top ten in P9. Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) completed the top ten as fastest Suter, after also going quickest in FP1 in a solid weekend.
Luca Marini (Forward Racing Team) moved slightly back from his grid position to take P11 in the race, ahead of former FIM CEV Repsol rival and Tech 3 Racing rider Xavi Vierge. Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) took 13th, with early pacesetter Alex Marquez able to quickly remount and come home in fourteenth despite his crash. Axel Pons (RW Racing GP) completed the points.
Next up is Misano – home turf for Morbidelli and with the gap giving him a little breathing space. But not much, with the Czech GP already having shown how quickly the tide can turn and 29 points separating the two leaders of the Moto2™ pack.