Monster Yamaha Tech3 team stand-in rider Alex Lowes strongly clinched a point scoring finish in his inaugural MotoGP appearance at his home Grand Prix at the high speed Silverstone circuit. Lowes kicked off his day with a run to 3rd in the mixed conditions in the morning warm up, which filled the 25-year-old with confidence ahead of the 20-lap sprint. When the lights went out, the Briton charged forward, however, the race was stopped shortly afterwards due to an incident involving his teammate and another rider. At the restart, he leapt off the line as he completed the opening lap in 17th, and just two laps later, he moved up to 14th. Later on, he slipped back one position but remained fully focused as he looked to continue gathering as much experience as possible. Then with five laps left to run, he claimed 13th as he battled with Eugene Laverty in the final moments of the GP. After a last lap dash, the Tech3 rider eventually met the chequered flag in 13th which marks a superb close to his first MotoGP race.

On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team pit box, Pol Espargaro suffered bad luck at the British Grand Prix after being involved in a collision at turn one on the opening lap. The Spaniard leapt forward from the fifth row of the grid and after the short run down to the first turn, Loris Baz hit him and the incident caused the race to be red flagged. Espargaro was taken to the medical centre to be checked but was later deemed ok. The 25-year-old will seek to make amends at the next race in San Marino in just a few days time.

 
Alex Lowes - Position: 13th Championship: 23rd Points: 3

"Overall I have to be pleased with how the weekend has ended and I really learnt a lot in my first MotoGP experience, which I thought was amazing. The ever changing weather conditions made things a bit trickier at this event, and this was even more of a challenge for me because any condition would have been tough as it was my debut on the YZR-M1. With regards to the race itself, it was the first time that I ran with a full fuel load and also the first time that I completed more than six laps in a row. Therefore, of course, the learning curve was steep and it was tough. In the first few laps, I locked the front whilst braking a few times which made me lose a bit of confidence, but after that, I tried to understand the changing behaviour of the bike regarding the fuel and tyre life. I also watched the guys around me and I learnt a lot. In the end, I finished 40 seconds back from the leader and 20 from Lorenzo in my first GP race, which is positive, but the main objective was to reach the flag and I also claimed a few points. I feel that I could have ridden better, but maybe I am being a bit too negative on myself. Plus, I didn’t know what to expect here so I shouldn’t be harsh for not understanding everything immediately. However, I am a racer! Now I have a few days to digest what has happened so that I can be stronger in San Marino. I have to give a special thanks to the whole Tech3 team who did a great job this weekend and I am thankful for the chance." 

 
Pol Espargaro - position: DNF Championship 9th Points: 81

"I can’t say a lot about today because it was over before it really got going for me. In the first lap, I felt a strong impact from behind me at the first corner. I started to roll on the floor and then both my bike and Loris’ bike hit me. On one hand, I have to say that this incident was really bad luck, but then again, to be completely honest, the past few races have not gone exactly to plan. On the other hand, I have to be pleased that nothing worse happened. I must admit that I am feeling a lot of pain all over, and especially in my right tibia but this is not something that I am overly worried about and I am sure that with some relaxation and massages, I will be fine. I’m always a bit nervous when I start from quite far back on the grid because it’s dangerous and the accident today confirmed this. However, I missed the entrance to QP2 by one tenth and I paid a high price in qualifying when it rained which cost me even more in the race today. Having said that, I have to be happy that I am more or less ok after that hard crash and even though we have another GP in the next few days, I will be a lot better in Misano where I am confident that my luck will change and things will be a lot better."

Hervé Poncharal - Team manager: 

“It was a memorable day in MotoGP and we were treated to a highly entertaining race at Silverstone. For us, we were very worried when the GP began because there was a high-speed crash, which looked nasty. We could see that the bike flew into the air, and before the television cameras showed that Pol was ok and moving, we were really scared. Thank God that Pol is completely ok. He couldn’t restart the race, but the most important thing is that he is not injured, and he is fully fit for Misano. On the other side of the pit box, Alex did a great job. He learnt a lot, rode a strong race and passed some regular MotoGP riders. He is not entirely happy because he wanted more, but I consider this a good thing because he is hungry for success. We were hoping that he could score one point, but in the end, he got three, so altogether, it was a solid performance. I would like to thank him for his efforts and also Yamaha for letting him ride for Monster Yamaha Tech3. Italy is going to be another adventure for Alex because he wants to be closer to the mid-pack and we think he can do it. I also want to tell him that he made no mistakes, he learnt a lot in both the dry and the wet so he is almost a complete MotoGP rider. Now, we have a few days off to rest before Misano, but we are all excited for the next challenge.”