The 2022 British Grand Prix was the first race in the premier class of motorcycling since 1968 to see the top 5 taken by Italian bikes
The 2022 World Motorcycle Championship returned from its summer break last weekend at Silverstone with yet another close race. In the ranking of races with the closest top-15 results, Silverstone 2022 emerges in fifth place.
But apart from that, a decades-old statistic was also rewritten at Silverstone. For the first time in 54 years, the top five positions in the race results were all occupied by manufacturers from Italy, specifically Ducati and Aprilia.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) won ahead of Maverick Vinales (Aprilia), Jack Miller (Ducati), Enea Bastianini (Gresini-Ducati) and Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati). This all-Italian top 5 result in terms of brands followed directly on the heels of an all-Italian top 4 result.
At the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen – the last race before the summer break – Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati), Vinales and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) had ensured four Italian bikes in the top four positions in the race results. This was topped in Silverstone.
The last race in the premier class in which five Italian bikes made it into the top five was the Grand Prix of Nations in Monza on 15 September 1968. At that time, the 500cc race was won by Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta) ahead of Renzo Pasolini (Benelli), Angelo Bergamonti (Paton), Alberto Pagani (Linto) and Silvano Bertarelli (Paton).
The manufacturers MV Agusta, Benelli and Paton still exist today, but Linto no longer does.
