British MotoGP - Five Talking Points

MotoGP returns at Silverstone this weekend after its mid-term break. AFP Sport looks at five talking points ahead of the British MotoGP, the ninth round of the 20-race season:

World champion Francesco Bagnaia arrives at Silverstone with a spring in his step with wins in Mugello and Assen sandwiching second place in Germany before the summer break. That left the factory Ducati rider 35 points clear of Jorge Martin in the standings after eight races. 'Pecco' looked relaxed, refreshed and impatient to resume his assault on a second successive title at the track on Thursday. "I'm happy to start the second part of the year here, I love the layout at Silverstone," he said. "The weather's not so great but it's always like this here. The last three races were great, we've improved since the crash in Le Mans (France), we've become more consistent. We have to continue like this," added Bagnaia who at the same stage last season trailed Fabio Quartararo by 41 points.

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez limped into the summer break with his body and morale battered and bruised. The Spanish star endured a bumpy ride in the last few races, spending more time off his Honda than on it. No fewer than five falls over the race weekend in Germany followed by two at Assen forced him to miss the last two races. "The summer break arrived in the best moment for me," he grinned ruefully, revealing that he was still feeling pain in his ankle. His meagre tally after eight races is one sprint podium and one pole position - leaving the MotoGP star a lowly 19th with just 15 points to his name in the standings.

One big Silverstone story line in the build-up to this weekend's race involved a rider not even on the grid. Alex Rins suffered a double leg break at the Italian MotoGP in June, forcing the Spaniard to miss the German and Dutch races, and last week his LCR Honda satellite-team withdrew him from this ninth round of the championship. "I don't know when I will be able to return," he revealed. But Tuesday's announcement that he would be jumping ship to replace Franco Morbidelli at rival Japanese manufacturer Yamaha from 2024 caught the MotoGP world by surprise. He only joined Honda this season, from the now departed Suzuki, meaning he becomes the first rider in the MotoGP era to ride for all three Japanese teams. Rins, who will join forces with 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo, has proved his worth at Honda, landing the Grand Prix of the Americas in April - the only non-Ducati winner so far this campaign. "After so many bad days the announcement to sign for Yamaha has been incredible," he commented. "It's a project in a factory team which is what I was looking for."

Silverstone is the ninth race of the season, but the first for Pol Espargaro, violently catapulted off his KTM Tech3 GASGAS bike in practice for the opening race in Portugal back in March. The 31-year-old, who suffered "severe spinal trauma", admitted to feeling a mix of emotions as he finally gets his 2023 season up and running for his new team five months late. "I'm hungry at jumping on the bike but at the same time a little worried about what's to happen, getting back onto a machine with 330 horsepower weighing 150 kilos. I'll take the first sessions easy, I need to be patient, looking forward to getting this weekend over!" "My team are keeping me calm, 'relax' they tell me. I've skipped half the season, I will suffer for sure the first weekend."

If Francesco Bagnaia follows up last season's success at the Northamptonshire circuit he will be snapping a remarkable run of a different winner every year stretching back to Jorge Lorenzo in 2013. With Marco Bezzecchi (twice) and Jorge Martin already with wins this term there is every chance of that sequence continuing, especially if the infamous British summer plays its part with rain forecast for Saturday at least.