MotoGP riders approve “amazing” Silverstone resurfacing

MotoGP riders have given thumbs up to the Silverstone resurfacing after discovering improved grip from the track while managing small bumps as Valentino Rossi described it “close to perfect”.

Following the cancellation of the 2018 British MotoGP due to a poor resurfacing job at Silverstone which made the track bumpy and unable to sufficiently drain rain, a complete resurfacing was required and overseen by track designers Dromo and contractors Tarmac.

The full resurfacing was undertaken in June before the Formula 1 British Grand Prix with key areas improved following feedback and inspections from the FIM taken between the F1 round in July and the MotoGP event this weekend.

While racing events earlier this year at Silverstone have praised the resurfacing, the true test would come from MotoGP given the disaster it endured 12 months ago.

After assessing the track during Friday practice ahead of the British round, many riders complimented the work achieved focusing on the increased grip levels and the reduction in bumps on the circuit surface.

“The new asphalt has good grip but the biggest difference is a lot less bumps, so you can push more and ride the bike more at the limit,” Rossi said. “You can use the perfect line because in the past Silverstone was very, very bumpy. So it's good.

“We have a little bit of bumps at the end of Turn 7 [Stowe], but compared to last year it’s 75% less. So considering this the situation is a lot, lot better.

“Braking and entry for Turn 8 [Vale] is always very tricky because you have different camber, go down, not a lot of grip. But for me the situation is very good. This year - I don’t want to say perfect - but close to perfect.”

While Crutchlow conceded the section between the final corner, Woodcote, and the first corner, Copse, remains “really bumpy” he felt it was still mission accomplished on what Silverstone had been aiming to achieve with its resurfacing.

“Turn 1 [Copse] is really bumpy, the straight into Turn 1 is really bumpy, the last corner is bumpy. Turn 8 going in seems a little bit bumpy but in general they have done a great job of resurfacing it,” Crutchlow assessed.

“It is way better than what it was anyway with the bumps but they are in different places and the volume of them is quite big. It seems more in the braking zones where it is bumpy.

“At the end of the day they’ve done a good job with the track. I would have preferred a little less grip as it suits our bike better but that is me being very fussy.

“If I was riding another bike I would prefer the full grip but this afternoon I think we were stronger and better because of more heat and we were able to ride the bike how we normally ride the bike, Overall they’ve done good job with the track.

“They’ve done a good job because they’ve resurfaced the whole track. They fixed what the needed to fix which was the water drainage, there is a lot of grip which is what they wanted, they wanted lap records broken and we are all able to be competitive and ride well but it is still bumpy.”

Marquez has hailed the resurfacing at Silverstone and believes the remaining bumps are “inside the limit” and don’t trigger any safety concerns.

“Last year we complained a lot about the asphalt but this year we must congratulate the circuit because they did an amazing job,” Marquez said. “It’s so nice, I felt that the track is much better and this was already a big step and I’m happy overall with how we worked on the first day.

“There are some bumps of course, in some areas, but inside the limit.

“Last year it was a motocross track and was out of the limits, the range, for a MotoGP circuit. This year we have some bumps but inside the limit, but especially it's much better to ride and the place where the bumps are it’s not dangerous.”