MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Britain

Ducati talisman Andrea Dovizioso roared to victory in the 2017 MotoGP British Grand Prix on Sunday after defending World Champion Marc Marquez blew his engine with seven laps remaining. Dovizioso clinched his first place finish with Yamaha pair Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi following in second and third.

Dovizioso moved up to first in the standings and is nine points ahead of Marquez. He ended an eight-year drought at Silverstone, winning his first Moto GP British Grand Prix since 2009. Marquez's late retirement handed his pursuers new hope in making sure he doesn't add a fourth world championship to his collection, with the Spaniard dropping from first as a result.

Rossi was the leader for much of Sunday's meeting at Silverstone and only lost his perch near the race's crescendo, with Dovizioso continuing the best season of his career with a second successive win. The 31-year-old capitalized on Marquez's falter following a daring display in the British midlands. Rossi got a great start and was swiftly followed by Marquez, Vinales and Dovizioso, the three of whom remained on The Doctor's tail for the majority of the race.

Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa formed part of an outsiders' group that battled for seniority outside the main pack, but even they applied pressure on the podium places in a thrilling contest. Marquez's first retirement in more than three months came out of the blue, as he was forced to pull up at the end of the Hangar Straight after smoke busted out of his bike, making for major drama late on in the race. Victory in San Marino could make Dovizioso the first rider to seal three successive MotoGP wins since Lorenzo won four in a row during the 2015 campaign.

Lewis Hamilton wins Britain Grand Prix

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix for the fifth time matching the record of Jim Clark and Alain Prost – to cut Sebastian Vettel championship lead to just a single point after late tyre dramas hit both Ferraris. They allowed Valtteri Bottas to grab second from Kimi Raikkonen to secure a Mercedes one-two, as Vettel trailed home seventh.

Red Bull – off the pace of the frontrunners all afternoon – were the key beneficiaries, with Max Verstappen fourth and Daniel Ricciardo – the fans’ Driver of the Day after battling his way up from P19 on the grid –fifth. Behind them, Nico Hulkenberg secured a superb sixth place for Renault – some consolation for the French team after Jolyon Palmer in the sister car went out with hydraulic problems on the formation lap. The Force India’s of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez took the flag in eighth and ninth respectively, with Felipe Massa the final point scorer for Williams in tenth.

As Red Bull fell back, Bottas in the other Mercedes was pushing forward. He moved ahead of Verstappen after the latter’s pit stop on the 19th lap, then ran long on his soft tyres, climbed to second behind Hamilton as the Ferraris stopped, then battled after them on his supersoft tyres after pitting on the 32nd of the 51 laps. Vettel succumbed as the Mercedes slammed past going up to Stowe on the 43rd lap, after an attempt round the outside there the previous lap hadn’t quite worked out, and then Bottas began to slice into Raikkonen’s advantage as he sensed a possible Mercedes one-two.

Stoffel Vandoorne couldn’t quite turn his top 10 qualifying position into points with 11th for McLaren, who lost Fernando Alonso at just over half distance with mechanical problems. Haas took 12th and 13th with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, as Marcus Ericsson was Sauber top finisher in 14th ahead of the delayed Kvyat, who got a drive-through penalty for rejoining the circuit unsafely and thus causing the collision with his team mate. Lance Stroll was 16th for Williams with some ‘aero loss’ late in the race, leading home Sauber Pascal Wehrlein.