MotoGP 2025 British Grand Prix: Preview
- Finn Glover
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by Finn Glover, Edited by Sasha Macmillen
The British springtime sun seems to have ended just in time for MotoGP's Silverstone arrival; with rain expected for both Saturday and Sunday. The traditional August slot for the race has been scrapped, with the new May slot providing new challenges and a world of unknowns up ahead.
It's the famed British Grand Prix race week, and will we see the eleventh consecutive different winner at Silverstone?
The British Grand Prix: Silverstone Circuit
At 3.666 miles, Silverstone is MotoGP's longest circuit; and 20 laps around the cold asphalt can prove challenging for both tires and riders. Made up of 18 turns that provide a fascinating blend of high-speed sweepers and tight braking zones, it always proves a test for riders whilst lending itself to brilliant racing.
The track's F1 profile means that racing lines are extremely wide; and the surface is remarkably smooth due to constant testing use of the track. Due to also being built on an airfield, the track also has a lack of undulation, making for a much smoother ride for the riders.
It is home to a series of legendary corners, from the fast and sweeping turn one of Abbey into the tight braking zone at Village, as well as the iconic Copse and Maggots/Becketts sequence, providing a real challenge for the riders.
Long straights are common at Silverstone and are often a beneficiary to Ducati, yet the track's usual position after the summer break usually provides drama and ‘unusual winners’; will fortunes differ due to the track’s new spot at the beginning of the European adventure?
Past results
As previously mentioned, 11 different winners in the last 11 British Grands Prix shows the true unpredictability about the track. But in recent years, ⅔ of races have been won by the red of Ducati; with the outlier being Aprilia’s Aleix Espagaro in a damp race in 2023.
Last year, it was the Italian Enea Bastianini who claimed a double sprint and Grand Prix victory; guiding home a relatively ominous Ducati 1-2-3-4-5. Will the feat be repeated this year? Well, after recent rounds, the evidence would point against.
Silverstone, similarly to the likes of Lusail and Speilberg, is a track renowned for last-lap drama. Many previous editions came down to the final lap, and sometimes even the final corner. In 2019, Álex Rins swooped under Marc Márquez at the final corner to claim victory, and in 2023, Aleix Espargaró completed an audacious move into Maggots in the rain to beat the Ducati of Bagnaia on the final lap.
Barring the 2024 edition, Silverstone is a track relatively unfazed by the booming Ducati MotoGP demolition, with the 2023 race having two Aprilias and a KTM in the top four, and the 2022 edition having the top 11 riders separated by just seven seconds on the road after 40 minutes of racing. With a layout made for racing, and a real mix of corners, anything can happen and anyone can succeed at Silverstone; particularly with the harsh influence of the typical British weather playing havoc regularly.
Key notices
Thai rider Somkiat Chantra’s participation is uncertain after missing the French Grand Prix due to arm-pump surgery recovery, and with LCR not announcing any replacement as of yet, it seems as if Frenchman Johann Zarco may have to ride the team home safely by himself, and go chasing another victorie incroyable after his Le Mans heroics.
As for Honda, they will field a test rider for the third Grand Prix in a row; with Aleix Espagaró returning after a relatively decent run out in Jerez four weeks ago.
Lorenzo Savadori will continue in place of reigning champion Jorge Mártin at Aprilia, with the Spaniard still recovering after his horrid Qatar crash. Yet, a cryptic social media post by Martin has sparked all the talk, and despite not racing, his ‘personal comeback’ will dominate paddock discussion this weekend.
After crashing out not once, but twice in the closing stages of the Le Mans downpour, Álex Márquez threw away any realistic chances of reclaiming the championship lead in Silverstone, now sitting 22 points behind his brother Marc as we approach round seven.
But the gap is closing elsewhere, with Zarco’s heroic home performance lifting him to P6 in the championship onboard the LCR, and the varying fortunes for the constructors meaning that the ever-enticing Honda-KTM-Yamaha-Aprilia has widened slightly to 23 points.
After the wet-weather shenanigans in Le Mans, the only rider to score points in every Grand Prix main race is, remarkably, Honda’s Luca Marini, who sits a promising P13 in the championship after last year’s woes.
So, will it be a fourth different consecutive winner in 2025, and an 11th at Silverstone? With rain lingering in the air, it definitely could be possible, but at Silverstone, anything is possible! Both Márquez brothers and Ducati will be looking to bounce back after a (by their high standards) underwhelming French weekend, and the rest of the manufacturers will be looking to continue their recent promising form since the beginning of the European leg.
Don’t miss the inevitable action! MotoGP returns to your screens at 1pm BST, a bit earlier than usual to avoid the clash with the venerated Monaco Grand Prix. What will happen? Why even bother predicting?
