Top ten for Pol Espargaro at British GP thriller MotoGP 2019 Round 12 of 19, Silverstone Circuit (GBR) - RACE Pleasant summer conditions graced the Silverstone Circuit for the twelfth round of 2019 MotoGP. The series faced a resurfaced and typically fast and challenging layout and from where three of the four Red Bull KTM RC16s lined up together on the fifth row of the grid. Espargaro forced his way into contention for the top ten in the early phases, and once the race had settled after the fiery crash between Fabio Quartararo and Andrea Dovizioso on the first corner. Twenty long laps saw the Spaniard throttling the best of his works KTM RC16 in the tussle for sixth and he finished just over twenty-one seconds behind the gripping finale between Alex Rins and Marc Marquez. Only two seconds separated Espargaro from 6th spot. Johann Zarco and Miguel Oliveira were disputing positions on the fringe of the top ten until disaster struck when Zarco lost traction with the front end of his #5 racebike into the Loft Turn and hit the Portuguese sending both into the gravel and out of the running. Zarco has received a three-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Hafizh Syahrin was able to capture his best result of the season with 13th and 3 world championship points. Pol Espargaro: “It was a difficult race and the temperatures were quite high at the end which made the track slippery, more than we expected, and I was struggling with the rear tyre. Anyway, we were in the group fighting for sixth and we should be happy. We took some good points and we are playing for the top ten in the championship. The bike is getting better and better and we are doing a good job to be competing with the Hondas and Ducatis. Misano next and it is not the easiest for me but I have been fast in the past. We have a test in a couple of days and we’ll see what we can do.” Johann Zarco: “It was a shame about the crash because the race was interesting. I was in control and looking to overtake Miguel in that slow corner – as I was doing to a few others in practice – and in the end I just had to apologise to him for destroying his race. The whole weekend I showed a bit better pace. I will just have to wait for Misano now and hope to have the same kind of feeling.” Miguel Oliveira: “It was disappointing to crash with Johann. There is nothing else to say. I was feeling confident, the bike was feeling good, it was a realistic opportunity to finish inside the top 10 again but unfortunately it ended too early. I’m looking forward to the next one.” Hafizh Syahrin: “It was a hard and long race. In the beginning I tried to ride safe and didn’t really find a good rhythm. But after ten laps I could manage to come back step-by-step, I made my fastest lap on the last one. I’m really sorry to the team and everybody because I was just lacking confidence. For sure, this will be a different story in Misano, I will work hard to build my trust again, also during the test, which will help me a lot.” Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Team Manager: “We are very happy with Pol’s race performance and to be so close to sixth position when everybody had to manage the tyres and fuel. Again a single-digit result is very good for us, the project and for Pol especially after Red Bull Ring where he wasn’t able to finish. We are happy because we know this track is very difficult. We are not so happy with the race crash from Johann and it was unlucky that he hit Miguel and both riders went out. We have to take it like it is. I’m happy for Hafizh in P13 and it shows that he is getting better and better with the KTM. We know we have to push and work hard to make a step but we are at a point where we can fight for single-digit race results, which is our target this year. We are looking forward to the Misano test now and preparation for the race there.” Moto2 & Moto3 Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder fought with Jorge Navarro and Augusto Fernandez for Moto2 podium honours at Silverstone and also had to contend with pressure from Remy Gardner. The South African was eventually about to push the RC12 to 3rd for his fourth trophy of 2019. Teammate Jorge Martin managed 12th. In Moto3 SKY Racing Team VR46 duo Dennis Foggia and Celestino Vietti rode to 8th and 9th positions respectively. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Can Öncü finished outside the top twenty - in 24th – and less than 28 seconds from race winner Marcos Ramirez. MotoGP next heads to the east coast of Italy and the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli; firstly for a test on August 29th and then followed by the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini which will take place in in three weeks time. Next race: September 15th, Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini (ITA) Download the 2019 GoPro British Grand Prix Photo gallery HERE Results Race MotoGP Silverstone Circuit 2019 1. Alex Rins (ESP), Suzuki 40:12.799 2. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda +0.013 3. Maverick Viñales (ESP), Yamaha +0.620 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Yamaha +11.439 5. Franco Morbidelli (ITA), Yamaha +13.109 9. Pol Espargaro (ESP), Red Bull KTM + 21.079 13. Hafizh Syahrin (MYS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +54.783 DNF. Miguel Oliveira (POR), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +12 laps DNF. Johann Zarco (FRA), Red Bull KTM +12 laps Results Race Moto2 Silverstone Circuit 2019 1. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) Kalex +37:41.833 2. Javier Navarro (ESP) Speed Up +0.489 3. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.571 12. Jorge Martin (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +16.382 Results Race Moto3 Silverstone Circuit 2019 1. Marcos Ramirez (SPA), Honda 37:50.443 2. Tony Arbolino (ITA), Honda +0.240 3. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (ITA), Honda +0.374 24. Can Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +27.836 Contact: Press & PR Manager Sebastian Kuhn +43 676 599 0084 sebastian.kuhn@ktm.com