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Saturday MotoGP Summary at the Americas GP: Poor Weather, Strong Winds, & Battles That Are Still Wide Open

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It never rains, but it pours. Especially around Austin, where warm damp air blows in from the Gulf of Mexico, and the rising terrain of the start of Hill Country generates turbulence which causes the towering clouds to dump their burden of moisture onto the earth below.

That happened early on Saturday morning, when the heavens opened and a torrential rain drenched the ground, causing deep puddles and running streams throughout the area east of Austin that houses the Circuit of the Americas. And it happened again in the late morning, a brief but enormously intense storm dumped another centimeter or so of rain onto the track in the space of a quarter of an hour.

Both rainstorms were accompanied by thunder and lightning, which caused the most problems for the organizers. Lightning poses a significant danger, not just to anyone foolish enough to try to race a motorcycle in a thunderstorm, but to corner workers, the fans and the staff who work around the track. Lightning strikes regularly claim lives in Texas, so when a thunderstorm hits, it gets taken very seriously indeed.

It never rains but it pours in the metaphorical sense as well. After Friday’s raft of complaints aimed at the bumpiness of the Austin track, Saturday started off with track action being first delayed, and then canceled, and fans being locked out of the circuit for safety reasons. It was very much an inauspicious start to the weekend.

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MotoGP

Friday MotoGP Summary at the Americas GP: Bumps & Lumps

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It is becoming a familiar refrain. At the end of each day at the Circuit of the Americas, the riders express their admiration for the event, for the setting, for the venue. And they express their dismay at the state of the asphalt, at the bumps in the track – the most common comparison was with speed bumps put in to slow traffic – and at the danger that entails.

The Grand Prix of the Americas is one of the paddock’s favorite events at one of their favorite venues, at one of their favorite track layouts. It is also the race with the worst asphalt.

Despite this, opinions are split, though not diametrically opposed. There are those who think the track is dangerous now, and who fear we will not be able to return if the track is not resurfaced, and there are those who feel that the track is fixable, and not quite as bad as the more apocalyptic predictions suggest.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Retires the Number 69 in Honor of Nicky Hayden

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It was a somber occasion in Austin on Friday, as members of the grand prix paddock gathered in the press conference room to witness the announcement that the number 69 was going to be retired from use in the MotoGP Championship.

The event at the Hayden Hill later that day, just overlooking Turn 18 was a little bit more cheerful though, as friends, family, and well-wishers gathered for a photo around the emblazoned logo of the Kentucky Kid.

There was also the Repsol Honda RC211V race bike on display in the paddock – the machine that Hayden used to win the 2006 MotoGP Championship – along with no shortage of fans sporting Nicky’s apparel, number, and infectious smile.

However you spent the day at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday, thoughts of Nicky Hayden were surely nearby.

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Alpinestars Debuts Limited Edition Kenny Roberts Sr. Boots

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For the past couple years at the Americas GP, Alpinestars has brought out a limited edition boot to celebrate the riders that are in the Italian brand’s family.

The first year was with Marc Marquez, and for the 2019 edition, we see Alpinestars paying tribute to Kenny Roberts Sr.

The Godfather of American road racing, Roberts sees his famous yellow, black, and white livery recreated for the racing  boot, complete with the silhouette of an eagle. A replica signature is also featured on the boot.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #98 – Argentina GP

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Episode 98 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and in it we see Jensen Beeler joining Neil Morrison and David Emmett on the microphones, as we wrap up coverage on the Argentina GP.

Of course, there is plenty to talk about from this South American track, most notable the dominance of a certain Mr. Marc Marquez.

It was the battle for second that defined the grand prix in Argentina, and it brings up some interesting points on the pecking order in the MotoGP Championship.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Preview of the Americas GP

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After a display of utter domination by Marc Márquez in Argentina, MotoGP heads 7000km north to Austin where if history is to be the judge, we are in for a repeat performance. Marc Márquez has never been beaten at Austin, and indeed, has not been beaten on US soil since he moved up to Moto2 in 2011. It seems foolish to bet against him at the Circuit of the Americas.

