Thursday 23 August: Day of Champions Friday 24 August: Practice Saturday 25 August: Qualifying Sunday 26 August: Race day

This is Silverstone’s 19th go at hosting the British GP. In 1977 it became the first mainland circuit to host the country’s world championship round, taking over from the Isle of Man TT, which had been deemed too dangerous.

Niall reckons the best place to watch is the grandstands at the end of the lap. ‘There’s nearly always some last-lap action through Luffield, Brooklands and Woodcote. And Motogp bikes are spectacular through Woodcote.’

The circuit layout – several decent straights and a dizzying mix of fast and slow corners – makes for very close racing. Three of the last five Motogp races at the track have been won by less than a second.

has Cal been Crutchlow Britain’s biggest hope at Silverstone since he came to Motogp in 2011. This year he has been consistently faster than ever before, thanks to his 2018 Honda RC213V, which is 99 percent as good as Marquez’s.

The circuit has been completely resurfaced for 2018. There’s so much grip that Crutchlow believes the lap record will be bettered by as much as 1.5 seconds. Previously the track was bumpy and slippery, especially in the wet.