MotoGP: It’s Silverstone this weekend and here’s a bucketload of stats about it.

Posted

21 August 2019

Tony Carter

This is the tenth year that Silverstone has hosted a Grand Prix event since the motorcycle world championship series returned to the circuit in 2010 after a gap of 23 years.
The first Grand Prix event held at Silverstone in 1977 was also the first motorcycle Grand Prix to be held on the British mainland. Prior to 1977 the British round of the world championship had been held on the 60.72 km (37.73 miles) long Isle of Man TT circuit since 1949. The move from the Isle of Man was made mainly for reasons of rider safety.
The winners at that first Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1977 were: 500cc – Pat Hennen (Suzuki), 350cc & 250cc – Kork Ballington (Yamaha), 125cc – Pierluigi Conforti (Morbidelli).
The original circuit layout used for the Grand Prix from 1977 to 1986 was 4.71 km (2.93 miles) long and the fastest lap in a race at the circuit during this time was set by Kenny Roberts in 1983 riding a Yamaha at an average speed of 119.5 mph (192.2 km/h).
Kork Ballington and Angel Nieto are the two riders with most GP wins at Silverstone, with each having won there on six occasions.
The only three riders who have had more than a single win at Silverstone since GP racing returned to the circuit in 2010 are Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales.
Lorenzo has won the MotoGP race there three times: 2010, 2012 & 2013; Marquez won the 125cc race in 2010 and the MotoGP race in 2014; Viñales won the Moto3 race in 2012 and the MotoGP race in 2016.
Cal Crutchlow’s second place in 2016 was the first podium finish in the premier class at Silverstone for a British rider since Ron Haslam was third in the 500cc race in 1984.
Before Crutchlow’s second-place finish two years ago, the last British rider to be on the podium in the premier class at the British Grand Prix was when Jeremy McWilliams finished third in the 500cc race at Donington in 2000.
Only three British riders have started from pole position at Silverstone, across all solo GP classes; Barry Sheene (500cc–1977), Sam Lowes (Moto2 –2015 and 2016) and Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP –2016).
The eight Moto2 races that have taken place at Silverstone have been won by eight different riders: Jules Cluzel (2010), Stefan Bradl (2011), Pol Espargaro (2012), Scott Redding (2013), Tito Rabat (2014), Johann Zarco (2015), Tom Lüthi (2016) and Takaaki Nakagami (2017). Only one of them has won from pole position: Pol Espargaro (2012).