I’ve carried my rain gear (Alpinestars mud coat and rain pants, two Think Tank Hydrophobias, Northface parka and an umbrella!) to every race I attend except Losail (no bikes on a wet track there due to glare from the bright lights) and it has been ages since I actually shot MotoGP in the rain. Personally I like to have some rainy days. My rain gear keeps me and my equipment dry and the photos are always interesting. But a et race adds another element, that of unpredictability. Almost anything can happen and usually does. Below, Silverstone MotoGP Photos: Race Day!

Though the track was dry on Sunday morning, the threat of rain in the afternoon had teams placing bike swap markers in pit lane. Nicky Hayden’s guys measure the distance between their rider’s markers, then use a heat gun to fix the markers themselves to a tarmac that would shortly be wet.

MotoGP are taken apart and reassembled on a daily basis, and sometimes when warmed up after being put back together, some lubricant or other substance gets burned off as the temperature rises on the various portions of motorcycle. Here, Yonny Hernandez’s Ducati GP14.2 gets smoky when started up for the first time Sunday morning.

Why does Yamaha clamp this line? Read all about it here.

On the grid, Valentino Rossi prepared to do battle with his rivals and the elements.

Run last of the three Grands Prix, Moto3 was wet and crazy, with many riders falling down and out of the contest. Karel Hanika was only one of those who found himself going in the wrong direction.

Once again Maria Herrera was threatening for a great finish only to find trouble, this time with a wet track.

Danny Kent delivered at his home Grand Prix, becoming only the second British rider to win his home GP, with Scott Redding being the first, since the British GP moved from the Isle of Man in 1977.

More from Silverstone on the next page: