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Behind the Scenes of Silverstone’s Gamble to Save the British GP

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The 2018 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was a miserable affair from every possible perspective.

On Friday, the riders complained bitterly about the bumps that had appeared, despite the track having been resurfaced over the winter, a complaint which echoed the Formula 1 drivers, who had raced there several weeks earlier.

On Saturday, in a downpour, several riders crashed at the end of Hangar Straight, including Tito Rabat. Unfortunately for Rabat, Franco Morbidelli crashed immediately after him, his bike slamming into Rabat and shattering the Avintia Ducati rider’s leg. Rabat would face a very long recovery to come back from such a severe injury.

Things got worse on Sunday. Heavy rain drenched the track after warm up, and continued steadily throughout the day. Mindful of Rabat’s accident, and the fact that there was standing water at several points on the track, the racing was delayed in the hopes of better weather. When better weather didn’t arrive, it was called off altogether.

That created a massive problem for Silverstone. Though fans who had turned up on Sunday had their tickets and parking refunded, the future of the British Grand Prix – both of them, F1 and MotoGP – was at stake.

The surface laid by Aggregate Industries was not deemed good enough to race on, the bumps coming through too quickly, and the drainage not good enough.

If Silverstone wanted to continue hosting world championship motorsports, they would have to resurface once again. And they could not afford to get it wrong again this time.

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MotoGP

Qatar GP Moved to February, With Track Modifications

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The Losail International Circuit is to be resurfaced, with the aim of moving the opening race back to February.

The question of resurfacing came to a head after last week’s season-opener MotoGP round at Qatar, when light rain caused the start of the MotoGP race to be delayed, raising concern among the riders over the evening dew, which starts to form on the track surface at around 10pm.

There were serious concerns that the track would become too treacherous to race on, if the race were to be delayed for too much longer.

As such, the surface and condition of the Losail circuit was a talking point all weekend, which only compounds the issue that the asphalt itself is nearly fourteen years old, as the track has not been resurfaced since it was first built.

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Racing

Video: Always Awesome Aussie Asphalt

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I love Phillip Island. The track is picturesque and surrounded by water, not to mention its ocean view as you head down the front straightaway. One of my favorite tracks to ride, lapping around PI is more about connecting corners, than hitting braking zones, and every turn seems to flow into the next one on the Australian circuit, which gives you a real zen surfing moment on the bike.

This year, Scott and I made the pilgrimage down under, where we were hosted by good friends, ate good food, and turned heads as we drove our “ute” into the paddock every morning  (yeah, people were jealous of our sweet ride). Mancation success.

You only need to spend a few days at Phillip Island to realize that the Aussie fans are rabid for their motorcycle racing. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, they showed up en masse to give their boy Casey Stoner a proper send-off, and as usual, stormed parc fermé during the trophy ceremony. It is readily apparent that Phillip Island is a place where motorsport is truly enjoyed.

So, it doesn’t surprise me one bit to see how genuinely excited circuit workers are at repaving their venerable track. I mean seriously, watch the video after the jump and try to remember the last time you saw someone so grinning ear-to-ear about pouring “ash-felt” for miles in the middle of summer. They’re a special breed these Aussies, just like their macadam. Expect records to drop in 2013.

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MotoGP: Phillip Island Resurfacing Project Commences

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After several years of steady deterioration, the surface at Phillip Island is about to get fixed. According to reports from Australia, work commences on resurfacing the iconic Australian circuit on Tuesday morning (Monday USA time), and over a period of two days, the track will receive a fresh layer of asphalt, for the first time since 1998.

The new surface is to be laid over a flatter substrate, with 40mm of the old tarmac already having been removed to make way for the new asphalt. The aim of the project is to remove the bumps which have accrued over the years, as the track has taken punishment from MotoGP, World Superbikes, Australian V8 Supercars, and the many track days and other events which happen at the circuit nearly all year round.

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Begins Repaving Infield

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced that it has begun repaving the infield section of its road course, which should finally resolve surface conditions MotoGP riders have complained about while racing at the Indianapolis GP. Repaving Turn 5 thorough Turn 16, Indy will lay over 1.5 miles of asphalt, and if the weather permits, the work should be done by the end of this week.

According to the circuit it is grinding the current tarmac flat, and then laying fresh pavement over the resurfaced track. The new asphalt will match existing pavement on the remainder of the GP circuit, thus eliminating any sort of surface inconsistency issues.

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Repave Infield for Indy GP

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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has just announced that it will be repaving its infield track section this summer, in-time for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, which is being held August 26th-28th. Expected to break ground June 9th, The Brickyard will be repaving the 1.5 mile section of the infield track between Turn 5 and Turn 16. The news is a boon to MotoGP fans and riders, as the latter has been complaining about track surface conditions from sicne the word ‘go’, and the prior group has been concerned about the conditions prompting MotoGP to take its toys and play elsewhere.

This announcement means that the infield will be repaved for the first time since its construction in 2000, as no surfacing was done when the road course was created in 2008 for MotoGP. Piecing together a mix of sections that had varying types of asphalt, the inconsistencies in the design have been the Midwest track’s biggest flaw, making it impossible for teams to setup a motorcycle for a consistent response through the infield corners. Belaying any worry that the infield would have different conditions than the oval section, IMS says the new asphalt will be consistent with the other sections of the course.

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