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Cormac Shoots Silverstone, Part 1: Looking Back At The Past

By David Emmett |

 
History time at Silverstone. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing, the teams ran commemorative liveries

 
It looked great, but with special liveries, and riders wearing special helmets, trying to figure out who was who became something of a mission

 
The liveries changed, the faces on the podium didn't. Though Bastianini on the top step was not entirely expected

 
Where Dorna succeeded was in making it a celebration of history, rather than nostalgia for the past

 
Some of the best parts were the teams wearing overalls again. The past is a foreign country

 
The retro overalls looked great. Until you needed the bathroom

 
Even the umbrella models got in on the act

 
The one thing that you noticed with the retro liveries was how good they looked without a mess of stickers all over them

 
Also, yellow number plates made identifying riders easier

 
By popular outcry, the Yamaha was chosen as the best of the liveries. But it was a close run thing with the Repsol Hondas

 
... and the Aprilias

 
The attention to detail was remarkable. Joan Mir ran a Randy Mamola replica helmet. And used helmet sponsor AGV's historic logo

 
Some logos are better than others

 
The trouble with history is that some teams and brands have more of it than others, and their history is more well known. So KTM were using the colors of a bike very few people can remember.

 
2024 in a single photo. 2023 too, come to think of it

 
Of course, bikes always look better once they have shed their liveries. Here's a naked KTM 
 

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PhotoPage
CormacGP
MotoGP
Silverstone, Great Britain
Aprilia
Ducati
GasGas
Honda
KTM
Yamaha

I loved the Yamaha and Honda liveries. Aprilia was also awesome. And I think Prima Pramac and Gresini were also excellent. Factory Ducati was a big disappointment. 

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Comments

I loved the Yamaha and Honda liveries. Aprilia was also awesome. And I think Prima Pramac and Gresini were also excellent. Factory Ducati was a big disappointment.