MotoGP hits Texas this weekend, here is the preview and schedule

MotoGP 2023

Round Three – COTA

MotoGP Preview

After a week’s break after the sunny races in Portugal and the rain that dominated Sunday at the Argentinian GP, MotoGP starts up again this weekend from Austin in Texas.

There have been 34 previous Grand Prix events hosted in the USA: Laguna Seca (15), Austin (9), Indianapolis (8) and Daytona (2). A total of 81 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held in the USA since 1949: 500cc/MotoGP – 34, 250cc/Moto2 – 24, 125cc/Moto3 – 21, 50cc – 2.

Honda have seven wins in MotoGP at COTA since 2013, all with Marc Marquez and the most recent in in 2021 from third on the grid. Marquez has qualified on pole here seven times. Honda riders have won 16 of the last 18 MotoGP races held in the USA.

Prior to Rins (2019, Suzuki) and Bastianini (2022, Ducati), the last non-Honda winner in America was Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) at Laguna Seca in 2010. Honda have won 19 of the 26 premier class Grand Prix races that have taken place in the USA in the MotoGP era since 2002.

Over the years, efforts have been made to iron out the bumps that appear on the circuit as the soil and clay underneath its surface constantly shift. Even allowing for these regular improvements, riders will still need to get an initial feel for track before starting to push to the limit.

Texas might be regarded as a hot state, but the weather at this time of year can be changeable, with anticipated air temperatures of around 25°C and overcast skies carrying an ever-present threat of rain.

Snaking around its cobra-like observation tower, COTA’s anti-clockwise layout comprises 11 right-hand corners and nine to the left. Designed by German architect Hermann Tilke – the man responsible for many of the sport’s most successful modern venues – certain sections of the lap pay homage to classic circuits such as Hockenheim, Silverstone, Interlagos or the Red Bull Ring (formerly the Österreichring). Very demanding, the track is characterised by a 40-metre incline from the start-line up to Turn One, as well as a 1,200m-long straight

On every lap of the Circuit of the Americas, the MotoGP riders use their brakes 11 times, the same number as Formula 1 but the cars take 29 seconds less to complete a lap. The brakes in MotoGP are used for 36 seconds per lap and those of the single-seaters used for less than half that time, just under 17 seconds.

The toughest braking point is for turn 12, where riders are on the brakes for 316 metres. The bikes reach 360 km/h (223.6 mph) and brake for 6.4 seconds to drop to 66 km/h (41 mph).

Marco Bezzecchi was on another level on Sunday last time out, and that’s earned him both the points lead and his maiden win. The question now is, can he follow it up? With his track record it seems likely the answer is yes, but when and where remains to be seen as yet.

Marco Bezzecchi – Championship leader

“I really realised what happened in Argentina once I arrived home. The first victory and the P1 in the Championship. We’re at the third race, it’s still very early, but it’s a good feeling in any case. I enjoyed the moment, last week we celebrated, but now we go back at work even more motivated to do well. Austin has always been a difficult GP, even with the old format. From a physical point of view it is perhaps the most demanding race on the calendar, plus it is an extremely technical track. Let’s face the weekend as best we can, I’ve always had good sensations and let’s make the most of this factor to keep the pace of the strongest guys from Friday.”

Mooney VR46 Racing team-mate Luca Marini, meanwhile, also arrives from a first after taking a podium in the Tissot Sprint, and he’ll be more motivated than ever looking over to the other side of the garage…

Luca Marini

“Austin is perhaps the most demanding race of the year: a very difficult, technical and physically complicated track to manage. It will be stressful for everyone, not just for me, it will be crucial to work better than the others and have a good start from Friday. Understanding the real values because, with the new format, everything has changed, especially on the tracks we didn’t have the opportunity to test in the off season. The goal is to hit the Q2 to be more relaxed in managing the entire weekend and to qualify well, which is essential for both race distances.”

It started perfectly for Francesco Bagnaia in Portugal, but it continued with a couple of bumps in the road in Argentina. On Saturday it was a safe sixth in the Sprint, and then on Sunday it looked like a well-controlled podium… until it slid away. Resetting now will tell us much about what the reigning Champion has in the locker for 2022. For last year’s COTA winner Enea Bastianini, meanwhile, it’s sadly another event on the sidelines as he waits for his shoulder to heal, with test rider Michele Pirro stepping in.

