22
August
2017
|
17:24 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Dunlop set for Moto2 and Moto3 battles as Silverstone hosts British round of World Championships

  • Franco Morbidelli seven time winner in Moto2
    Franco Morbidelli seven time winner in Moto2
  • Thomas Luthi winner at Silverstone last year, collected his 46th Moto2 podium, and won in Brno
    Thomas Luthi winner at Silverstone last year, collected his 46th Moto2 podium, and won in Brno
  • Seven time winner Joan Mir leads the Moto3 championship battle
    Seven time winner Joan Mir leads the Moto3 championship battle
  • Moto3 racer Andrea Migno leads Dunlop's Forever Forward table
    Moto3 racer Andrea Migno leads Dunlop's Forever Forward table
  • Oban racer John McPhee carries British Moto3 hopes
    Oban racer John McPhee carries British Moto3 hopes
  • British Talent Honda rider John McPhee has three podiums in Moto3 this year
    British Talent Honda rider John McPhee has three podiums in Moto3 this year

The FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships get underway at Silverstone this weekend (26 & 27 August), celebrating 40 years of motorcycle racing at the Northamptonshire track. The former wartime airfield hosted the very first motorcycle GP on the British mainland in 1977, and is the longest and one of the fastest on the schedule.

Gripping battles set for Moto2 and Moto3
At the top of the standings, Franco Morbidelli leads the Moto2 challenge, his seven wins putting him 26 points ahead of last year’s winner Thomas Luthi. Three other riders have climbed the top step of the Moto2 podium this year, including Luthi who came through from 12th to claim victory in Brno. Matteo Pasini took the win at Mugello, while Alex Marquez is a double victor, taking the honours at both Spanish venues Jerez and Catalunya. Joan Mir heads the Moto3 battle, another with seven wins to his credit this year; he heads Romano Fenati, race winner in Texas, by a staggering 64 points in the title challenge. Aron Canet claimed the race honours in Jerez and Assen, with Dunlop ForeverForward leader Andrea Migno winner of a thrilling Moto3 race at Mugello.

McPhee heads home heroes
Heading the British challenge in Moto3 is Oban-based John McPhee aboard the British Talent Team Honda. Placed sixth after being taken out of a potential podium position last time out in Austria, the Scot heads to his home event with three podiums this year. He comes to Silverstone after a successful test at the Red Bull Ring, where he conducted four race distance stints working with his Dunlop engineers. He will be joined by two British wildcards, Thomas Booth-Amos and Jake Archer, making their Moto3 debuts on the City Lifting/RS Racing KTMs.

British Supersport Champion Tarran Mackenzie makes his first Moto2 appearance on home soil on the Kiefer Racing Suter and will be joined by Jake Dixon, replacing the injured Marcel Schrotter in the Dynavolt Intact GP team.

To hear John McPhee’s thoughts ahead of his home race, click here​​.

Dunlop prepared for Silverstone challenge
The opening round of the world championships kicked off in Qatar, with unseasonably wet weather after the record temperatures of 2016. Across the European races, weather has often been a factor this season, and more is expected around the wide open spaces of the 5.9km track.

Silverstone is one of the most challenging circuits on the schedule due to its combination of 18 high and low speed corners, bumpy sections, fast, long straights, and hard braking. The traditionally unpredictable British weather that results in cooler and normally windy conditions can also cause an upset, but Dunlop will take the medium and harder compound tyres to cater for the demands of the superfast Grand Prix venue.

The wide operating window of around 10-35 degrees ambient afforded by the tyres that Dunlop take to Silverstone means that the main challenge for the teams and riders will be bike set-up and rider styles.

Round 12: Silverstone, Great Britain – 27 August 2017

  • The traditional European race schedule has been changed for the Silverstone weekend
  • ​The Moto3 race starts at 12:40 local time on Sunday, with Moto2 at 14.00
  • ​The morning warm-ups have also changed with Moto3 at 10.00 and Moto2 at 10.30
  • ​Since 2010 the seven Moto2 races at Silverstone have been won by different riders: Jules Cluzel, Stefan Bradl, Pol Espargaro, Scott Redding, Tito Rabat, Johann Zarco & Thomas Luthi
  • Five different riders have won the Moto3 races that have taken place at Silverstone since 2012: Maverick Viñales, Luis Salom, Alex Rins, Danny Kent & Brad Binder

Silverstone Track Facts:

  • Length: 5.9km
  • Left Turns: 8
  • Right Turns: 10
  • Energy level: Low/Mid
  • Left:right bias: 45%/55%

Silverstone Tyre Allocation:

Moto2  
​Front: Medium '2' (black on yellow)
Rear: Medium ’3’ (fluorescent yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (fluorescent white on black)

Moto3
​Front: Soft ‘S’ (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver)
Rear: Medium 'M1' (black on silver) / Hard ’H3’ (fluorescent yellow on black)

Silverstone 2016 Highlights

  • Francesco Bagnaia took his first Moto3 pole of the season with a lap of 2`33.642, some 20 seconds slower than the previous year’s pole time
  • ​Stefano Manzi charged through from 34th in the Moto3 race, narrowly missing a podium spot
  • ​Brad Binder took his fourth Moto3 win of the year to become the fifth different Silverstone winner
  • ​Bo Bendsneyder put his medium front and rear tyres to good use to take his first Moto3 podium
  • ​Local hero Sam Lowes dominated practice and qualifying, securing Moto2 pole, his third of the season, but was eliminated in a race-ending incident
  • Thomas Luthi became the seventh different Silverstone Moto2 winner, and is the only previous winner still competing in the class