MotoGP riders have given multiple reasons for the high attrition race in the British Grand Prix.
From 23 starters, only 16 riders finished the Silverstone MotoGP race, an attrition rate that has multiple factors according to the riders themselves.
16th is the joint-second-lowest number of finishers in a MotoGP race this season, with France, Hungary, and the Netherlands also only having 16 finishers. Only Germany had less with 15.
Of those four, Augusto Fernandez – the only rider to have wildcarded in 2026 as most factories wind down their development on the 1,000cc MotoGP bikes, or in Ducati’s case are prohibited from entering wildcards by their concessions tier – was only at one, Assen, meaning Britain (where Fernandez was also a wildcard), Germany, and the Netherlands have all had seven retirements each.
There were many causes for this at Silverstone, Pol Espargaro thinks, including tyres and track temperature.
“Well, the track was hotter than normal to be here in Silverstone,” Espargaro explained after the race.
“The front tyre was a bit on the limit, on the edge.
“Then you plus that there is a lot of degradation on the rear, plus the medium tyre is for sure harder than the soft yesterday, so you have less support, the front is pushing more.Â
“So, all the crashes were pretty much the same.”
Jack Miller was less sure about the cause, but he felt the track was “more slippery” on Sunday than earlier in the weekend, which he felt contributed to the number of crashes
“It was a little bit slipperier, a little bit more slippery today,” the Pramac Yamaha rider said.
“Whether that's from temperature or Moto2 or whatever – obviously everyone being on the mediums.Â
“But it’s a long old race this one at Silverstone and this year especially it was even harder to keep the tyres under the thing.Â
“As you see with all of the crashes and so on.”
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