MotoGP: British Grand Prix abandoned due to unsafe track conditions

The 2018 British Grand Prix has been abandoned due to unsafe track conditions, after heavy rain at the Northamptonshire track left the new surface unfit to start any of today’s three races on.

The possibility of no racing was first floated yesterday by riders after a series of crashes at turn seven in the matter of only a few seconds, with Avintia Ducati rider Tito Rabat suffering a badly fractured leg.

Struggling with standing water that has been slow to clear, riders have attributed the issue to a series of factors. Slow drainage, a polished surface at turns seven and eight (blamed in part on last weekend’s World Endurance race and their high-downforce cars) and bumps that riders say are pooling the water are all contributing to the issues.

The race was initially moved forward to 11:30 local time, but with too much standing water causing bikes to aquaplane on the sighting lap led to a delayed start. More rain would lead to further delays with a meeting of the Safey Commission eventually cancelling all of the day’s action at 16:00 local time. 

The race marks the first time that a premier class race has been cancelled since 1980, when the Austrian Grand Prix was snowed off.