The great Silverstone circuit has had several different stretches hosting the British MotoGP, most recently from 2010. Like the F1 events, it’s now the longer 3.8 mile circuit that’s used, although the start/finish line for MotoGP events is still the “old” one that feeds straight into Copse corner.

This leads to longer lap times for the slower cornering MotoGP bikes. The layout should be pretty well known to many sim racers from other games, but you need to have a setup that’s good for quick changes of direction and staying balanced around longer corners.

And I actually found two setups that work well round this track; let’s start with the one with slightly “softer” setting values.

Here is a bike setup for the MotoGP class for Silverstone:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 1
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 1
    • Front Swingarm compression – 2
    • Front Swingarm extension – 7
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 6
    • Swingarm connector – 2
    • Rear spring hardness – 5
    • Single shock absorber compression – 6
    • Single shock absorber extension – 4
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 1
    • Trail – 3
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 2
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 6-6-7-6-5-4
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 4
    • Power mapping – 2

This setup was excellent through the “esses” and also round the prolonged corners. Honestly, it was a tight call between this one and the setup posted below. But this one just edges it for me as it gained me more time through the corners and felt easier to control.

Alternate MotoGP Bike Setup For Silverstone

If you prefer setups with “harder” geometry and suspension settings, you can do down this route as well at Silverstone and still get good lap times.

Here’s an alternate Silverstone setup for MotoGP class bikes:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 4
    • Oil Quantity – 4
    • Front Spring Hardness – 4
    • Front Swingarm compression – 7
    • Front Swingarm extension – 4
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 4
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 4
    • Trail – 5
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 7-7-7-6-5-4
    • Final ratio – 5
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 4
    • Power mapping – 2

I also found this setup pretty good, but after testing between the two for a while, I liked the softer setup a bit more on this circuit. But setups and bike handling are subjective, so it might be the other way round for you. Compare the two setups against the default to see which you prefer.

Moto2 and Moto3 Bike Setups For Silverstone

The less powerful Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes are easier to control for sure on this game. And on a track like Silverstone, the braking zones and corners are pretty easy to see and get ready for. Most racers know this track so there’s no complex sections or surprises (the “esses” are probably the trickiest bit to get right).

However, if you want custom setups for these bikes as well, check out out starter setups page for MotoGP 22, which offers generic base setups for Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes as well. These should provide a decent starting point setup to test against the default setup and see if you can find a bit more pace.

If I find even better custom Moto2/Moto3 setups for Silverstone, I’ll post them here as I go.

Tips For Riding Around Silverstone

Most sim racers will already know the Silverstone layout, which is half the battle won with these games. However, getting the lap nailed is always tricky on a MotoGP bike, and especially on the difficult MotoGP 22 game.

Here’s some extra tips for riding round here.

Accelerator – You’ve got a bit more time on full accelerator round here versus some other tracks. You’ve got from the exit of Luffield all the way to Turn 1, without only a slight lift for the right hand kink. Then a short straight before the esses. Then you’ve got the Hangar straight after the esses, plus the short straight that’s the start-finish spot for the F1 cars, and then the Wellington Straight that leads to Luffied. So more “flat out” zones to get stuck into, but still a lot of coasting and dabbing on the power, and more braking zones you can miss or over-run as well (more on this below)

Esses – Possibly the trickiest section to get nailed. On a MotoGP bike, start slowing down as you reach the overhead sign. Turn in for the first left, then immediately lean over for the right (don’t apply any power). Then for the remaining esses, only apply the slightest dab of accelerator from the previous turn, but no more.

Trickiest braking points – From my experience so far I’d say turn 1 (Copse) and the sharp left hander after Stowe corner are the easiest braking points to over-shoot. For turn 1, start slowing down super early, like pretty much as soon as you cross the start-finish line. On the exit of Stowe after the Hangar straight, it’s just the slightest squirt on the accelerator before you need to come off it again and get ready for slowing down for the left hander. Add some rear brake to get the bike leaned in for this sharp corner if needed. Sand traps are on the exit of both these corners, so if you over-run them, you’re most likely going to fall off the bike and your lap is gone.