“The track is much worse than last year, to the point of bordering on dangerous,” denounces Álex Rins in the same critical line as most MotoGP riders
“I don’t care about potholes, I really enjoy this circuit. If you have to do motocross, we’ll do motocross,” joked Aron Canet
The asphalt of the COTA in Austin has provoked harsh criticism from several drivers after the first free practice sessions of the Grand Prix of the Americas this weekend. Despite the fact that those responsible for the Texan circuit have carried out partial resurfacing work in recent years, the protagonists of the MotoGP World Championship consider that it is insufficient, remember that they are putting their physique at risk and demand safety standards.
Yesterday, Alex Rins He openly complained to the DAZN microphones and assured that the MotoGP riders planned to transfer their complaints to the championship’s safety commission. “The track is much worse than last year, to the point of bordering on dangerous. Practically where all the crashes are taking place is at the points where the asphalt is worse. Once again we will say it to the Safety Commission, to see if they pay attention to us”, insisted the Honda pilot.
Two years ago, the French Fabio Quartararo described Austin’s asphalt as “a joke” and there were also protests from the Formula 1 teams. In January of last year, the layout was renewed in turns 2, 10 and 12-16 and in the Grand Prix of that year the The drivers seemed to approve the changes, but after lapping this Friday, they have returned to the charge.
“We have four asphalts on this track and it’s not normal, it’s worse than last year because we’re going incredibly fast,” says the reigning world champion, pecco bagnaia, as published by the ‘motorsport’ portal. “In the dry, it can be handled quite well. In the wet it’s more difficult, because in the dry, in turn 1, where they scratched the track, you feel that the front end locks up. So in the wet, these types of problems multiply We will try to make them understand it, because in turns 11 and 12 the asphalt is destroyed”.
“In terms of safety and track cleanliness, it has improved. But when you brake in turn 1 you feel the rear end pushing you up, then you lock up the front end and have to stop the bike. And the same in the turn 11 and turn 12, when you enter the penultimate turn the bike starts to move a lot because the track has been scraped at that point. So, for me, it is worse”, insists the Ducati leader.
potholes and cracks
“At some points, like turns 11, 12, 15 and 20, if you walk the asphalt is cracking“, complaint Alex Marquez. “It’s not because of the scraping, it’s like the tarmac is coming off and when you go around there’s a lot of spinning. At that point it’s a bit weird. There’s a big bump at Turn 3, it’s like a big step from curb to tarmac and It’s something that if you hit you’re going to crash. It’s a dangerous situation because you can’t control it,” he warns.
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The brother of Valentino Rossi and pilot of his VR46 team, Luca Marini denounces that the current situation of the asphalt is “impossible, a disaster. It is a very, very bad situation, perhaps the worst of the season”, affirms the Italian, who recalls that “last year in the safety commission we asked Dorna to “I would put pressure on the circuit to make some changes for the bikes, because maybe for F1 it’s not so bad and it’s not so dangerous. But for us it’s impossible to drive like this. We have to make a minimum standard for homologation on circuits like this.”
At the opposite extreme there are those who take it philosophically. The Moto2 rider Aron Canet strip of irony: “This circuit is all or nothing: either I win or I fall. Regardless of that, it is one of my favorite tracks. I have always felt very good. The potholes do not give me absolutely the same, I enjoy it a lot, I don’t even know. When I hit a pothole I smile because, instead of upsetting me like on other occasions, it doesn’t bother me, I’m going fast. If you have to do motocross, we will do motocross “.