Critically for Lorenzo, the Mallorcan made another strong start and dived into the lead at Copse corner. In a near repeat performance to Brno last weekend, he would proceed to resolutely defend from both Repsol Honda Team riders. Marquez then seized the advantage at Brooklands just over two laps from home, only for Lorenzo to retake the lead as he confidently out-braked his opponent at Vale. On the final lap, Marquez again grabbed the advantage at Brooklands, before Lorenzo re-passed in a confident move at Luffield which featured slight contract between the two bikes.

The leading duo crossed the finish line separated by just 81 thousandths of a second, meaning Silverstone continues a pattern from Brno of witnessing the closest finish of the season so far. The triumph also marks Lorenzo’s first win since Catalunya in mid-June. Struggling for rear grip, Pedrosa was a further one and a half seconds behind, having been unable to take advantage of the battling pair in front of him. In fourth spot was Rossi who, having dropped back after his strong start, had become involved in yet another entertaining battle with GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, while LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finished in sixth place.

Having missed his home race in 2011 before starting at the back in 2012, Cal Crutchlow had hoped for a much stronger Silverstone weekend in 2013. He crashed twice on Saturday and again in Sunday’s Warm-Up, then paid the price for a poor getaway as the Tech3 rider plummeted from third to sixth at the start. He would fall back to his eventual finishing position of seventh when the charging Bautista – who had lined up eighth on the grid – overtook at the end of Lap 1.

Crutchlow’s teammate Bradley Smith again found himself dicing with the pair of Ducati Team riders, but was ultimately taken advantage of by Nicky Hayden for eighth place. Smith would end the day ninth, while Andrea Dovizioso crashed out on the penultimate tour. The Italian joined second-lap faller Lukas Pesek (Came IodaRacing Project) on the sidelines, promoting Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro into the top ten despite a broken finger and injured neck after a Saturday crash; he therefore led home the CRT riders as PBM’s Michael Laverty ended his maiden home race in 19th position, ahead of Colombian teammate Yonny Hernandez.

With the triple-header of Indianapolis, Brno and Silverstone now over, MotoGP™ returns in two weekends’ time with the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini from Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. With six events remaining in 2013, debutant Marquez carries an advantage of 30 points over Pedrosa, with Sunday’s winner Lorenzo now trailing the championship leader by 39 points. After the race, it was announced that Marquez had received two penalty points for his part in the Crutchlow Warm-Up incident, having not slowed sufficiently under yellow flags.

Yamaha Racing image

Jorge Lorenzo (courtesy of Yamaha): "This was one of the best races I’ve ever had. I’m really happy and really pleased. It’s a very important win. I pushed from the beginning to try and open a gap, even more than in recent races but it was impossible. Marc never gives up, even if he’s a little bit injured after the warm up. He overtook me three laps from the end so I studied him a little for one lap and I saw he was struggling in some braking so I overtook him on the corner where he crashed. I pushed in the last lap to the maximum, I opened a little gap but I made a mistake in braking and almost crashed. When he overtook me three corners from the end I thought it was over again and second place but then he opened a little gap in the last corner so I thought "now or never" and I tried and got it. To be honest I’m not thinking about the championship, I’m thinking just to enjoy this victory which was very special to get then focus on Misano!”

Moto2:  Redding victorious in home British GP

Moto2™ championship leader Scott Redding has won his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider, who took the lead off the start line, was assisted in the closing stages as a tight battled raged for second place. Pole-sitter Takaaki Nakagami and Tom Luthi completed the podium.

On Saturday, Japan’s Nakagami had claimed his second pole position within the space of a week, but it was Redding who seized the lead as the red lights went out. Critically for the English rider, much fighting over the remaining rostrum places would prove a decisive element in his first home victory since 2008, when he had claimed a career-first win in the 125 class at Donington Park.

A race-long duel between Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team) and Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing) featured various changes of position, not least on the last lap when the duo swapped places at Vale and Club corners before battling deep into the Brooklands complex. The Japanese would finish ahead of the Swiss, with Tuenti HP 40’s Tito Rabat and Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter in close attendance. Redding’s teammate and Brno winner Mika Kallio was sixth.

Sunday was a difficult affair for title contender Pol Espargaro. Following a crash at the start of the Warm-Up session, the Tuenti HP 40 rider started sixth on the grid but lost ground in the early stages of the race – falling to as low as 11^th. He fought back up to eighth behind Came Iodaracing Project’s Johann Zarco, but crucially loses a further 17 points in his championship fight with Redding. Six races remain in 2013.

Three riders failed to finish. Argiñano & Gines Racing’s Alberto Moncayo was an early faller, while British wildcard Gino Rea (Gino Rea Montaze Broz Racing, fracturing the fourth metacarpus of his right hand) and Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team) crashed across the final pair of laps.

At JiR Moto2, Australian Jason O’Halloran finished 25^th as he replaced France’s Mike di Meglio, injured at Brno, while both Blusens Avintia’s Dani Rivas and Argiñano & Gines Racing’s Steven Odendaal missed the race following a multiple collision at the end of the morning Warm-Up.

Moto2™ continues in two weekends’ time, with the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Scott Redding - who has become the first Briton to win an intermediate class race in his home country since Tom Herron triumphed at the Isle of Man TT in 1976 - will head to Italy with a 38-point championship advantage over Pol Espargaro.

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Moto3:  Salom pips Rins to Silverstone victory

Luis Salom has extended his Moto3™ championship lead with a second consecutive victory, beating Alex Rins by just 49 thousandths of a second in the Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Alex Marquez rounded out the rostrum while pole-sitter Maverick Viñales just failed to establish a new podium finishes record.

Silverstone marked the end of the triple-header which had first taken the championship to Indianapolis and Brno; with this in mind, many were keen to sign off with victory ahead of a two-week break until the next race.

Salom started as he meant to continue by shooting into the lead from third on the grid. Before the 17 laps were completed, however, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider would exchange positions on various occasions with Team Calvo’s Viñales and Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Rins, with Rins’ teammate Marquez also very much in the battle. Salom would confirm his sixth win of the season by less than half a tenth of a second, with second-placed Rins having had to defend as well as attack on the final tour.

Marquez’s top three result was his second in three races, while in fourth Viñales finished off the podium for the first time this year; in the process, he just misses out on becoming the first rider in history to claim 11 successive podium finishes from the start of a season in the lower class of the World Championship. The top six was completed by Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira and Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger, while Britain’s John McPhee (Caretta Technology – RTG) scored two points in his home Grand Prix, finishing 14^th.

Four riders failed to see the chequered flag, including La Fonte Tascaracing’s Alessandro Tonucci who was involved in a high-speed Woodcote collision with Aspar’s Eric Granado in the closing stages of the races. The first pair of retirements were CIP Moto3’s Juanfran Guevara and teammate Alan Techer, both out of the race in a first-lap collision at Vale with Racing Steps Foundation KRP’s Wayne Ryan. Zulfahmi Khairuddin, teammate to Salom, recovered to 20^th place after being forced to start from the pit lane following technical problems on the grid.

Salom’s championship lead over Viñales is now 26 points, with Rins a further seven behind. Moto3™ continues at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini taking place in two weeks’ time.