The GP weekend in Silverstone had a lot to offer on the track, Pecco Bagnaia ensured the seventh Ducati victory in 2022. But the crowd of spectators remained well below expectations.
Ever since MotoGP in England moved its venue from Donington Park to Silverstone, spectators at the British GP have never been so crowded as this year. 41,002 spectators came to the race in Silverstone on Sunday, and there were 100,400 fans over the whole weekend.
Almost 100,000 viewers over three days? A similar number of fans were there in Le Mans, Assen and at the Sachsenring before the summer break – but only on Sunday! By Silverstone standards it was an extreme drop, because last year 142,000 people came to the 5.9 km long track.
We spoke to Stuart Pringle, Silverstone’s Managing Director: “It was a sunny day and I’m a bit disappointed that we didn’t have more of an audience. I think the national promoter, the national broadcaster and the national governing body all have something to do here. We all have to pull together.”
“Dorna knows they have a big task ahead of them and we all felt it last year. When Valentino announced his retirement, we saw what happened to ticket sales. Everyone is still there in their Rossi shirts. It’s the dominant brand out there,” explained Pringle.
At the Formula 1 GP in early July, 115,000 fans attended Silverstone on Sunday alone, more than 300,000 over the entire weekend. With Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris, there were three local heroes at the start, and Max Verstappen regularly inspires fans. Is MotoGP currently missing the star? Valentino Rossi has ended his GP career, Marc Márquez is still working on his comeback after another operation in June.
“We will support Dorna in their initiatives,” explained the managing director of the traditional race track. “Formula 1 is held in high regard at the moment for doing a fantastic job with their Netflix series, which cannot be said of Dorna’s efforts. They are embarrassed that ‘MotoGP Unlimited’ went so wrong.”
In addition, of course, the economic situation throughout Europe has changed. People may not be able to spend that kind of money on a GP race anymore. “We have to make an effort, not just sit here and do what we’ve been doing for the last ten or twelve years. Then nothing will change,” says Pringle.
The operators haven’t had it easy lately. The GP could not take place in 2018 because heavy rain and standing water made it impossible to drive on the race track. The runway was then re-asphalted. But the race was also canceled in 2020 because the corona pandemic did not make it possible.
“We have absolutely no intention of losing the GP and I’m really encouraged by Dorna’s positive feedback on our event,” added Pringle. “If they have anything to complain about, it’s simply because we have so much space and so many seats and we don’t use it. You wouldn’t be unhappy with the crowd we had this weekend, but we can do better. We just have to work hard.”
MotoGP result, Silverstone (7th August):
1. Pecco Bagnaia (I), Ducati, 20 Rdn in 40: 10.260 min
2. Maverick Viñales (E), Aprilia, +0.426 sec
3. Jack Miller, (AUS), Ducati, +0.614
4. Enea Bastianini (I), Ducati, +1.651
5. Jorge Martin (E), Ducati, +1,750
6. Miguel Oliveira (L), KTM, +2,727
7. Alex Rins (E), Suzuki, +3,021
8. Fabio Quartararo (F), Yamaha, +3,819
9. Aleix Espargaró (E), Aprilia, +3.958
10. Marco Bezzecchi (I), Ducati, 6,646
11. Brad Binder (ZA), KTM, +7,730
12. Luca Marini (I), Ducati, +13,439
13. Takaaki Nakagami (J), Honda, +13,706
14. Pol Espargaró (L), Honda, +13,906
15. Franco Morbidelli (I), Yamaha, +16.359
16. Andrea Dovizioso (I), Yamaha, +20,805
17. Alex Marquez (L), Honda, +21,099
18. Remy Gardner (AUS), KTM, +24,579
19. Stefan Bradl (D), Honda, +28,773
20. Darryn Binder (ZA), Yamaha, +33,653
21. Raúl Fernández (E), KTM, +35,601
22. Fabio Di Giannantonio (I), Ducati, +36.460
– Joan Mir (E), Suzuki
– Johann Zarco (F), Ducati
MotoGP Riders’ World Championship after 12 of 20 Grands Prix:
1. Quartararo 180 Punkte. 2. Aleix Espargaró 158. 3. Bagnaia 131. 4. Bastianini 118. 5. Zarco 114. 6. Miller 107. 7. Brad Binder 98. 8. Rins 84. 9. Viñales 82. 10. Oliveira 81. 11. Martin 81. 12. Mir 77. 13. Bezzecchi 61. 14. Marc Márquez 60. 15. Marini 56. 16. Nakagami 45. 17. Pol Espargaró 42. 18. Alex Márquez 27. 19. Morbidelli 26. 20. Di Giannantonio 18 21. Darryn Binder 10. 22. Dovizioso 10. 23. Gardner 9. 24. Raúl Fernández 5.
Constructors’ Championship:
1. Ducati 271 Punkte. 2. Yamaha 180. 3. Aprilia 175. 4. KTM 131. 5. Suzuki 110. 6. Honda 88.
Team World Cup:
1. Aprilia Racing 240 Punkte. 2. Ducati Lenovo Team 238. 3. Monster Energy Yamaha 206. 4. Prima Pramac Racing 195. 5. Red Bull KTM Factory 179. 6. Suzuki Ecstar 161. 7. Gresini Racing 136. 8. Mooney VR46 Racing 117. 9. Repsol Honda 102. 10. LCR Honda 72. 11. WithU Yamaha RNF 20. 12. Tech3 KTM Factory 14.