Michelin and the whole MotoGP™ paddock including Moto2™ and Moto3™ were forced to sit and watch heavy rain fall over the Silverstone circuit today before a decision was made to cancel all of the races at the GoPro British Grand Prix without a wheel being turned.
This morning’s warm – up sessions went ahead as planned and a change had been made in the timetable to start the MotoGP race earlier, as weather forecasts had predicted a huge rain storm to hit the area around midday.
Unfortunately, heavy rain came ju st as the MotoGP field lined up to start the race and as standing water quickly formed it was deemed too dangerous to start the race. Despite regular checks by the Safety Officer, it was decided by the Safety Commission – which is made up of the MotoGP rid ers – to cancel all proceedings due to track conditions. Michelin and MotoGP will now head to Misano in Italy for the next round of the championship on Sunday 9 th September with a hope for better weather.
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two – Wheel Manager: “Today has been very disappointing, but at the end the safety of all the riders is the important thing. The track conditions had been difficult all weekend, but our tyres had coped very well with the bumpy track – despite it being resurfaced this year – and with the wet surface yesterday. Today’s conditions were very bad with lots of standing water, so it would have been almost impossible to ride. We now head to Misano and hopefully we will have better weather there.”