Maverick Vinales was unperturbed by an early red flag as he claimed the first win of his MotoGP career in an action-packed British Grand Prix.
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Vinales seals first MotoGP win at Silverstone
A big crash on the opening lap led to the British GP being restarted and Maverick Vinales produced a phenomenal display to top the podium.
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Vinales, whose first premier-class podium came when he finished third in France in May, produced a scintillating display at Silverstone to take victory ahead of Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi.
The Suzuki Ecstar rider surged from third to lead before an incident involving Loris Baz and Pol Espargaro forced the race to be red flagged on the opening lap.
Another strong start from Vinales saw him move to the front quickly in the restarted race, and the 21-year-old pulled away from there and never came close to being caught.
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Crutchlow (LCR Honda), who started his home race on pole, made a late charge from fifth to finish second, though he had to fight off championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda).
When Marquez ran wide trying to overtake Crutchlow, he lost out to Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) and team-mate Dani Pedrosa, with his championship lead over the Italian cut to 50 points despite recovering one place.
VINALES MAKES HISTORY FOR SUZUKI
Suzuki had not been on the podium in the premier class at the British Grand Prix since Randy Mamola came in third at 1983. Vinales ended their barren run at Silverstone and in the process became their first race winner since Chris Vermeulen at the French GP in 2007.
BIG CRASH CAUSES RED FLAG
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As the riders approached turn two, Baz (Avintia) moved across the track to go side-by-side with Espargaro (Monster Yamaha). Baz appeared to clip the back of Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac) and went down, taking Espargaro with him and they tumbled across the grass and the track while their bikes flipped behind them. The red flags came out as the field completed their first lap, but Baz and Espargaro were conscious when examined following the crash.
IANNONE PUSHES TOO HARD
Andrea Iannone's bravery and commitment on the Ducati cannot be questioned, but it may have cost him a podium once again at Silverstone. As the race entered its second half, Iannone flew from sixth to third before eventually darting down the inside of Rossi for second. However, with five laps to go, the Italian lost control at Luffield and let Crutchlow go through to take his spot in the top three.
TOP 10
TITLE STANDINGS
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1. Repsol Honda 330 2. Movistar Yamaha 306 (-24) 3. Ducati 185 (-145) 4. Suzuki Ecstar 185 (-145) 5. Monster Yamaha 126 (-204)
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There will be little time for rest as the riders head to San Marino next week for the 13th race of the season.
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