Andrea Dovizioso's win at Silverstone took him to the top of the standings. Picture: MotoGP.com Andrea Dovizioso's win at Silverstone took him to the top of the standings. Picture: MotoGP.com
Superstar Valentino Rossi led for most of the race but was forced to give best to Dovizioso and his Yamaha team-mate Maverick Vinales, finishing third, less than three-quarters of a second behind the leader in a cliffhanger finale to his 300th Grand Prix - which makes him the most experienced rider in history.
South Africa’s reigning Moto3 world champion Brad Binder put in another solid ride on the works KTM to finish ninth in the Moto2 race, moving up two places to 14th in the standings in his rookie year in the intermediate class.
Ducati Team leader Andrea Dovizioso became the first rider to win four races this season, as he delivered another tactical master class. In a close second but unable to make a last-lap lunge was Yamaha rookie Maverick Vinales with early leader Valentino Rossi completing the podium.
Rossi got a lightning start from the middle of the front row and disappeared into the distance in the initial stages, while Marquez - despite a huge moment early on - led a five-rider train of Honda privateer Cal Crutchlow, Vinales, Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Dovizioso.
'Desmo Dovi' soon blitzed his team-mate and the group began to pull away from Lorenzo, while Rossi held the advantage at the front. Then a sudden puff of smoke signalled the end of Marquez’ race, giving the championship a serious shake up, as Dovizioso and Vinales began reeling in ‘The Doctor’.
Dovizioso made the decisive move with three laps to go, swiftly followed by Vinales; Rossi tried to fight back, the distance between them concertinaing on almost every corner, but was unable to get close enough to make a move that would stick.
Having played his hand to perfection, Dovizioso was able to keep the advantage to the line for his fourth win of the year, with Vinales second and Rossi completing the podium. Crutchlow, not quite able to get close enough to make a move, took fourth.
Lorenzo had a great race to come home fifth, only 3.5s off his race winning team-mate, pulling away from Yamaha Tech 3 rider Johann Zarco in the closing stages, while Dani Pedrosa on the second factory Honda had to settle for seventh after a difficult day at the office.
Ducati privateer Scott Redding showed his home race pace again to take eighth, with Alex Rins (Suzuki) equalling his best result of the year in ninth and another Ducati privateer, Alvaro Bautista, completing the top 10.
Takaaki Nakagami took his second ever Moto2 win, making a good start from fourth on the grid to chase down championship leader Franco Morbidelli and take over at the front. Mattia Pasini was also able to charge past his compatriot to take second, with Morbidelli completing the podium in third.
Alex Marquez bolted off the front row of the grid to open a small gap by the end of lap one, as polesitter Pasini dropped back into the clutches of Nakagami. Morbidelli, soon on the Nakagami’s rear wheel, was second by the end of the first lap, and starting to reel his team-mate in.
After steadily catching Marquez, Morbidelli pounced and suddenly the team-mates 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 him.
After hitting the front, the Japanese rider was uncatchable, 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.
Nakagami came home 0.725s 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 continued. Morbidelli completed the podium, and gained another small margin in his championship lead.
Tom Luthi - another recently-announced addition to the MotoGP grid - took fourth, a considerable move up from ninth on the grid, finishing just one place behind key title rival Morbidelli. Top rookie Francesco Bagnaia completed the top five and was another to do well after a difficult qualifying, finishing ahead of Simone Corsi (Speed Up) in sixth.
Stefano Manzi 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 Northamptonshire circuit in 2016. He beat KTM lead rider Miguel Oliveira over the line by just 0.061s, with Binder on the second works KTM another few tenths back, while Dominique Aegerter completed the top 10 as first Suter home.
Aron Canet (Honda) came out on top in a clash of the Moto3 titans, with an incredible freight train of frontrunners throughout the race - including almost the entire field - only for the race to be red-flagged on the final lap. Canet’s team-mate Enea Bastianini took second for his first podium of the season, ahead of another impressive top finish for Jorge Martin, making it an all-Honda podium.
Polesitter Romano Fenati (Honda) got a good start and led the early stages, with the nature of the Silverstone circuit making sure no one could make a break for it - and almost the whole grid locked in battle at the front. Switching and changing positions throughout, the lightweight runners redefined the possible in some corners - two or three abreast in a spectacular display of the best of Moto3.
Going into the final lap it was Canet across the line first - and that proved crucial, as a crash further down the field on the final lap brought out the red flags, meaning positions would ultimately be decided by where the pack crossed the line on lap 16 of 17.
That gave Canet the win, Bastianini his first podium of the year, and was a cause of frustration for some as their tactics were cut short. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) took fourth, having been well up in contention throughout, just ahead of Joan Mir (Honda) as the championship leader increased his advantage once more.
Just behind Mir was team-mate Livio Loi in sixth - crucially, ahead of Mir’s key championship challenger Fenati. Andrea Migno (KTM) was only 0.024 off Fenati in eighth, with Philipp Oettl (KTM) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) completing the top 10.