Racing cancelled at Silverstone

After the rain came down on Saturday and track conditions caused delays, the decision was taken to change the schedule for Sunday at the GoPro British Grand Prix. The MotoGPâ„¢ race was rescheduled for 11:30 local time (GMT +1), with the hour chosen according to the latest weather reports available at the time.

On Sunday, Warm Up sessions began at 9:00, with MotoGPâ„¢ out first, and the weather began to steadily worsen. By the time riders were on the grid awaiting lights out for the race at 11:30, they were worse still and the decision was taken to delay the start.

That began a long day of delays, with conditions continually monitored, until a decision was reached: conditions were not safe to race in and the track surface was too dangerous in the rain.

Racing was therefore cancelled and MotoGPâ„¢ will now head for Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for the next round.

Managing Director of Silverstone, Stuart Pringle, apologised to the fans after the announcement – and says they will get in touch with each of them in the coming days to explain what action will be taken in the wake of the cancellation.

Race Director Mike Webb: “It was obvious the track conditions weren't safe. After a consultation with the riders we delayed the start to see if conditions would improve. We have reached the point where even though the rain is getting less, the circuit is still not in a condition where we can safely run races. So, we've taken the very difficult and regrettable decision to cancel.

“We've had a number of years here in very wet conditions recently with the old surface and been able to run races. This year, with the new surface, it's the first time we've encountered quite so much standing water in critical places on the track. Yes, it's a direct result of the track surface, I must say from the circuit point of view, the staff have done an unbelievable effort over the whole weekend, not just today, but an enormous effort to make the track safe. Until the last minute that was still working but unfortunately, we couldn't battle nature.

“The climate of the area means we've got to expect rain and the surface has to be able to handle it. They've done an enormous job over this weekend to try and improve things, which they have, but the nature of the surface means we've reached this point.”

Photos courtesy of motogp.com