Pecco Bagnaia

“I am happy to be back on track in Austin this weekend. The GP of the Americas is one of my favourite events, and the circuit is exceptional. We have always been fast here in the past, and we can do well again this year. I am still disappointed about the crash in Argentina, and I want to put it behind me and get back to fighting for the win in both races on Saturday and Sunday.”

It was a somewhat anonymous Sprint for both Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin in Argentina, but Zarco certainly hit back on Sunday with that late race charge for the podium. He’ll want more as his search for that maiden win continues, and Martin will want to take a big step back to the front after a tougher weekend in Termas. His goal this year isn’t a win, it’s wins plural.

After a slightly scrappy Portimao, it came good for Alex Marquez in Argentina as the number 73 took his first premier class pole position and turned it into a first podium with Ducati on Sunday. He’s aiming to become a perennial presence in the fight for the rostrum.

Alex Marquez

“Austin is surely a demanding circuit on the physical side, so it’ll be important to get there 100% fit and well rested. It’s a difficult circuit, but I still like it a lot: it’s a very mixed one, as it flows in some areas, while in other parts there are more direction changes. We will need an agile but also stable bike. We’re coming from a couple of encouraging events and I aim at scoring points in each race.”

On the other side of the Gresini box, team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio will want a lot more as he watches the likes of Bezzecchi win races, but the number 49 also took a step in Termas.

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“This is the most demanding track on the calendar and we’ll see how the weekend will be with the addition of the sprint race. It’s quite a peculiar circuit with plenty of bumps, so a very stable bike will be needed. We’re coming from a good performance in Argentina so we want to continue in this direction and finish again in the top ten.”

Friday in Argentina made for ominous reading for the rest of the field as Aprilia Racing ended the day first and second, but it just didn’t quite come together in the end. A year after the same venue staged his first win, Aleix Espargaro left Termas this time around with only 12 points in total, and he’ll be absolutely focused on gaining some more in Austin.

Maverick Viñales, meanwhile, has a pretty good haul of 32 but won’t want to stay AWOL from that front group. The stars seem to threaten to align and then change their mind as he aims for that first win with Aprilia.

Aprilia’s previous best MotoGP result at Austin is P10 with Stefan Bradl (2016), Aleix Espargaro (2018) and Maverick Viñales (2022), so it will be interesting to see how much progres the Noale factory has made in regards to COTA pace this year.

‘Sunday rider’ was always a compliment to Brad Binder, but it just isn’t true anymore after that stunning Saturday in Argentina. From 15th to 1st, but how his fortunes changed on Sunday…

Red Bull KTM team-mate Jack Miller put in solid and promising performances from Argentina and arrives sixth in the championship standings.

The previous best result at COTA for KTM came back in 2019 when Pol Espargaro finished eighth.

Franco Morbidelli had a fantastic return to form in Argentina, and eyes will be on the number 21 to see if he can repeat the feat at another venue. Impressive in qualifying, the Sprint, and on Sunday, it was a weekend he’s needed and one he’ll be keen to back up.

Franco Morbidelli

“This weekend we‘re riding at COTA, which is a track that I really like. We had a good round in Argentina, and we want to keep the momentum going in Austin, but we are mindful not to get ahead of ourselves. We need to focus on the task at hand, because this track is difficult to get right. We will stick to the process we used in Termas, and we will see. I‘m looking forward to this GP, it is one of my favourites.”

Team-mate Fabio Quartararo was no slouch though. Despite yet more bad luck, Sunday especially saw the Frenchman prove his quality once again as he sliced through from well down the order after a little close attention earlier in the race. COTA has never been the best venue for Yamaha, but in 2023 anything can and has been happening…

Fabio Quartararo

“We arrive in Austin with a positive mindset. My pace in the Argentina race was pretty good. We aim to qualify more towards the front this weekend. If we do that, I‘m sure I can get good results. Last year, we had some grip issues at COTA, but we had the same in Termas in 2022, and this year we were okay during the race. So, I think we should also be able to do well here. As always, we will do our best.”

