Motivation high in POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar ranks as series heads for Silverstone
Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty excited to race at a circuit they love; the American has fond memories of the track and this is the Irishman’s ‘home’ race
After a welcome week off following two races in as many Sundays the MotoGP World Championship continues this weekend at Silverstone with the twelfth round of the season. The British Grand Prix takes place at the longest circuit on the calendar, one of just four that MotoGP shares with Formula 1. Lengthy, flat, fast and bumpy, Silverstone presents a host of unique challenges to the riders and their engineers – not to mention the fickle nature of the great British summer! Valentino Rossi arrives at two-thirds distance in the championship having led the standings up until the last round at Brno, where his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo moved ahead by virtue of his greater win record, with both riders level on points. With Marc Márquez also back to his best, it looks certain to be a gripping final part to the season.
POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty are both looking forward to racing at Silversone, for differing reasons. The American missed this round last season as he recovered from surgery on his wrist, a situation that proved frustrating as its a circuit he loves and he set his most recent fastest race lap there in 2011. Laverty also says that this circuit is amongst his favourites and it suits his riding style. This is the closest the Irishman has to a home race and he is determined to convert his recent improvements into a race result in front of his family and friends.
Nicky Hayden: “Silverstone is a great circuit and the British Grand Prix is one of the biggest and best events on the calendar. I love the circuit because it is huge, wide and you can really let a MotoGP bike stretch its legs and enjoy yourself. There are different sections linked up with long straights, it is fun to ride and I was disappointed to miss this one last year so that’s an extra source of motivation for this weekend. The only thing about Silverstone is that it is quite bumpy so you need to work out quickly where the bumps are and try to avoid them. The track temperature also varies from one session to the next so it can be difficult to maintain the optimum temperature in the tyre. We’ll have to work quickly to adapt to any situation but I am looking forward to it and ready to fight for a good result on Sunday. Silverstone holds good memories for me and I set the fastest lap of the race there in 2011 so hopefully we can reach a high level of performance this time around.”
Eugene Laverty: “I’m really excited about Silverstone, not just because it’s my home race but also the fact that it’s one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. Silverstone’s fast flowing nature makes it really enjoyable to ride and it suits my style well. We expect temperatures to be much cooler than rounds previous and so we’ll have to be wary of that, particularly during the morning practice sessions. We’ve been much stronger since returning from the summer break and yet the past two races have yielded disappointing results. My aim is to set that record straight on Sunday with a convincing race finish. My Aspar Team continue to work as hard as ever and we’ll keep fighting until we achieve the results that we deserve.”