Yet the Termas De Rio Hondo circuit and the Circuit of the Americas are two very different beasts indeed. Termas flows, with only a couple of points where the brakes are challenged, and is a track where corner speed and the ability to ride the bike on the rear is paramount. COTA is more a collection of corners than a flowing race track.

Three tight corners where the brakes are taken to the limit – Turn 12 being the toughest, braking from nearly 340 km/h to just under 65 km/h – a dizzying extended esses section from Turn 2 to Turn 9, a tight infield section and a big sweeping right hander.

If there is a section where the track sort of flows, it is from the top of the hill. The first corner is one of the most difficult on the calendar. The riders charge uphill hard on the gas, then slam on the brakes compressing the suspension harder than at any point on the calendar.

At the top of the hill they release the brakes and try to turn in, managing rebounding suspension with a corner which rises, crests, and then falls away down towards Turn 2.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Race Summary of the Argentina GP: False Starts, Close Fights, & The Raw Emotion of Racing

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A sense of dread must fill the hearts of senior MotoGP staff as they head to Argentina each year. There is so much to love about the round – one of the best race track layouts in the world, and probably the best atmosphere at any race – and yet somehow, the Fates always find a way to cause controversy, filling the media and fan chatter with debate about rules, regulations, and anything but the actual racing.

Since MotoGP first returned to Argentina in 2014, we have had customs hold ups, a collision between Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez, rear tires blistering and shedding rubber, compulsory pit stops, complaints about bumps causing riders to crash out, start line chaos, another collision between Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi (and between Marc Márquez and a whole bunch of other riders), just to mention a few things in no particular order.

On more than one occasion, the Argentina round of MotoGP has forced adjustments to the rules, or clarification on how the rules are applied. As sure as night follows day, intense criticism (whether deserved or not) of Race Direction follows a MotoGP race at Termas de Rio Hondo.

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Motorcycling’s April Fools Round-Up for 2019

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Another year, and another April Fools Day is done and dusted. I am fairly certain that for journalists, April 1st is better than Christmas, as it marks the one day where media outlets make the news they wish they could report on daily. And as usual, the imaginations of the motorcycle media pool didn’t fail to disappoint.

My colleague David Emmett had a timely story on how MotoGP will be a house divided, because of the current drama around the use of aerodynamic rider aids.

For my own part, I looked to the increasingly important space of airbag-equipped motorcycle gear and wondered what the next evolution in that space, with thanks to the fine folks at REV’IT for being good sports about our vision of perforated airbag systems.

How about from the rest of the industry though? In case you missed them, the highlights of April Fools Day are after the jump.

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MotoGP

MSMA Solves Aero Crisis by Splitting MotoGP Class in Two

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After the past three weeks have been filled with controversy over aerodynamic appendages, a compromise has been reached among the manufacturers involved in MotoGP, we have learned.

At a meeting of the MSMA in Termas De Rio Hondo, Argentina, on Sunday, the six manufacturers agreed to a new format for MotoGP which would allow both the opponents and advocates of aerodynamics to get what they want from the series.

The proposal, which is yet to be put to the Grand Prix Commission, would see the MotoGP championship split into two, the class running twice, both with and without aerodynamic fairings.

From next year, if the proposal is approved, MotoGP will host two races each Sunday: one for the MotoGP Aero Championship, and one for the MotoGP Plain Championship.

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REV’IT Debuts New Airbag Suit Technology

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The future of motorcycle safety apparel just took another step forward, as a new brand has entered the airbag game for motorcycle track and race suits.

It shouldn’t surprise us to see that the brand in question is REV’IT, as the Dutch company is already at the forefront of motorcycle apparel design, and is an avid safety partner for racers at the top level of the sport.

REV’IT joins Alpinestars and Dainese in offering an in-house airbag safety technology system for track use, but the brand is taking things to the next level with its novel approach to keeping riders safe.

For REV’It, the issue isn’t just in deploying the soft protection that an airbag offers a rider. Instead, their new airbag design promises to be lighter in weight and cooler in temperature than the units from the competition.

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