MotoGP restarts from Silverstone, Bagnaia (freshly married) chasing the top five

In the rainiest county in England today it’s sunny. But for Saturday afternoon, dedicated to the sprint race, a nice storm is expected. On Sunday, when the GP will be held, the weather forecast calls for simple clouds. But in these parts you never know: an umbrella always comes in handy, in 2018 the pouring rain even caused the race to be cancelled. Welcome to the circuit of SilverstoneNorthamptonshire, which has once again hosted the British Grand Prix since 2010, after a quarter of a century spent at Donington, in Sherwood Forest (remember Valentino on the podium in Robin Hood version?).

Pecco, the “groom” is back in command

In several parts of the track – built as a military airport during the Second World War – the asphalt has been recently treated to improve drainage and avoid puddles. Ten metres of gravel have been added to the escape route of turn 15 for safety reasons. The rest will be all “old school”, with team liveries inspired by the past and a splendid display of vintage models open to the public free of charge. Last year, on Sunday, Aleix Espargarò’s Aprilia won ahead of Bagnaia’s Ducati and Binder’s KTM, while on Saturday it was Ducati rider Alex Marquez who finished ahead of everyone, followed by Bezzecchi and another bike from Noale, ridden by Vinales. Three weeks have passed since the last event at the Sachsenring in German Saxony: in the meantime, Pecco got married in Pesaro with Domizia Castagnini. After the long leadership of Martinwho at one point (with a 39-point advantage) seemed to be able to try to escape, here is the Piedmontese again – reigning world champion and fresh from four consecutive victories – at the top of the standings: his advantage over the Spaniard is 10 points.

MotoGP on Saturday at 4pm, Sunday starts at 2pm

Live TV on Sky and streaming on Now, free-to-air Saturday’s sprint and delayed Sunday’s GP on Tv8: the weekend begins on the track at 9.55 with the first Moto3 free practice session, followed at 10.20 by Moto2 and at 11.05 by MotoGP; free practice 2 starts at 14.15 for Moto3, at 15 for Moto2 and at 15.55 for MotoGP (be careful, because the top 10 teams go directly to Q2). On Saturday, the third session: 9.35 with Moto3, 10.20 for Moto2, 11.05 MotoGP which 40 minutes later starts with qualifying; the grid of the minor categories is instead decided at 13.45 for Moto3, at 14.40 for Moto2. At 15.55, the MotoGP sprint race finally starts. On Sunday morning there is a (short) warm up for the premier category, at 10.35; then the green light: Moto3 starts at 12.15, then the early start for MotoGP: it starts at 14; this time Moto2 runs last, from 15.30.

Eleven “brakes”, the most complicated one at turn 15

According to the technicians of Brembo, which provides brakes and technicians for the entire world championship, the most complicated curve is number 15: you go from 323 to 123 kmh in 4.3 seconds and 249 meters, at that moment the temperature of the carbon discs rises to 680°: 5.9 kilometers long, the English circuit falls into the category of those “medium” demanding for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 6 it has a difficulty index of 3 with 11 braking sections, 4 of which are in the “hard” category. The brakes are in operation for 33 seconds per lap and during the entire race each driver applies a total load on the brake lever of 7.8 quintals.