Fabio Quartararo ‘motivated’ by Long Lap penalty but Silverstone MotoGP win ‘will be tricky’

MotoGP series leader Fabio Quartararo is aiming for a second consecutive Silverstone win despite needing to serve a Long Lap penalty in Sunday’s race which has only fuelled the Frenchman’s fire.
Fabio Quartararo, Dutch MotoGP, 25 June
Fabio Quartararo, Dutch MotoGP, 25 June

A three-time MotoGP race winner so far this season, Quartararo h🐎eads into the British Grand Prix as one of the fa🍒vourites to claim victory. 

Along with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, the Monster Energy Yamaha ride🔜r h🔯as been the standout rider of a hugely competitive 2022 season thus far. 

And although mistakes have been at a premium from the reigning world champion, Quartararo will start Sunday’s Grand Prix on the backfoot 🐻after making a signifi🎉cant error in Assen

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Quartararo, who crashed into Espargaro while fighting for second place, was subsequently awarded a Long Lap penalty for this weekend, thꦯe first of his MotoGP career. 

Despite his disadvantage, Quartararo has his eyes set on victory: "I‘m happy to start riding again. I use🔜d the summer break to get some rest, but I also put in a lot of hours of training. My mind was always still on returni🌄ng to action in the best shape possible. 

"I am really looking forward to Silverstone - ওI won there last year. This time will be tricky because we know that we have that long-lap penalty… But if I‘m really honest, that only motivates me to do even better."

Can Espargaro, Bagnaia take advantage of Quartararo’s penalty?

While Silverstone should suit Quartararo and Yamaha, it’s 🥀also a circuit where Espargaro claimed his first podium for Aprilia last ꦜseason.

And given how consistent Espargaro has been in 2022, there’s no reaso✤n to suggest he won’t be in contention f💎or the win. 

For Francesco Bagnaia, the Ducati rider will be lo𝔍oking to carry on the momentum from Assen after taking a dominant victory ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Maverick Vinales. 

Francesco Bagnaia, Dutch MotoGP race, 26 June
Francesco Bagnaia, Dutch MotoGP race, 26 June

Strong 𝓡at every circuit so far this season, Silv🐻erstone should be no different for Ducati despite the Italian manufacturer having not won at Silverstone since 2017 - the British Grand Prix did not take place in 2018 and 2020. 

Can Bastianini take his fourth MotoGP win after ‘rollercoaster’ first-half of the year?

Although mistakes have hampered Bastianini’s early 𝓀season title challenge, the Italian remains equal on three wins with Bagnaia and Quartararo, showing just how strong the Gresini rider can and has been. 

But outside of his three wins Bastianini has not finished inside the top five in any race, thus consistency needs 🍷to be found following a first part of the year he described as a ‘rollercoaster’.

"We’re finally back in action! The break has been very useful to reset and look 👍back at the mistakes made in the first part of the season," said Bastianini. 

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Enea

"I real🍸ly like Silverstone and I really want to get a good result, so we can return to our best form. Our season has 🐼been a bit of a rollercoaster right now, so we want to be more consistent from now on."

Silverstone ‘crazy good’ - Fabio Di Giannantonio

Team-mate to Bꦚastianini, Di Giannantonio has actually ou♑t-performed his fellow Italian in recent rounds, especially when it comes to qualifying.

Speaking ahead of his first British Gran▨d Prix on MotoGP machinery, Di Giannantonio added: "Silverstone is a crazy good track. I like almost every circuit, but this one is simply fantastic. We return to action after a good break, which allowed us to recharge our batteries between holiday, training and WDW (World Ducat🌠i Week). 

"We’re surely ready: we hope to pick up from wher𝓰e we left off and continue to build on it for the whole second part of the season."

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