SILVERSTONE: Suzuki’s Alex Rins passed MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez at the final corner to win a thrilling British Grand Prix on Sunday.

After trying a move around the outside of Woodcote corner on the penultimate lap, Rins then lunged through on the inside to edge fellow Spaniard Marquez to the chequered flag by 0.013 seconds.

It was Suzuki’s second win in three attempts, following Maverick Vinales’s victory at Silverstone three years ago.

“Unbelievable. I don’t have words to explain,” Rins said. “I was keeping calm, I knew he was faster on the last part of the sector but [the] last corner for me was unbelievable, I was much faster than him, and finally we get it.”

The race was marred by a horrific crash involving Andrea Dovizioso and Fabio Quartararo in the opening lap.

MotoGP rookie Quartararo crashed out on the exit of the first corner, with the luckless Dovizioso powerless to avoid the Frenchman’s Petronas Yamaha bike.

Both riders were initially cleared of injury but Ducati’s Dovizioso was later transported to hospital after he had briefly lost consciousness in the incident.

“After the big crash on lap 1 @AndreaDovizioso has nothing broken but has been transferred to Coventry Hospital for further checks due to a severe blow to the head that caused a momentary loss of memory,” Ducati wrote on Twitter.

With Italian Dovizioso crashing out, Marquez extended his lead in the championship to 78 points after 12 of 19 races.

“Happy of course about the championship — about the race, no,” Marquez said. “I closed gas and he [Rins] had better grip, he overtook me. But okay, happy, he’s very far in the championship, we arrive here 58 in front and we leave 78 in front.”

Vinales was third on a Yamaha after finishing 0.6 seconds behind the lead pair, while his team-mate Valentino Rossi took fourth spot.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2019