Silverstone apologises for canning race

Silverstone – Circuit organisers apologised to MotoGP fans after the British round of the championship on Sunday was cancelled due to heavy rain making it too dangerous to race.

“I am so sorry,” said managing director Stuart Pringle in a video statement, promising to contact all ticket-holders during the week.

“In the end the riders felt the conditions were not going to be right today to race at all and they made the decision not to race.”

Organisers had repeatedly postponed the start, having brought it forward to allow plenty of room for manoeuvre, before accepting there was no possibility of beating the bad weather.

They had ruled out any option of holding the race yesterday.

Honda referred to “drainage issues” in a statement and MotoGP race director Mike Webb said a recent resurfacing of the track had contributed to the problem.

“We’ve had a number of years here in very wet conditions recently with the old surface and been able to run races,” he said.

“This year, with the new surface, it’s the first time we’ve encountered quite so much standing water in critical places on the track. Yes, it’s a direct result of the track surface.”

Reigning champion Marc Marquez (right) has 201 points at the top of the standings, ahead of Valentino Rossi (142) and Jorge Lorenzo (130).