Former 500cc rider Randy Mamola praises Silverstone circuit upgrades – MotoGP news
Former 500cc grand prix rider, Randy Mamola was pleased to see the upgrades made to the legendary Silverstone circuit.
The new wing of the circuit was recently inaugurated in the presence of drivers from MotoGP and the Formula 1 world.
The new wing of the Silverstone circuit includes 41 team garages, a new paddock, press halls and new spectator zones. Mamola said that the circuit’s new addition is built with a modern touch keeping the heritage alive.
In an exclusive interview to crash.net, he said, “I remember racing here at Silverstone in the late '70s and early '80s with Barry Sheene and those guys. During that era we also raced at other legendary tracks like Spa, Monza, Hockenheim, Paul Ricard and Imola.”
Mamola said the high-speed turn at Imola on which Ayrton Senna lost his life after the crash, used to be a full throttle fifth gear affair in a 500cc machine. He also remembered old racing days at the faster Silverstone circuit with his fellow riders. Later the British Motorcycle Grand Prix was shifted to Donington Park track.
Mamola said that the tracks which used to be faster than the ones in the event calendar were dropped out of the MotoGP schedule or were amended to add more chicanes to slower the speed of the racers.
The exciting part is that, Silverstone is back in the MotoGP event schedule and has maintained its key feature of high-speed bends. In Mamola’s opinion, the changes have not restored the character, but it is now even better.
Mamola while speaking to crash.net further added, “It's got the historic corners, with some new ones added in - plus this new 'Wing' pit and paddocks facility. Silverstone has always had the track, but not always the rest to follow. They put in the roads and infrastructure - for Bernie [Ecclestone] and the F1 guys - and now they have the pits.”
The changes made in the Silverstone circuit are very beneficial but some other prestigious tracks around the globe lack the facility such as the Laguna Seca circuit in the US.
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