History-maker Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) and team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) come to Silverstone this week at the head of the MotoGP World Championship following their fourth one-two finish of the season.
Last weekend at Brno, Marquez reinforced his position at the top of the points table and once again rewrote the record books with his fourth consecutive victory, a first for a rookie in the premier-class. His Brno success was also his fifth win of the year, another achievement unmatched by any rookie in six decades of premier-class Grand Prix racing.
And those aren’t the only record the reigning Moto2 World Champion has broken so far this season. Marquez’s magnificent form has already seen him become the youngest rider to win a race and start from pole position in the premier class. Now the 20-year-old is aiming to become the youngest to take the biggest prize in motorcycling: the MotoGP World Championship.
Marquez knows he has the momentum going into Silverstone, but he expects a challenging weekend because although he won the 125 GP there in 2010, it’s one of the few tracks where he didn’t take a victory during his two seasons in the Moto2 class.
Pedrosa followed his team-mate past the chequered flag at Brno last weekend – just as he had at Indianapolis the previous Sunday – to consolidate his points advantage over reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). The 27-year-old is still recovering from a partially broken collarbone sustained in a crash during practice for July’s German GP and will be hoping that the injury will be less of a handicap this weekend. Last year at Silverstone Pedrosa finished in third place.
Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) aims to get back closer to the front at Silverstone after a couple of somewhat disappointing finishes. After scoring his first MotoGP podium at July’s US GP, the 2011 Moto2 World Champion wasn’t fully happy with his seventh- and sixth-place finishes at the last two races. Bradl’s results have generally improved since he changed to a different make of front brake at June’s Dutch TT, but he still needs to refine his front-end set-up for some tracks.
Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) is another rider who finds himself in a rich vein of form, with three top-five finishes from the last four races. At Indy and Brno the Spaniard enjoyed thrilling battles with nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), crossing the line less than a tenth of a second behind the Italian last weekend. The former 125 World Champion has high hopes for Silverstone because he scored his first MotoGP pole at the track last year and finished the race in fourth place, less than two seconds off the podium.
Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) has had to learn many new tracks during his rookie MotoGP season, but Silverstone is one of the few he does know from his days in Superstock racing. The Australian aims for his second points score of the season.
The British Grand Prix is the third race in a gruelling series of consecutive race weekends that has taken the paddock to Indianapolis in the USA, to Brno in the Czech Republic, and now to Britain, the host nation of the very first motorcycle GP in June 1949.
Silverstone is one of the fastest tracks in MotoGP and is greatly appreciated by most riders for its challenging, high-speed layout which makes it a spectacular venue for fans. The circuit is also quite bumpy, with several changes of surface, so it demands much from riders and their teams.
Like many British racetracks, Silverstone was originally an RAF airfield during the Second World War. Racing began at the venue in 1948. In 1977 it became the first mainland circuit to host Britain’s round of the World Championship after the Isle of Man TT course was pronounced too dangerous. Silverstone continued to host the event until 1986, after which the GP was moved to nearby Donington Park. The British GP returned to Silverstone in 2010.
After this race the MotoGP paddock returns to the Continent for the San Marino and Aragon GPs before heading east for the Malaysian, Australian and Japanese GPs. The season concludes in Valencia, Spain, on November 10.
Honda MotoGP rider quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda:
“We will see how Silverstone is with MotoGP. I enjoyed it a lot in 125s but in Moto2 I struggled a little. I think a key factor will be the weather, as it can change quite a lot! Last year Lorenzo had a very good race so I am sure he will be strong. But we are coming off four victories in a row, so we have good momentum and I feel really comfortable and confident on the bike. Let’s see how the situation is when we get there and as always work hard from Friday morning!”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda:
“After Brno I’m feeling pretty good and my physical condition is improving all the time, so I hope we can take another step this weekend in Silverstone. It is a tough and fast track with many changes of direction and we need a good set-up to suit both the fast and slow corners. Last year was a hard race so I hope to be strong again this year! In the UK you never know what the weather will do so let’s hope for good conditions from the start.”
Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP:
“In my opinion Silverstone is a good circuit despite the varying weather. I just would like to have some clearer weather conditions for the weekend: completely wet or completely dry. It’s quite a fast track but not so many hard braking areas, so we need to set up the bike in a different way. Last year I had a crash on Saturday morning, which hurt a finger. However, I lined up on Sunday and finished eighth. This year I have got experience with a MotoGP bike and this category so I am really looking forward to this race especially after the last two rounds. Seventh in Indianapolis and sixth in Brno are not the perfect results for me. We have more potential than this and in Brno we should have been faster. Let’s see if we can adjust the front end to get back to our normal pace.”
Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini:
“I am feeling very happy after such a positive weekend at Brno. We managed to do a good job and overcome the problems we found on Friday. On Saturday we took a big step forward and qualified on the front row in second place and then on Sunday I was able to pick my race pace up from practice. Overall it was a positive weekend and my feeling with the bike improved a lot, which gives me and the team confidence going to the next race. We have good memories of Silverstone from last season when I set my first ever pole position in MotoGP and had a good race. It is a track I like a lot and now we have to make the most of the good form we have hit since Laguna Seca. Silverstone is a long and fast track which I enjoy riding but we need to find a set-up quickly because you never know what the weather will be like. It can turn cold and rainy very quickly so we need to make the most of every session.”
Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini:
“I went to Brno feeling confident because I already knew the track but it was a difficult weekend for us. We had chatter problems that made life very difficult although luckily we improved the situation for the race. Unfortunately the tyres dropped off at the end and I couldn’t keep my pace up but now we head to another track I know and hopefully we don’t have the same problems. I am determined to show my true potential, which has not been reflected in recent results.”
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