Silverstone: MotoGP Post-Race Report
Valentino Rossi is back on top of the ladder and the podium step with a win at Silverstone in some of the craziest conditions we have seen this year. The race was initially declared dry but the weather changed so rapidly that the start was aborted and it was declared a wet race that did not disappoint. For the fans that waited out in the rain it was a race to remember as the riders who took second and third were not in anyone’s tips! Danilo Petrucci finished second and took his first ever podium position in the premier class whilst Andrea Dovizioso finally took his Ducati to where it should have been in the last couple of races in third. Jorge Lorenzo finished fourth after struggling to keep up with Rossi and Marquez and unfortunately after pushing too hard Marc Marquez crashed out. Lorenzo was not impressed with his helmet situation as it fogged up and caused him to ride blind due to the heavy rain and lack of visibility. In addition to this, Pol Espargaro also hit Lorenzo from behind and it is incredible that Jorge remained up right and was not seen sliding into the gravel trap. Rossi has extended his lead to 12 points over his Yamaha teammate and by the looks of things Marquez is out of title contention. It was all or nothing for the Spanish rider!
The last race Rossi won in the wet was about ten years ago! Without a doubt Rossi will be heading to the next event so confident and strong that the Championship is heating up race by race. In comparison, Jack Miller had the ride of his life to begin with as the Australian rider was battling up against his fellow rivals in the top ten. At one stage, Miller was sixth and almost took fifth position from his teammate Cal Crutchlow but with too much gas took out Cal instead and managed to leave the race empty handed. Jack had the right bike set up and race pace to possibly end up on the podium. The commentators were going wild and could not believe their eyes. Jack has the talent and is still learning. His ability to take risks and put his skills in full view is definitely a huge milestone for the young rider. There is so much more to come from Jack! Plus for any movie buffs out there, Brad Pitt made a visit to the track for his upcoming release of a feature film called ‘Hitting the Apex’ which is about Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Marco Simoncelli, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner.
In the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, it was a drama filled event with riders coming off their bikes like flies! Johann Zarco and Danny Kent were victorious after tyre issues and the rain challenged the riders pushing them to the limit. The top three finishes in Moto2 were Zarco, Rins and Rabat whilst in the Moto3 it was Kent, Kornfeil and Antonelli. Zarco and Kent kept their focus and managed to work through the tricky conditions to come out on top and extend their Championship leads with confidence. In the sport of competitive racing you have to stay in control of your emotions and the bike to finish ahead of everyone else. It was a race that mentally pushed every rider and will always go down in the books as an event to watch again as 2015 put on an excellent show. See you in Misano on September 13th.
