Tuesday 8 January 2019

Is AI dragging its feet over Silverstone?

Last year, the British MotoGP at Silverstone was cancelled when its new track failed to cope with a rainy weekend in August; suffering readers will know that we have posted on this issue previously. Fingers were pointed at Aggregate Industries, whose "racing circuit experts" were responsible for resurfacing the track just months before.


AI became rather sensitive about the whole issue after a backlash on social media – even threatening a respected motorsport journalist with legal action – but said it would provide some answers:
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.
Journalists were told this "review" would be published 6 weeks after the event, as Motor Sport Magazine made clear when it recently posted about the Top 12 MotoGP moments of 2018:
What a mess. What an embarrassment. On Saturday Tito Rabat had to abandon ship at around 170mph due to aquaplaning and ended up with his right femur broken into four pieces. On Sunday tens of thousands of fans waited for hours in the rain and didn’t a see a wheel turn in anger. We were told that the results of a joint investigation into the debacle by Silverstone and Aggregate Industries (who resurfaced the track for 2018) would be published six weeks after the event. It is now four months after the event. Astonishing.
Of course, if it had been discovered that AI’s new tarmac was in some way blameless, the company would surely have shouted about it at the earliest opportunity. The fact that it hasn’t would infer the reverse. So, here's something for AI: 10 tips for delivering bad news. One of the tips? "Don't delay... Bad news delayed is bad news compounded."


EDIT 10.1.19 If any further confirmation were needed that Aggregate Industries’ resurfacing of Silverstone last year was not fit for purpose, RaceFans.net reports "Silverstone plans another resurfacing before British GP":
RaceFans understands the track owners are determined to resurface the track ahead of Moto GP’s return this year. Silverstone’s managing director Stuart Pringle told RaceFans he "hopes" the job will be completed before the F1 weekend begins on July 12th.
The question of who will pay for laying another new surface rests on the ongoing investigation into the cancellation of the Moto GP race.
"We are still awaiting the final outcome of the investigation," said Pringle. "We are closer to the end than the beginning."
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