MotoGP: Silverstone recruit Zaffelli as investigation gets underway

The investigation into what went wrong at this year’s British Grand Prix is underway, with Silverstone bosses and asphalt supplier Aggregate Industries beginning the examination into why last week’s race was cancelled due to standing water on their newly-resurfaced track.

Recruiting veteran track designer Jarno Zaffelli, the man behind the 2016 resurfacing of Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, on the day after the race to consult on their investigation into what factors led to the race being cancelled, Pringle told MCN that the results of that inquiry will be a matter of urgency.

“We hired Jarno Zaffelli first thing on Monday morning and he’s already had an initial look at it, and we’ve had meetings with Aggregate. The track surface is essentially fine, and we’ve already ran bike trackdays on the surface that were fine. It’s going to take a little bit of time to understand if there’s an issue and what it is, but we’re certainly not not running things on it.”

Asphalt suppliers Aggregate Industries, part of the multi-billion-pound LafargeHolcim empire, have also confirmed that they’re working with the Northamptonshire circuit, telling MCN in a written statement that they’re reviewing what happened.

“We are working in close partnership with Silverstone and will be conducting a full review of the track resurfacing over the next few days to better understand the issues caused by the extremely wet conditions on Sunday. We will continue to make resources available to assist our client during this difficult period.”