MotoGP: Tire gamble pays off for Silverstone victor Bezzecchi
A smart tire choice helped Aprilia Racing's Marco Bezzecchi to win the Tissot Grand Prix of the United Kingdom, Round 7 of the 2025 MotoGPTM World Championship. Johann Zarco (2nd, LCR Honda) and Marc Marquez (3rd, Ducati Lenovo Team) made it three different bike manufacturers on the Silverstone podium. All three ran different tire strategies to provide a further illustration of the MICHELIN Power Slick range's versatility. Read on for more about what happened during the #BritishGP weekend.
Bezzecchi became the 11th different winner in 11 races at the British venue despite qualifying 10th. On a front/rear combination of soft and medium MICHELIN Powers, the factory Aprilia rider completed the second lap in the same position but quickly moved up the order to appear in second spot behind early pace-setter Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) by Lap 6.
When the Frenchman suffered a technical problem six laps later, the Italian snapped up the lead and defended it to the flag to claim the fourth MotoGPTM success of his career.
After his recent victory at Le Mans, and having opted for the same tire pairing as Bezzecchi, Zarco was rewarded for another strong run with second place after qualifying ninth.
Marc Marquez (medium slicks front and rear) had a poor start but was given a chance to recover when the race was red-flagged after two laps. The Spaniard went on to clinch third by passing Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) through the final turn.
After the first lights-out, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) fell at the end of the opening straight and his brother fell shortly afterwards. However, all the riders were authorized to line-up for re-start (for 19 laps).
Quartararo claimed his third pole-position in a row with a new lap record for Silverstone (1m57.233s) and got away well on Sunday afternoon to pull out a lead of more than five seconds. He seemed to be heading for an assertive win but was sidelined by a mechanical problem.
Saturday's sprint race was won by Alex Marquez, ahead of his brother and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
Both the soft and medium front MICHELIN Power Slicks could be seen on the grid, but all the riders opted for the medium rear for Sunday's all-dry grand prix. Although wind added to the challenge all weekend, the lap record for Silverstone was bettered a first time by Alex Marquez on Friday afternoon before Quartararo lowered the benchmark further still on his way to claiming pole.
Marc Marquez continues to top the provisional Riders' standings on 196 points, chased by Alex Marquez (172) and Francesco Bagnaia (124).
Next round: GoPro Grand Prix of Aragon, Motorland Aragon, Spain (June 6-8).