SILVERSTONE ATTRITION LEAVES ONLY 16 FINISHERS AS RIDERS CITE TYRES AND CONDITIONS

Silverstone’s MotoGP race produced a striking attrition figure, with only 16 riders finishing from 23 starters. That 16-finisher total was the joint-second-lowest in the class this season, matching the numbers recorded in France, Hungary and the Netherlands, while Germany had even fewer with 15.

Speaking after the British Grand Prix, Pol Espargaro pointed to a mix of conditions that, in his view, pushed tyres and handling close to the limit. He said the circuit was hotter than expected for Silverstone, adding that “the front tyre was a bit on the limit, on the edge.” From there, he linked the situation to rear-wheel wear and the specific tyre choices used on Sunday. Espargaro noted that “there is a lot of degradation on the rear,” and that the medium compound was “for sure harder than the soft yesterday,” which he felt reduced the support available. With the front working harder and the rear degrading, he concluded that “all the crashes were pretty much the same.”

Jack Miller offered a slightly different emphasis, focusing on grip changes over the weekend. The Pramac Yamaha rider felt the track was less consistent on Sunday, describing it as “a little bit slipperier, a little bit more slippery today.” He suggested the cause could be related to temperature or other factors, saying, “Whether that's from temperature or Moto2 or whatever – obviously everyone being on the mediums.” Miller also stressed the length and difficulty of the race, arguing that it made tyre management harder than usual. “It was a long old race this one at Silverstone and this year especially it was even harder to keep the tyres under the thing,” he said, pointing to the pattern of crashes as evidence.

Across the countries that shared the same low finishing count, the distribution of retirements was notable. Of the four nations with 16 finishers, Augusto Fernandez was the only one who had wildcarded in 2026, and he had only been present at Assen among those events. That left Britain, Germany and the Netherlands each with seven retirements at their respective races.