British Brigade

The customary visit to London prior to the British Grand Prix occurred on Wednesday with a press conference and photo shoot at the British Library close to Euston Station.  In attendance was Jorge Lorenzo, Nicky Hayden and a foursome of English competitors.

The only British contendor in the upper class was James Toseland, he joined alongside his team mates in the 125cc class, Bradley Smith, Scott Redding and Danny Webb.

Toseland had a tragic homecoming at Donington on his debut showing as a competitor last year, crashing out on the first corner and placing 17th. Nevertheless he is still excited as he gears up for his best race of the season, saying, “I want to make amends for last year and I’m really looking forward to it. I have heard that the weather might be a bit more consistent this weekend which will be good for the fans, for the riders and for everyone involved.”

Toseland explains, “I am fully fit for this race and can’t wait to get started, because we have had a mixed season with results. The inconsistency has been frustrating for me and for everyone supporting me, but the potential is there to have a really good result.”

Bradley Smith, who is currently placed third in the 125cc class has fallen behind colleagues Julián Simón and Sergio Gadea in Germany, when he smashed out at Sachsenring, is determined to come back strong in his home town, as the World Championship formulates its final visit to Donington and then continuing on to Silverstone next year.

“There is definitely going to be some sort of emotion around it,” Smith states. “Donington is a great track, a natural track where you are going up and down the hill, that’s the nice part of it. That is the true feeling of Donington. Craner Curves are world famous and such a strange bit of track, but great at the same time. Silverstone is closer to home for me so I will have less of a journey to make! It is also a world-renowned track and the facilities are fantastic. I think the new project and the new circuit they are doing there will really come together well.”

One of Smith’s two usual citizens in the 125cc class, Scott Redding also incurred a DNF in Germany but would truly enjoy repeating his awesome home win from last season which produced the youngest GP winner ever. “After the result I got last year I would like to get a similar result this year, top three would be great. We are just trying to get focused, we have been training really hard”, Redding explains.

He continues, “I had a few suspension problems earlier in the year and in recent races we have had some problems with our engine, with getting the bike to last for the whole race. It is a shame that I couldn’t finish the race in Germany because that would have got me well set-up for Donington.”

Danny Webb, a close acquaintance of Redding, is now undertaking his third Grand Prix year and also states, “Everyone is looking forward to it! We hope for good weather so that we can have a solid weekend, get some good track time and end up with a good result. It is a shame that we are losing Donington from the championship but I am sure that the Silverstone circuit will put on a good show for us. I have heard that it is going to be one of the fastest on the calendar and for me that will be absolutely fantastic because I like the fast corners.”