We have barely caught our breathes after an hectic and historial French Grand Prix in Le Mans, but another stunner might just be awaiting us this week again, as Red Bull KTM Tech3 is heading to the iconic Silverstone circuit for the Tissot Grand Prix of the United Kingdom, held in May for the first time since MotoGP™ has landed at this track. It could be sunny all weekend, it could be raining all weekend, it could be a bit of everything, we never know… That’s the magic of Silverstone! One thing is sure, racing is expected to be fantastic, and both Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini will be eager to race on one of the favorites of the calendar!
Grand Prix of The United-Kingdom
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Maverick Viñales will be heading across the English Channel with high confidence after the Spaniard performed his best 2025 weekend in France. After he placed his RC16 in P5 on the grid, ‘Top Gun’ took the 5th place in both sprint and race. Sunday in Le Mans was hectic, but Maverick showed his potential on the KTM in the wet after a race without any mistakes, while many others committed some. He will be arriving in Silverstone eager to keep the momentum going and hopefully shine in the UK. Enea Bastianini is arriving at one of his favorite tracks of the year, having won both sprint and race in 2024. He will have to serve a long lap penalty in the race on Sunday following his involvement in the T3-crash at the start of the race in France, but that will for sure only give him extra motivation to try performing well, and place his RC16 a bit more ahead on the grid. Bastianini showed once again excellent and competitive pace on Sunday in Le Mans, and we know he will have the potential to be up there too this week in the UK.
The schedule will be slightly different to what we are used to, probably to prevent the expected cold morning conditions of May in England! The premier class will kick off its British GP on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 at 11:45 local time (UTC+1), followed in the afternoon with the one-hour Practice at 16:00. We will start a bit later too on Saturday with both Vinales and Bastianini returning on track at 11:10 for FP2, immediately followed by the qualifying sessions. In the afternoon, la Crème de la Crème of MotoGP™ will line up together for the first points at stake of round 7, when lights of the Tissot Sprint go out at 16:00, for ten laps. Finally, the main race will take place on Sunday at 13:00, for twenty laps. BRING IT ON SILVERSTONE!
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "We are heading to Silverstone, a track that I have always enjoyed, so it will be interesting to see what we can do there with the KTM. Le Mans was crazy in many ways, but it was a very solid weekend for us on all plans, in qualifying, in sprint, race and in different track conditions! We are feeling better and better every race weekend, and the goal is to keep the momentum going, continue working hard all together as a team, and I am confident that we will get closer and closer to the top guys. Let's see how it goes this week in Silverstone. The weather is always tricky there, but I guess we had a bit of training last week in France!"
ENEA BASTIANINI: "Le Mans was crazy for sure, but despite all the penalties, we managed to show decent pace in the race and score points. We are now focused on Silverstone, a track that I really enjoy, and where I am normally fast, so it will be interesting to see how the KTM behaves on this track. We have a long lap penalty to serve in the race, it’s not ideal, but let’s focus on doing a good job from Friday and try getting a better spot on the grid ahead of our penalty."
NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "We have just recovered from our emotions after a hectic race in Le Mans, and we are now moving across the English Channel for the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom on the longest track of the championship, Silverstone. Races at this track have always been in August, so this year is a bit unusual, we will have to see how the conditions are. Eitherway, Maverick Viñales will go there with his confidence level at maximum, as he continues to follow his impressive adaptation to our KTM bike, in addition to being happy with both bike and team. The French GP was his best weekend of the season with two top 5, so we can for sure count on him to continue his progression this week. Enea Bastianini’s weekend in Le Mans was tricky, but still he managed to collect 3 points. Silverstone might be the race where he could click on the bike, because he loves it, as he showed it in 2024 winning both sprint and race. Unfortunately, he will have to serve a long lap penalty during the race, but I am sure that it will give him extra motivation to perform in the UK."
ABOUT THE TRACK
Silverstone’s first motorcycle Grand Prix was held in 1977, and has been the playground of champions ever since. The UK has produced some of the best riders in MotoGP™’s history – Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Phil Read and Barry Sheene, just a few of the Brits who’ve won the hearts of the crowds, and championships! Silverstone has become one of the most prestigious venues dedicated to motorsport, welcoming now both Formula 1 and MotoGP™ in addition to many other prestigious competitions. The ‘Silverstone Wing’, a state-of-the-art, multi-million pound complex, became a new landmark at the circuit from 2011, thus adding to already breathtaking facilities at Silverstone. With a length of 5.9 km, Silverstone is the longest track of our calendar and its long straights require a lot of hard braking, making it a fun playground for MotoGP™ riders.
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - A. Espargaro (SPA) - 1'57.309 - 181.0 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - A. Espargaro (SPA) - 1'58.895 - 178.6 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - A. Espargaro (SPA) - 1'57.309 - 181.0 km/h
Top Speed: 2022 - E. Bastianini (ITA) - 340.6 km/h
