Races – 2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain –

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2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain

Races - 2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain -

The 2018 British GP, the twelfth event in the MotoGP lineup, had to be canceled due to appalling weather conditions and appalling drainage gaps at the newly resurfaced Silverstone track. Marquez retains 59-point advantage over Rossi in world championship.

The weather conditions were expected to be complicated for the 2018 British Grand Prix, and they were so from the first free practice sessions … Not enough to disturb the 90,000 spectators announced around the Silverstone circuit, who are used to it. it is the whims of the weather !

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On the side of the riders, however, it is the soup to the grimace: the cracks of MotoGP criticize on Friday the repair work recently carried out on the English track, judging the remedy worse than the evil. Everyone regrets a bitumen that is even more bumpy than before and a track that is filled with water at the slightest downpour.. 

The concern climbs a notch on the second day (Saturday) and even more severe weather. Several pilots clearly evoke danger zones on the track, for lack of sufficient capacity of the bitumen to evacuate water… Successive falls in the same turn (Stowe) in free practice 4 confirm their fears: Rins, then Rabat and Morbidelli left fault at high speed on a flooded track.

Races - 2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain -

Alas, while "Tito" Rabat got up without damage from his slip, Morbidelli’s Honda came and mowed him down in the gravel. The Spaniard was immediately taken to hospital with multiple open fractures in his right leg. Fortunately the days of Rabat are not in danger, but the ax has passed very close to the Avintia pilot …

Operated in the wake in England on the fibula and femur of the right leg, Tito Rabat will soon be transferred to Barcelona (Spain) to continue his convalescence. The fact remains that in the paddock, the incident gave off quite a chill …

Races postponed then canceled

This Sunday morning at Silverstone, the drivers’ mood was as gloomy as the sky. After a heated warm-up under the sun (and dominated by Viñales), the rain made its return again. Foresighted, the race management had decided to bring the schedules forward to limit the damage and even to move the MotoGP race to 12:30 pm, before the Moto3 and Moto2 events..

Races - The 2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain -

At midday, however, we must face the facts: the incessant rain does not allow any departure, despite emergency work on the asphalt during the night: "bleedings" have been opened in the asphalt to improve its performance. drainage. Might as well apply a bandage on a wooden leg: "care" unworthy of a world championship !

Then follows a ball postponing the race, with in the meantime the courageous intervention of a sweeper and the marshals to try to push the water out of the track … The track commission then hopes to be able to give a start around 2:30 p.m., then evoked a postponement to 5:30 p.m. … But each time the organizers come up against reality: the Silverstone circuit is impractical, particularly its turns 7 and 8.

After a long wait, the governing bodies and drivers agreed at 5:00 p.m. to draw a line on the races: apart from the rain, the temperatures only plummet with the gusts of wind. The organizer takes the painful decision to purely and simply cancel the Grands Prix, being unable to postpone them to the next day for logistical reasons..

The last time a Moto Grand Prix was canceled was in 2011, when a tragic accident claimed the life of Marco Simoncelli during the. Before that, the 250 race in Indianapolis (USA) had been canceled due to a hurricane. Finally, some may also remember the cancellation of the Austrian GP in 1980… because of the snow !

"Security was not enough" 

"We decided to cancel the race due to bad conditions," said Mike Webb, race director. "Too much water had accumulated on the track due to heavy downpours. The track was not draining, there was not enough safety.".

Races - The 2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain -

"We have done everything possible to make this event take place," he said, while circuit director Stuart Pringle issued a public apology. "Several options were considered, including that of racing tomorrow. We discussed it with the teams, as well as with the promoter, but it was not possible to organize that. So we tried to delay the start. , as much as possible. But we got to a point where, even though the rain had diminished slightly in terms of intensity, the track was still so wet, which is why we made this decision ".

"Some pilots were missing, but a large majority at this meeting agreed that the track conditions were too dangerous," said Loris Capirossi, who is in an advisory role for promoter Dorna. "Their motorbike was spinning in many places due to the stagnant water and we attach great importance to their opinion. Because the most important thing is safety!", Recalls the former rider..

Championship point 

Due to the lack of a disputed race at Silverstone, the provisional classification in the MotoGP championship logically remains identical to that at the end of the last event, contested in August 12. 

Marc Marquez, defending champion, remains comfortably seated in the leader’s chair with 59 points ahead of Valentino Rossi (201 Vs 142) and 71 points over Jorge Lorenzo, who had taken pole position in the British GP on Saturday. The future HRC driver does not hide his ambition to tax second place at n ° 46, knowing that only 12 points separate the former teammates …

Andrea Dovizioso, qualified 2nd ahead of Zarco at Silverstone, retains 4th place in the provisional ahead of Viñales and Petrucci. Johann Zarco is currently 7th ahead of Crutchlow and Iannone. A little thought also for Loris Baz, who ultimately did not have the pleasure of driving the KTM RC16 to replace Espargaro following this cancellation of the 2018 British GP….

The next MotoGP race, the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano (Italy), is scheduled for September 9.

Races - 2018 British Grand Prix canceled due to rain -

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