Episode 271 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one sees us looking at the Americas GP at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
On the mics, we have David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Adam Wheeler, as the trio discusses MotoGP’s return to the Horsepower Rodeo.
It has been a rough start to the 2022 MotoGP season. Qatar started relatively smoothly, but things started going downhill from there.
The Indonesian round at Mandalika barely scraped through, the newly resurfaced track already coming up in the final corner as the new asphalt had not had time to bed in.
Then two broken cargo aircraft suffered technical problems and left part of the freight stranded in Mombasa, Africa on its way to Argentina.
A hastily rescheduled two-day event at the Termas de Rio Honda followed, which came off surprisingly well. Then with a short turnaround getting the freight from Argentina to Texas, there was another problem with cargo planes breaking down, and freight arriving late.
Fortunately for the GP of the Americas at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, the delay was merely stressful rather than problematic.
As the start of the MotoGP season grows closer, the news cycle is starting to ramp up.
Websites are starting to be able to report on things that are actually happening, rather than desperately thrashing around looking for filler content. So here’s a round-up of the latest developments in MotoGP.
Episode 242 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this show covers the MotoGP action from the Americas GP at the Circuit of the Americas in the United States.
On the mics, we have Steve English, David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Adam Wheeler, as they cover what transpired during the “Horsepower Rodeo” in Texas.
It has been four years since anyone lapped the Circuit of The Americas quite so rapidly. In 2018 and 2019, nobody, not even Marc Marquez, managed to get under the 2’03s.
So it is a testament to how much faster the MotoGP riders are going that two riders managed it on Saturday in Austin. And this, despite the fact that the track has become so much more bumpy in the past couple of years.
So bumpy, in fact, that it appears as if the circuit has been issued an ultimatum: resurfaces the section from the exit of Turn 1 all the way through Turn 10, or MotoGP is not coming back.
Pol Espargaro summed up the complex emotions of almost the entire grid (possibly bar Jack Miller, but more of that later) at the end of an eventful first day of practice at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
“First of all we need to say that it’s super nice to come here to America, to be able to race here,” the Repsol Honda rider said. “Already this is something super good after so long in Europe.”
“And to see the American fans is super nice, they are super excited and it’s nice. Saying that, I think we are in a professional MotoGP championship that, we need a minimum of quality in the tracks, about safety, run off area.”
Then came the ‘but’. “We must say that the track is not at the level of a MotoGP championship, sure. First of all, there are parts where the asphalt is super bad.”
For the first time in two years, MotoGP is headed for a flyaway race which isn’t in Qatar.
After a long period of uncertainty, and facing a certain amount of opposition from inside the Grand Prix paddock, the series is heading to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
After having 12 of the first 14 races all inside the same timezone (give or take an hour), a flyaway race feels like something of a novelty.
The novelty will not be quite as great as hoped for all those traveling to Austin.
Episode 241 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this show is a preview of the MotoGP action that is coming this weekend at the Americas GP at the Circuit of the Americas.
On the mics, we have Adam Wheeler and David Emmett, as they gear us up for MotoGP’s first race back on US soil in two years.
Maverick Viñales has elected not to race at the US round of MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
The Spaniard has decided to take the time to come to terms with the death of his cousin, Dean Berta Viñales, as a result of a crash in the WorldSSP300 race at Jerez on Saturday.
Dean Berta Viñales rode in the team run by Maverick’s father, Angel, and which carries Maverick’s logo.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to remind us that it is a global, not a local, phenomenon.
As cases continue to rise in Thailand, and the vaccination program there is only being rolled out slowly, the organizers of the Thai GP have been forced to cancel the 2021 MotoGP round at Buriram.
Austin is back on the MotoGP calendar. Today, the FIM announced that the Motegi round of MotoGP has been canceled, as travel to Japan is still very difficult, with the Circuit of the Americas being put in its place on October 3rd.
The changes have obviously been made in response to the pandemic, and as COVID-19 continues to be a problem around the world, more changes are likely.