Analysis – MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP –

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MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

The situation is not lacking in irony: the 2018 British GP literally fell into the water, in a country where the rain is nevertheless part of the scenery! But more than the rain, it was the inability of the Silverstone track to evacuate water that convinced the riders and the MotoGP organizer to cancel the British event.. Explanations.

Cal Cruthlow, 8th in the provisional MotoGP championship, is logically one of the most frustrated about this situation: the subject of His Majesty, at Honda-LCR, simply says "disgusted at not being able to participate in my national Grand Prix. C it is very disappointing that the weather situation has deteriorated to such an extent ".

  • MNC of August 27:

Remember that the MotoGP race was initially moved before the Moto3 and Moto2 events because of the worrying weather forecast, before being postponed several times because of the showers. The drivers – who were able to compete in the warm-up on a dry track at the end of the morning – waited more than four hours, before the decision to throw in the towel was formalized.

"The safety committee decided to delay, and delay further, before ruling that the runway condition was unsafe due to standing water on the asphalt," said Cal Crutchlow. “It’s a very, very sad day for the fans and I’m so sorry for those who had come to support me and the other MotoGP riders. We’re just sorry we couldn’t do the show, but we didn’t. did not take this decision lightly ".

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

However, it was not the abundance of rain that caused this extremely rare situation (the last cancellation of a race in the premier class dates back to 1980, due to snow at the Austrian GP): the main problem stems from the Silverstone track, quite simply "drowned" under the downpour … Failing to evacuate the water properly, the asphalt generated impressive puddles in which the motorcycles went into aquaplaning.

Result: six drivers crashed at high speed in the same sector on Saturday during free practice 4! Worse: Esteve "Tito" Rabat had to be hospitalized urgently after being mowed down by Franco Morbidelli’s Honda in distress, while he was getting up in the gravel. The Spaniard of the Avintia team suffers from multiple fractures in his right leg which threaten his end of the season…

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

The finding is all the more annoying as the English bitumen had just been resurfaced in order to improve its adhesion and its general condition! An operation completely failed obviously, since not only the drainage is inoperative, but also the bumps on the track were the subject of the wrath of the pilots from the first day of testing. !

"A weekend that was going well for us has turned into an unacceptable situation, and now we have to understand what exactly happened", scolds Andrea Dovizioso, very critical of this visibly sloppy work. "We will speak to the safety committee again, because resurfacing a track and then finding that it has more bumps than before, with a drainage problem, is clearly insufficient for a championship of this level."

Marquez and Lorenzo go up to the front

Failing to be able to compete in the race in correct safety conditions despite the grip of the rain tires, the MotoGP riders – led by Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez – requested a crisis meeting with the race management and the safety commission around 4:00 p.m.. 

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

"It has been a long, unusual and tiring day and we hope it will not happen again", Ton Marquez. "The safety commission analyzed the situation and I think the race direction should be respected. They listened and in the end, safety remained everyone’s main concern.".

Despite the intervention of sweepers on the track to try to evacuate the stagnant water, no improvement was profiled during the afternoon, making illusory the prospect of contesting the race at 5:00 p.m. as hoped at one time. ‘organizer. Not to mention that the more the day progressed, the more the temperature dropped … and therefore the more the grip weakened !

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

Marc Marquez, who quickly positioned himself in favor of the cancellation, recalls that as painful as this decision is, it is dictated by caution: "one of us is already in the hospital", answers- he is harshly aimed at those who suggest she is playing in his favor, as he leads the championship with 59 points ahead of Rossi. "I watched the screen all day and saw the fans wait in the stands – it would have been nice to reward them, but sometimes you have to keep a cool head."

"Of course, we are sorry for the fans who came to see us", echoed his teammate Dani Pedrosa, "but I am even sadder for Tito who is injured and has a long recovery ahead of him".

"The track did not offer the right conditions to run safely"

For Jorge Lorenzo, who qualified in pole position for the British GP, "the asphalt was not draining properly and the situation did not improve over time. We decided to cancel the race because the track did not offer not the right conditions to run safely ", assures the Ducati rider, currently third in the provisional.

