MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 12/AUGUST 31, 2014
SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT/NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, ENGLAND
P48
MARQUEZ BY A
LONG SHOT
Silverstone is different. It has be-
come very bumpy, while cool condi-
tions and three long straights make it
hard to sustain tire temperatures. And
the longest lap (3.65 miles) also has
enough slow corners to make set-up a
difficult compromise.
Just how different was clear on a
cold and windy first day, at the end of
which there were only two Japanese
factory-team bikes in the top 10 –
Marc Marquez first and Dani Pedrosa
ninth. The Yamahas were in trouble.
Although Bradley Smith managed to
go fourth on his satellite bikes, Jorge
Lorenzo was almost 1.4-seconds away
in 11th and Valentino Rossi 13th.
Had the threatened rain come the
next morning, both would have had to
get themselves out of the B-grade Q1,
or be denied any chance of the front
four rows.
It didn't rain; major set-up changes
made the difference, and next morning
normality was restored.
"At Brno we found a direction that
made the bike better under braking,
but here it didn't work," explained
Rossi. "You need a better feeling from
the front for the bumps."
The Ducatis, by contrast, were fast
throughout, able to use their horse-
power advantage, and now steer-
ing well enough to look like serious
challengers. Only, explained Andrea
Dovizioso, if you were prepared to let
the bike call the shots on corner lines.
"You cannot ride as you want,
you must do what the bike needs."
