Crutchlow: New Silverstone surface 1.5s faster

Cal Crutchlow believes the new Silverstone asphalt will reduce lap times by around 1.5s during August's British MotoGP weekend.

The triple premier-class race winner became the first MotoGP rider to sample the new surface on Monday, during some demo laps on a Honda RC213V-S, the road version of his RC213V prototype.

“It’s been a privilege to be at Silverstone today and to see the work and investment that has gone into the improvements to the track," Crutchlow said.

"Silverstone has listened to us as riders and they have resurfaced the entire circuit. I was really surprised at the consistency, and the grip levels across the entire lap were really impressive. The changes made are very good.

“Before the resurfacing there were lots of changes to the track surface, lots of bumps and it made it a tough track to ride fast. Now, the consistency is incredible and that’s definitely going to have an impact on lap records.

“If I was to take a guess at the impact on lap times, I would think it’s going to be about 1.5 seconds a lap faster than before and that’s a massive amount of time to save each lap at MotoGP level.”

The resurfacing project took place in February, despite freezing temperatures.

Crutchlow will be back in MotoGP action for LCR Honda at this weekend's French Grand Prix at Le Mans.