
Reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo was only able to grow his points lead by one to 22 in last weekend’s Silverstone race, after a long lap penalty meant he got mired in a pack and only finished eighth.
An injured Espargaro, who fractured his right heel in a 115mph crash in FP4, shadowed Quartararo in the race as he battled traction issues, while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won to cut his points deficit down to 49 having been 91 adrift after the German GP in June.