As we head into a venue he’s ruled before, it’s Alex Rins holding the honour of top Honda after two pretty solid first rounds in his new home. With more and more track time we can likely expect more and more from the proven frontrunner, and COTA has some good memories from that previous win, his very first.

The huge news ahead of the weekend was the withdrawal of Marc Marquez as his broken hand continues to recover. He’ll be replaced by test rider Stefan Bradl, and despite Honda having a tougher pre-season than some and Marquez having been injured in Portimao, his absence may seem a reprieve for some, such is the pure quality of his record at the track.

On the other side of the garage, Joan Mir, after that crash on Saturday in Argentina, will be hoping to get back into the learning curve and make more progress. Said progress was going pretty well in Portimao so we can be sure there’s much more to come from the 2020 World Champion.

Joan Mir

“I am ready to get back on the bike in America, I have been able to spend this week at home recovering fully after the fall on Saturday and getting back to training. Last year I had a strong race in Austin and Honda also has a very strong record there, so the objective is to have a consistent weekend and avoid problems. If we can get a complete race weekend under our belts, I think we will be able to learn a lot and make another step because in the two races are where you are learning the most about the Honda.”

There will be a new face on the grid for GASGAS in Austin, or more a new face for 2023. Jonas Folger joins the fold as the replacement for the recovering Pol Espargaro, and he’ll be an interesting addition after some time on the sidelines. He did test in pre-season, however.

Jonas Folger

“I’m looking forward to racing again and arriving to Texas to see all the guys from my old team! I hope we can do a decent job and I know it will be a big challenge for me since testing has only just started. However, this will be a great opportunity to get up to speed and learn more about the bike.”

Rookie Augusto Fernandez, meanwhile, has already scored some points and diced it up in the mix with much more experienced riders.

Augusto Fernandez

“I am looking forward to going racing in Austin this week. The track is very demanding physically and we have a good challenge ahead of us as it will be my first time on a MotoGP bike. We have made a good start to the season, so I am eager to continue our progress to reach our aim of getting closer to the other riders. Let’s get on the gas Austin!”

It was a tough Round 2 for the RNF squad and Raul Fernandez certainly will be eager to get more from the Americas GP. He arrives with only a couple of points so far but some good flashes of speed shown, so can he start to turn it around in Texas?

Raul Fernandez

“We had a difficult race Sunday in Argentina. All of us Aprilia riders together with our crews are working a lot to understand what was happening there. Anyway, I think COTA is a good track for me. I really want to enjoy riding and that is the main target, plus trying to understand why we were slower in the race in Argentina. Nevertheless, I think we did a step during the last weekend and in Texas, we aim to confirm this step.”

On the other side of the garage, Miguel Oliveira is heading to Austin hoping he passes a medical test on Thursday at the circuit. If that happens, the Portuguese rider will be back in action after such bad luck in the season opener, looking to pick up where he left off in terms of pace.

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2

On the road to Austin, it’s now Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) who leads the way in the intermediate class… and guess who won at COTA last year? He was also joined on the podium by another rostrum finisher in Argentina, Jake Dixon (Asterius GASGAS Aspar), so the two have form. Meanwhile Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) hasn’t even ridden the track in Moto2, but that’s not stopped him taking podiums and wins last year as a rookie either.

Speaking of last year’s rookies, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a tougher time of it in the rain last time out and will want to reassert his speed, and Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) will very much want to stop him. Despite a jump start and two Long Laps at Termas, the number 40 still took a top finish and will want more at COTA.

Moto2 Championship Points

Moto3

He just missed out on the podium in Argentina, but Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) is still the Championship leader heading into Round 3… by just two points. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) remains the rider on the chase though, and after two podiums to start the year he’ll be looking for another as a minimum as he seeks that first win.

Meanwhile, Argentina winner Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) will be aiming to stay in the game, and teammate Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing), last year’s Americas GP winner, wants that first visit to the rostrum this season. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) haven’t really got off the mark yet either, whereas Andrea Migno (CIP Green Power) already has a podium as a replacement rider… and was on the box last year at COTA.  Aussie Joel Kelso remains on the sidelines recovering from the injuries he sustained at Portimao.

Moto3 Championship Points

COTA AEST Schedule

2023 MotoGP Calendar

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