Alex Rins: 1st
Sylvain Guintoli: 12th (+ 45.478)

• Alex Rins runs calculated and precise race to take superb victory.
• Sylvain Guintoli brings home a great 12th place.
• Team thrilled with second top step of the season.

The 2019 British GP got underway in fantastic conditions as 50,000 fans turned out to enjoy a sizzling Silverstone for Round 12.

Hard tyres were the order of the day for the majority of the field as track temperatures reached 45c. Alex Rins got a solid start from his 5th place grid spot, slotting immediately into 3rd as a big accident happened just behind him. By the end of the first lap, Rins had put in a pass on Rossi to take 2nd place, he then proceeded to set several fast laps - running an excellent race pace and taking advantage of his corner speed and confident feeling with his GSX-RR.

With 12 laps left to go, Rins executed a move on race leader, Marquez, and the pair exchanged positions back and forth. As Marquez attempted to pull away, Rins stayed on his tail. Even a small moment at Turn 9 with 4 laps to go was not enough to distract Alex from his goal. As the laps ticked down, he looked for every opportunity to overtake his rival, finally pulling off a fantastic move in the final corner to take his second win of the season. He also regains 3rd place in the Championship standings.

Sylvain Guintoli, standing in for Joan Mir, ran a consistent and solid race whilst also collecting useful data. The Frenchman took a great 12th place and four championship points.

A Close Finish

Ken Kawauchi - Technical Manager:

“Finally, Silverstone has become a favourite track for us! We’re happy to be back on the podium, but with first position it’s really incredible. Thank you to everyone who is working hard in the team and factory, they made this win happen. Sylvain did a great job this weekend, and this win is down to the contributions of him and the test team. We’re looking forward to continuing the season in a couple of weeks and seeing Joan soon.”

Davide Brivio - Team Manager:

“What a win! I was hoping to have a battle like this one day, especially a battle with Marquez. Alex was just great, he stayed behind, and he stayed calm, he ran a very clever race. He studied the situation and waited for the right moment to try for the win. It was perfect, fantastic. To win against Marquez isn’t easy, and we’re very happy! Sylvain got some good points and he has done a great job to help us develop the bike. Everyone in the team and all the staff in Japan are working so hard, and I want to thank them all.”

Alex Rins:

“Today has been unbelievable. I won in Austin, beating Valentino. And now I’ve won here, beating Marc. These guys are very fast and are ‘legends’ of the sport. I knew it would be difficult to beat Marc today, but I really wanted to try, and it was fantastic to do it. In a couple of the sectors he was faster than me, but I could make it up in some other areas. But towards the end of the race I felt I had better pace than him, and I told myself that I must go for it and take the chance, I saw the opportunity and I made it happen. Big thanks to everyone in the team!”

Sylvain Guintoli:

“The race felt good for me, I had strong pace, especially towards the end. I was hoping to be able to score points, but I didn’t expect this many and a 12th place. It’s fantastic that Alex put the bike on the top step, the team really deserve it and it just shows how much hard work and commitment they are putting in all the time. What a great weekend.”