Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix riders Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez have had their first look at the Silverstone track and it appears they like what they see.
The weekend’s grand prix represents a step into the unknown for all the riders as the famous track hasn’t played host to a MotoGP race since 1986. Since then, Silverstone has become synonymous with F1 but after getting a closer look at the track on scooters the Repsol riders are happy that it’s ready for racing of a two-wheeled variety.
'There are fast turns, a lot of straights and other very slow points. Power is going to be important' – Pedrosa
Pedrosa was in impressive form two weeks ago in Mugello, Italy as he led from flag-to-flag to claim victory ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and team-mate Dovizioso. And, the Spaniard believes power could prove decisive come Sunday.
“I've seen that it's a very varied circuit, with all types of turns and straights,” he said. “There are fast turns, a lot of straights and other very slow points. Power is going to be important.
“The first thing you have to do is get the gear ratio right to then work on the suspension for the fast turns and chicanes. In order to somehow predict which gears could be best for each turn, we've tried to look for similarities with turns on other circuits.”
Dovizioso is also in high spirits after finishing on the podium in Italy, and can’t wait to get out on the asphalt. “The track is very wide, so it's going to be interesting because it offers many different lines.
“We'll see all of this tomorrow when we get on the bike because without having ridden there, it's impossible to know exactly what we are going to find, but with such a fast average speed, it looks like we'll be able to make the most of one of our strong points, which is the engine power.”
The Gran Premio d’Italia was also a happy hunting ground for 125cc rider Marc Marquez, who won his first ever GP. He revealed how the team have prepared for their first race at Silverstone.
“You can get something more from the videogames and finally, from watching Formula 1 videos you get an idea of which turns could be faster,” the 17-year-old said. “But in order to learn the track, we've done a few laps on a scooter, trying to get an initial idea of where each turn goes and where the next turn comes from. Then, once you're on the bike, everything changes but it's a way of starting to get to know the track and memorise some points.”
Get more from Silverstone by visiting our dedicated event page.
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