Silverstone GP preview

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha) photographed by us at the Silverstone Circuit in 2019 – there are many indications that he will not be there this year when the riders compete here on the last weekend in August.

The return of MotoGP to the traditional English track

If you subtract the slight curve before Turn 3 on the Red Bull Ring as a curve in the totalization, the track in Spielberg only has half as many corners as the course on the former airfield in England. In contrast to the problem track in the Austrian Alps, which is very beautifully situated, the Silverstone Circuit has practically only friends with the riders. This also includes Valentino Rossi, who started the race from second place two years ago at the last event. His Yamaha brand colleague Fabio Quartararo only finished fourth in qualifying at the time, which hardly anyone can imagine in this constellation today. Nevertheless, this was only the case in 2019 and a lot has changed since then. With Cal Crutchlow, as in Austria, there is even another English rider, actually because he was supposed to replace Frankie Morbidelli, who was still on a break with knee problems, for Petronas Yamaha SRT. However, as it has since been leaked, this task should fall to Jake Dixon and bad-boy Maverick Viñales will also remain banned from Silverstone after Spielberg 2 and will be replaced by the English test rider.

Silverstone 2019 with Petronas SRT Sprinta Moto2 replacement Bradley Smith – this year, with Jake Dixon and Cal Crutchlow (both on Yamaha), there is apparently a double English participation in the premier class. This gives the former the chance to show whether he will be eligible for a full season at Yamaha in 2022.

The rider makes the difference on this course

After the Spielberg double race, the majority of drivers are relieved that there is now another route on the calendar on which the quality of the rider decides whether to win or lose. The longest straight is just 770 and the circuit has 8 left and 10 right turns. Like most other routes on the GP calendar, the course is clockwise. Every brand has a chance here, something that Jorge Lorenzo suffered painfully in his last season. His Repsol Honda team-mate Marc Marquez only narrowly lost against Alex Rins (Suzuki) in a sensationally exciting race. The other Catalan, on the other hand, only managed 14th place in 2019 and had benefited from the falls of riders in front of him such as Quartararo, Zarco, Nakagami and Dovizioso, as well as the failure of Aleix Espargaró. This time the fight for victory should be completely open and Fabio Quartararo should also have a say.

The most important information board for spectators was photographed by us on site in Silverstone in 2019 – by far the longest route on the calendar, which, like many other events, fell victim to the corona pandemic last year.

The best riders on the Silverstone Circuit

With 1’58.168 minutes, Marc Marquez has held the lap record since qualifying in 2019. The Catalan drove the fastest lap on the Repsol Honda and is at least one of the podium candidates for this season after a remarkable performance in Spielberg’s second race. The Repsol Honda Star has only won here once, while Jorge Lorenzo has already won three races. But two years ago it was very close and only with Valentino Rossi reckons, after his triumph in 2015, today more someone came with a repetition. In addition to Lorenzo, of the previous MotoGP winners, only the Australian Casey Stoner, Ducati ace Andrea Dovizioso, Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Viñales, who was suspended this time, were on top of the podium. The chances are good that there will be a new MotoGP winner at Silverstone this year. Below are the results of the active regular riders of the last 5 races.