P122
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
L
egendary British hill-hiker
Alfred Wainwright is credit-
ed with an oft-repeated and
oh-so-appropriate quote: "There
is no such thing as bad weather.
Only inappropriate clothing."
Substitute the word "asphalt"
for "clothing," and you have
summed up the British Grand
Prix—the first motorcycle GP to
be abandoned since the Aus-
trian race was snowed out way
back in 1980.
Snow is not entirely unexpect-
ed in the alpine foothills near
Salzburg. Rain is not entirely un-
expected at Silverstone. Rather
the reverse.
But be clear on one thing.
It was not rain that made the
classic track unrideable, but to-
tal inability of the new surface
to cope with it. The totteringly
deferred postponement and
ultimate cancellation was a
matter of incompetence. On an
epic scale.
Everybody knows it rains at
Silverstone. You carry on regard-
less. Not for nothing are British
fans the hardiest; not for nothing
the years of experience in mak-
ing race tracks. Not for nothing
the many, many wet British GPs
over the years.
So how was the circuit taken
by surprise? The truth is even
worse: there was no surprise.
The flooding and bumps had
BLOODY FLOODY, AND A
BLOODY DISGRACE
