Red Bull KTM Ajo touch down at Silverstone

28/08/2013

Moto3 World Championship leader Luis Salom, and teammates Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin, return to scene of strong results in 2012.

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The historic Silverstone circuit, located on the site of a former Second World War airport, is the longest on the calendar at 5.9km. This Sunday it rounds off three consecutive weeks of Moto3 racing. The Red Bull KTM Ajo team arrive at round eleven of the World Championship standings with rider Luis Salom leading the overall standings. The Spaniard, who rode at Brno with a fracture in the heel of his left foot, will seek to do his best and claim the best possible result. Ninth and tenth in the series are Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who will try to repeat the top ten finishes they took last year at the British Grand Prix.

Salom passed a medical on Monday in Palma de Mallorca and, after assessing the condition of his left foot, doctors decided against an operation so close to the Silverstone race. Thus it will not be until the Monday after the Grand Prix that the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will be back with physicians to analyse the need for a probable operation.

However, Salom does not want to dwell on his injury and will look to repeat his performance from Brno last weekend. He has achieved good results at Silverstone in the past, with a fourth place in 2011 and a second place last year. A podium this weekend would be his tenth of the campaign –his twentieth overall.

Also coming into round eleven injured is Arthur Sissis, who is experiencing pain in his neck following a fall in practice at Brno. The Australian had an heroic race to place fourteenth, and now wants to return to the top ten. He did so last year at Silverstone, with an eighth place.

Just behind Sissis was Zulfahmi Khairuddin. The Malaysian will attempt to move on from a disappointing weekend at Brno and pick up form at one of his more favoured tracks. He hopes to be fast from the start of the weekend, to avoid the need to come back through the field on raceday.

 

Circuit information – Silverstone
Length: 5.900 m / 3.666 miles
Width: 17 metres
Left corners: 8
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 770 m / 0.478 miles
Constructed: 1948
Modified: 2011

 

Luis Salom
“It has been nice to spend a couple of days at home to relax and unwind a bit, and on Monday I passed a medical as well. The pain in my foot is more or less the same, but the swelling has gone down a bit and that’s important. This weekend will be very difficult. Silverstone is a long and very fast track, where you never know what weather to expect. We know the condition that I am in, so we’ll have to do as we did at Brno and give our all to get the best result possible.”

Arthur Sissis
“I think if we continue with the line of work that we have had at the last few races, it may turn out to be a good weekend. My feeling is much improved. Since Mugello test, every day I have made a step forward and after the summer break the results have been good as well –in free practice and qualifying. Hopefully this week I can get back to the top positions. Hopefully, I’ll get to Sunday 100% recovered from the pain in my neck to have a good race. Silverstone is also one of my favourite tracks –I’d say that it is one of my top three. Let’s see what happens there.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin
We arrive at the British GP after a difficult weekend in Brno, which we could just about salvage by finishing in the points. This weekend we have to continue to work and try to feel comfortable on-track. We’ll try to recover the form that began in Indianapolis after the summer break. The Silverstone circuit is one that I like. It’s a great track, one of the longest on the calendar, where we have taken pretty good results. We must try to find the best possible feeling from the first free practice on Friday.”

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