MotoGP’s global tour reaches Silverstone for the Hertz British Grand Prix and BT Sport will be screening exclusively live coverage of the 12th meeting of the season from the home of British motorsport.
Always a highlights on the motorcycle grand prix calendar, as well as being one of the best-supported events, the British Grand Prix is the first race of the year to welcome a winner other than the imperious Marc Marquez, after his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa claimed victory in the previous race at Brno.
Reigning champion Marquez continues to dominate the standings having won an incredible 10 races in a row, from the first race weekend of the season in Qatar back in March through to the Indianapolis Grand Prix just three weeks ago.
With Pedrosa having won in the Czech Republic, Honda has now established a new record for the longest sequence of successive wins by one manufacturer since the MotoGP class was introduced at the start of 2002.
Marquez, however, narrowly missed out on becoming the first ever rider to win the opening 11 races of a season, but his team still holds an astonishing 100% win record for the 2014 season so far and they will be looking to continue that amazing run at Silverstone this weekend.
Last year, the Northamptonshire circuit witnessed one of the most memorable duels in living memory as Marquez went head-to-head with Jorge Lorenzo, a battle which saw the Yamaha rider beat his rival by less than one tenth of of a second.
The two-time world champion will now be looking to follow in the footsteps of Pedrosa by claiming his and Yamaha’s first victory of the campaign.
As for Lorenzo’s legendary team-mate Valentino Rossi, the Italian is set to officially become the most experienced rider to have ever contested the 500cc or MotoGP class as he lines up to start his 246th grand prix this weekend, passing the 245 starts of Alex Barros.
This feat will happen exactly 17 years to the day since Rossi clinched his first world title in the 125cc class at Brno in 1997.
He debuted in the premier class in 2000 and since then has amassed a remarkable 80 grand prix victories, 154 podiums, 49 pole positions and seven world titles.
Although he has never won at Silverstone, ‘The Doctor’ triumphed at Donington Park on no less than seven occasions between 1997 and 2005, including his first 500cc win in 2000.
From a British point of view, there is a lot to shout about as five home riders will line up for the race, the most since 1996, with Cal Crutchlow, Bradley Smith, Scott Redding, Michael Laverty and Leon Camier all gunning for glory on their home circuit.
With more than 60 years of history, Silverstone is one of the most prestigious venues on the MotoGP calendar and has been completely revamped in recent years, following a multimillion pound investment saw the completion of works to greatly improve the venue, making it one of the fastest tracks on the MotoGP calendar.
The 2014 British MotoGP could be one of the last to be staged at Silverstone after the new Circuit of Wales secured an historic five-year deal to host the race from 2016, which will no doubt be one of the talking points in the paddock over the weekend.
Watch all the action from the 2014 British MotoGP live on BT Sport or by watching ITV4’s highlights show. SOTB’s guide viewing guide below.
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BT Sport will screen exclusively live coverage of the entire British MotoGP weekend as the world’s fastest riders descend on Silverstone, the home of British motorsport.
It is the first time that BT Sport has covered the British Motorcycle Grand Prix and the channel will be bringing MotoGP fans more than 20 hours of live coverage from the Silverstone circuit, starting on Friday with the opening free practice sessions.
Every practice, qualifying session and race across all three classes – MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 – will be shown live and uninterrupted throughout the weekend on BT Sport 2 and in high-definition on BT Sport 2 HD.
Craig Doyle and Abi Griffiths will present BT Sport’s live coverage from the circuit with former British and World Superbike champions Neil Hodgson and James Toseland offering expert analysis.
Popular duo Keith Huewen and Julian Ryder will be in the commentary box for all the key sessions across the weekend, assisted by Motorcycle News chief grand prix correspondent Matt Birt, while Gavin Emmett will be BT Sport’s roving reporter in the pit lane.
Ahead of the race weekend, a special edition of BT Sport’s regular magazine show MotoGP Tonight will be broadcast on Tuesday, August 26, featuring a special appearance from reigning world champion Marc Marquez.
Hosts Craig Doyle and Iwan Thomas will meet the sensational Spaniard, who is en route to his second consecutive title, while comedian Ross Noble and BT Sport MotoGP pundit James Toseland will also be in the studio.
Alongside comprehensive TV coverage, MotoGP fans can enjoy all the action on the go throughout the weekend via the BT Sport app.
Fans will be able to watch the main coverage and choose from seven other camera views, including four fitted to bikes hitting more than 200mph, a helicopter view and live timing and tracking screens.
Full races and highlights, including interviews and features, will also be available to watch on the app and via btsport.com.
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ITV Sport will broadcast free-to-air highlights of the 2014 British MotoGP from Silverstone.
The one-hour highlights programme, airing on ITV4 and ITV4 HD on Monday, September 1 at 8.00pm will feature extended highlights of the MotoGP race, as well as the best of the action from the supporting Moto2 and Moto3 races.
ITV4’s highlights programme will use BT Sport’s live commentary feed provided by Keith Huewen and Julian Ryder, while reporter Gavin Emmett provides the voice-over.
It is the first time that ITV has covered the British MotoGP after securing a deal with series promoter Dorna earlier this which guarantees free-to-air highlights of every MotoGP race during the 2014 season.
Each of ITV’s MotoGP highlights programme will be available to watch via catch-up service ITV Player.
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Tuesday 26th August
MotoGP Tonight: Marc Marquez Special
8.00pm-9.00pm BT Sport 1
Friday 29th August
09:00 Moto3: Free Practice 1
09:55 MOTOGP: Free Practice 1
10:55 Moto2: Free Practice 1
LIVE: 8.30am-12.00pm BT Sport 2
13:10 Moto3: Free Practice 2
14:05 MOTOGP: Free Practice 2
15:05 Moto2: Free Practice 2
LIVE: 12.00pm-4.00pm BT Sport 2
Saturday 30th August
09:00 Moto3: Free Practice 3
09:55 MOTOGP: Free Practice 3
10:55 Moto2: Free Practice 3
LIVE: 8.30am-12.00pm BT Sport 2
12:35 Moto3: Qualifying
13:30 MOTOGP: Qualifying
15:05 Moto2: Free Practice 3
LIVE: 12.00pm-4.15pm BT Sport 2
Sunday 31st August
11:20 Moto3: Race
13:00 MOTOGP: British Grand Prix
14:30 Moto2: Race
LIVE: 10.30am-4.00pm BT Sport 2
Highlights: 10.00pm-12.00am BT Sport 2
Monday 1st September
MotoGP: British Grand Prix
Highlights: 8.00pm-9.00pm ITV4
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