A grueling weekend in the UK concluded with just two points for the Repsol Honda Team as Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl endure another difficult race.
Near perfect conditions continued to grace Silverstone on Sunday as race day dawned. A fast crash at Turn 4 during Warm Up for Pol Espargaro made for a busy midday for the Repsol Honda Team mechanics. Impeccable teamwork saw the #44 head into the race with both bikes prepared. Unfortunately, a slow start to the race saw Espargaro immediately drop out of contention for any major points, his pace improving dramatically in the second half of the race. Crossing the line in 14th, his race time was some five seconds faster than the previous year.
Stefan Bradl was left to rue yet more bad luck. Starting from 21st instead of 18th due to a penalty made for a complicated start to the race for the German. Then, during the race, he was handed a long lap penalty for a shortcut. The German was able to take the chequered flag in 19th position and gain more race experience.
In Japan, Team HRC celebrated a dominant victory at the Iconic Suzuka 8 Hours with Tetsuta Nagashima, Iker Lecuona and Takumi Takahashi at the helm of the Honda CBR1000RR-R. This returns Honda to the top step of the podium for the first time since 2014.