(Editor's note) A few years ago, Nick Green went to le Mans for the 24 hour race and produced a photo report for us. It was different, and it was good and it was well received. Nick is back on the scene, and went to Silverstone to cover the British round of the MotoGP championship. The rest of the words and all the images are his.

Oh, and captions are below the picture.

Qualifying

After a six week summer break Moto Gp blasted back into life at Silverstone. Touted as ‘the home of British Motorsport’ no doubt in an attempt to draw visitors to the not very spectator-friendly Northamptonshire circuit. By not friendly, I am referring to the distance to the track from a viewing perspective and the huge fencing, but I do understand that safety comes first these days. On a brighter note, Silverstone has been updated quite significantly in recent years and the facilities are now pretty good. The track has always been good for competitors however, who enjoy the twists and seductive curves of the 5.9km super-smooth tarmac.

This year the Moto GP paddock had use of the Formula 1 pits and wing. A big improvement on the old pits and its only fitting that something as elevated as Moto GP can now use this up-to-date facility. > One thing it is the home of for sure; wind and rain and Saturday’s qualifying was certainly no exception.

In atrocious conditions Marco Bezzecchi 72 riding a Ducati (Team VR46) slithered his way to pole position, followed by Jack Miller 43 (RedBull KTM), Alex Marquez 73 (Gresini Racing Ducati), Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia 1 (Ducati Team) and fifth place, in his rookie year, Augusto Fernandez 37 (Tech 3 KTM).

Marc Marquez

Aleix Espargaro

Enea Bastianini having the rain wiped from his visor

Augusto Fernandez

Marco Bezzecchi 72 on his way to pole

Francesco (Pecco) Bagnaia 1

Alex Marquez 73 nips through on the inside of Bagnaia

Jack Miller 43 carving through the puddles

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The Sprint Race

The Sprint race, as the name suggests was the usual hectic affair, but the rain had abated and with a drying track it wasn’t as treacherous as anticipated. The riders opted for medium wets. Alex Marquez won his first ever Moto Gp race followed by Marco Bezzecchi in 2nd 0.366 seconds behind and Maverick Viñales in third 3.4 seconds away. Championship leader Bagnaia was a lowly 14th and out of the points.

Alex Marquez 73 rode a fine 10 laps to win his first ever Moto Gp race

Marco Bezzecchi 72 riding hard to a very close 2nd

Maverick Viñales on a mission returning to his previous good form in 3rd place

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The Main Race

The main race on Sunday was hotly anticipated. Rain was predicted but just held off. Could Bezzecchi 72, after his secocnd place in the Sprint race, further close the gap on championship leader Pecco Bagnaia 1? Bagnaia started fourth on the grid whilst Bezzecchi was on pole. After a few laps Bagnaia was in front and it stayed that way until the final lap when an on-form Aleix Espargaro 12 (5th in the sprint race) squeezed past and took the chequered flag. Brad Binder 33 took an excellent 3rd place on his RedBull KTM.