This week finds the MotoGP teams and riders traveling to the British Grand Prix, the twelfth round of the 2013 championship and—after Indianapolis and Brno—the final race in a busy tripleheader. For the fourth year in a row, the event will take place at Silverstone Circuit, which previously hosted Grand Prix races from 1977 to 1986. Compared to last year, when it was the sixth round, this year’s British Grand Prix is in the second half of the calendar.
Built on the site of an old bomber station, Silverstone is the longest track on the MotoGP calendar, as well as one of the fastest. This year finds the starting grid moving to the opposite side of the track, between the Woodcote and Copse corners.
Andrea Dovizioso, who is scheduled to make his 100th career MotoGP race start this weekend, enjoyed past success at the circuit, having finished runner-up in each of his first two visits, though he suffered a crash last year and was credited with nineteenth place. This will be the Italian’s first time at Silverstone aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP13. Teammate Nicky Hayden has twice finished in fourth place, and he was seventh last year.
Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team
“Silverstone is a very strange and unusual track, but it’s also quite nice. We know that the English weather can be a bit difficult for everyone, and when it rains, those really aren’t the perfect conditions for riding a bike! Still, I’m happy that we’re going to race at Silverstone right away, just one week after Brno. Once again, we don’t expect to have many updates, but we’ll try to do our best anyway.”
Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team
“Silverstone is a track that I’ve really enjoyed on the Ducatis. I had a good pace there last year, but I was just too hard on the tyres in the race. We’re going there at a different time in the season, so we’ll see if we get a warmer surface than we’ve had the last couple years. I like the track. It’s very long and very fast. Although Silverstone is normally a great GP, we know it won’t be easy for us, as we can’t expect a lot to change since we’re arriving directly from Brno. We certainly hope to be able to fight closer to the front than we’ve been able to in these last couple races. I’m looking forward to getting there, getting on the track, and going back to work.”
Vittoriano Guareschi – Team Manager
“At Silverstone, as at Brno, we must continue working hard as we try to improve our performance. It’s another track where we can gather a lot of data. Although we obviously have to keep trying to do well in the races, we also need to learn from everything that happens during the race weekends. I know the riders will try to do their best like always, as will the rest of the team.”
