In a move not seen for decades, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was recently cancelled due to unsafe track conditions. It seems the new surface at the track allowed an abundance of standing water in critical areas, and after meetings and delays, the ultimate decision was made to cancel the event.
I can’t even imagine what kind of turmoil this throws into a series such as MotoGP. The logistics and costs for the teams to make the useless trip to Silverstone must be maddening. My thoughts on this matter aren’t just for the teams involved, but more for the fans. I’m sure fans will get a refund for their tickets they purchased but what about everything else? Think of the fans that travelled from far away, paid for accommodations or camping, booked a week off work to attend, and just the simple feeling of depression for many that no doubt make this a yearly trek and most likely look forward to this event for the whole year before.
I am all about track safety, that isn’t what this is about. Just upon hearing this news, I, as a race fan, reflected on how awesome this year has been with the incredible racing I have been fortunate enough to witness here in Canada.
In our Flat Track Canada series we have had some of the best racing we have had in years. At the two nationals held at Welland County Speedway, Tyler Seguin and Chris Evans engaged in a 15 lap fistfight on both occasions to the delight of the excited crowd. When the checkers flew Seguin and Evans exchanged fist bumps after such a great battle and it seemed only fitting that each of them won one of the rounds. At Flamboro Downs in late July, Dave Pouliot gained a bunch of new fans after an epic Dash for Cash race in which he took victory by inches over former champ Dominic Beaulac. Pouliot even had to charge from the back row after falling early on in the four lap sprint. Video of this epic race has been shared well over 300 times all over North America. In August we saw young upstart Dustin Brown go side by side with veteran Doug Lawrence for several laps at Ohsweken Speedway before Lawrence edged out the victory.
My spectating hasn’t been just in the flat track series, I’ve also seen a couple of pretty good road races this year as well. June saw me take the drive to Grand Bend and watch Canadian Road Racing legend Jordan Szoke squeak out a victory by .171 of a second over a very hungry Ben Young. Then in August I made my annual pilgrimage to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and witnessed what many are calling the best Canadian Superbike race ever as Kenny Riedmann took a narrow victory over Young after a thrilling race long battle.
While all I’ve talked about here are the races in the Expert/Pro ranks, trust me when I say that there have been incredible battles in almost every class all year long.
I feel for those fans that were at Silverstone, I really do. I guess the good news for me is that after the thrilling summer I have had so far, there are still two more national flat track rounds for me to attend.
I’m almost positive the best race of the season is still to come!