Following the traditional four-week summer break, the FIM MotoGP World Championship competitors returned to action at Silverstone, England. Held in May in 2025, the British round was moved to August this year. The change of date enabled both spectators and teams to enjoy more favourable weather conditions: despite initial concerns about rain, sunshine and warm temperatures prevailed throughout the weekend.
The event also attracted a strong crowd, with 105,885 spectators filling the grandstands around the 5.9-kilometre circuit, which features eight left-hand and 10 right-hand corners. Silverstone is the longest circuit on the calendar and also one of the fastest. Its sequences of very high-speed corners place significant demands on the rear tyre, while the heavy braking zones put the front tyre under considerable stress.
For the 2026 Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Great Britain, the rear Soft specification therefore featured a stiffer tread. Combined with the favourable weather conditions and the perfectly adapted tyre choices made by Michelin Motorsport’s partner teams, this evolution contributed to a weekend characterised by an exceptional level of performance.
Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Competition Manager: “From the very first practice session, we realised that this was going to be a weekend of extremely high performance. When our partners are already lapping faster than the previous year’s best race lap within their first few laps, we know that the results are going to be remarkable.
Moving the Grand Prix to August gave us better track conditions, but these performances were above all the result of the progress made by the bikes and the work Michelin Motorsport has carried out alongside its partners. Breaking records from one year to the next is not unusual, but improving the lap record by more than one second remains particularly impressive. The level of performance was also extremely high in every area and throughout the entire weekend. At the rear, the revised Soft specification proved to be an excellent ally thanks to its high level of grip, while the Medium compound demonstrated outstanding consistency over longer runs. At the front, the Hard tyre was the star of the weekend, delivering a very high level of satisfaction to all our partners. We leave Silverstone having broken every record, including some that had stood for several years. Beyond the symbolism, that is something very significant.”
On Saturday, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) won the Tissot Sprint ahead of Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).
On Sunday, Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) took victory in the Grand Prix ahead of Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) and his teammate Marco Bezzecchi. It was Fernandez’s second MotoGP victory, following his win in Australia in 2025, and made him the 12th different winner in 12 editions at Silverstone.
Silverstone’s new records
As early as Friday, eight riders had already beaten Fabio Quartararo’s previous record, set with his 2025 pole-position lap of 1’57.233. Taking advantage of ideal conditions, perfectly suited tyres and an optimised bike, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) initially set an impressive 1’56.280 lap on Friday afternoon, using Soft tyres at both the front and rear.
But on Saturday morning, during qualifying, his teammate Jorge Martin raised the bar even higher with a lap of 1’56.160. This is now the new outright MotoGP lap record at Silverstone.
The Tissot Sprint race duration was also reduced to 19’49.066.
On Sunday, the Grand Prix records also fell. The previous race lap record, which had stood since 2024 at 1’58.895, is now held by Raul Fernandez, who posted an impressive 1’58.457 early in the race. It is also worth noting that Alex Márquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) beat the previous record as well, setting a 1’58.652 on lap 14. This demonstrates that Michelin tyres delivered not only a high level of performance, but also remarkable consistency throughout the Grand Prix.
The overall Grand Prix race time was also improved in a particularly fast-paced race. The 20 laps were completed in 39’45.930, compared with 39’51.879 in 2025.
Finally, the fastest man ever recorded at Silverstone is now Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), who reached a top speed of 341.7 km/h. The previous record of 340.6 km/h had stood since 2022 and was set by Enea Bastianini (Ducati).
The next round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship will take place in Spain. The MICHELIN Grand Prix of Aragón will be held from August 28 to 30.
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