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

There was general agreement that this decision was the best solution even if the cancellation of a race does not please anyone. "Running is what we all prefer, giving it up is not an easy thing," said "Pedro". Especially since the frustration of not taking the track is also added that of losing an opportunity to score points, or even to gain places in the championship. !

“Canceling a race is the worst-case scenario and a last resort,” confirms Massimo Meregalli, official Yamaha team manager. “However, I think we can all agree that the safety of pilots should always come first. It would have been irresponsible to send them to the track today, knowing their concerns about aquaplaning. Our hearts go out to the fans who have waited and eagerly awaited the GP of Great Britain ".

Miller and Zarco split on British GP cancellation

If this cancellation is officially consensus, some still expressed some reservations during the meeting with the safety committee. Among them Johann Zarco (7th in the provisional) and Jack Miller (12th), who would gladly wait more before definitively canceling the race.

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

The French and the Australian, who are not cold in the eyes, even seemed ready to give it a go despite the stagnant puddles, especially in sectors 7 and 8 where the Rabat crash took place. The two pilots, however, agreed with the general decision without contesting it, effectively admitting the very important risk-taking involved in these conditions.. 

"The race was canceled after we waited a long time in the hope that the rain would stop and there would be less water on the track," said Johann, recently overtaken by Danilo Petrucci as first rider " private "(relative ranking insofar as Petrux has a Ducati with factory specifications at Pramac).

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

"You can usually run when it rains, even if it rains all day, especially since the rain was not very heavy. But with the new asphalt, they apparently made a mistake: the bitumen, very bumpy, was very slippery and caused aquaplaning ", regrets the Tech3 pilot.

"We could feel that we were already at the limit in the reconnaissance lap. We made the decision not to be able to run because there was still too much water. It’s a shame because we were all ready. in the end, it was more prudent to take this decision ", admits the future KTM rider who evokes a" collective decision ".

Loris Baz deprived of the best piece of orange !

Another driver fatally disappointed with this English "no race":. The Haut-Savoyard, qualified 18th 5 seconds behind the poleman, left Great Britain with the frustration of not having been able to transform the progress made during practice into a race..

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

A blow for the n ° 76, spent this winter of MotoGP at the WSBK at BMW Althea, which was delighted Saturday evening to have found its "automatisms" despite a small fall on the Orange prototype..

Why not postpone to Monday ?

This is the question to which promoter Dorna has so far given no satisfactory answer. Why not have the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP races moved from Sunday to Monday, knowing that this day is a public holiday in Great Britain and that the weather forecast announced a great improvement ?

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

A 24-hour postponement would have allowed the MotoGP lineup to keep its 20 meetings initially scheduled, and above all to offer the show expected by spectators! Because if the tickets will normally be reimbursed, the people present in the stands can put aside their "ancillary" costs (transport to the circuit, accommodation, fuel, parking, etc.).

For some, coming from afar, this can represent a tidy sum literally fallen into the water … Enough to provoke certain movements of grumbling in the stands, as on Internet forums where some are protesting against a certain form of amateurism in the management of this crisis. 

Analysis - MotoGP riders explain the cancellation of the 2018 British GP -

"Of course, we offered to race the next day," reveals Herve Poncharal, Tech3 team manager and president of the Association of Grand Prix Teams (IRTA). "We did it in Qatar a few years ago (in, Editor’s note). But it was rejected. It must be a unanimous decision and some Factory teams (including the rumored HRC, Editor’s note) did not want to run on Monday , so it was not done ", reveals the French leader.

Flap already standing !

Good news, however, at the end of this disappointing weekend: the courageous Esteve Rabat is already able to put his foot on the ground, the day after his operation to reduce his fractures to the tibia, fibula and femur. "Tito", used to big injuries, managed to move his leg on Saturday evening, then take a few steps with a walker the next day !

The Avintia pilot will remain at Coventry Hospital (England) until mid-week, before being transferred to Barcelona (Spain) at the Quiron Dexeus University Center. The duration and modalities of his convalescence will then be assessed with greater precision..

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