Day 4 – This is MotoGP!

This is MotoGP! Multimillion dollar prototype motorcycles; riders paid millions to race these 350 pound and 260 horse power machines; running over 220 mph and up to 68 degrees of lean; dragging knees, elbows, and the occasional shoulder in recent years; racing within feet, inches, and sometimes less as elbows and carbon fiber flies. MotoGP is a festival of speed, sound, and color. A traveling circus racing 21 tracks in 17 countries in 2024.

This is the 75th year for MotoGP. When I was growing up, the Japanese manufacturers dominated and the US had several multi-year champions. Honda and Yamaha are the only Japanese bikes still in MotoGP. In recent years, the series is dominated by the European brands of Ducati, KTM, and Aprilia. GasGas entered this year. BMW is coming next year. Triumph does not field a MotoGP team but they are the sole engine supplier for the Moto 2 class which are required to run the same spec motor across all manufacturers.

The motorcycles themselves are not the only high tech equipment on the track. Racing leathers have evolved to. They are kangaroo hide which is more abrasion resistant but lighter than cow hide. The hump on the back originally started for improved aerodynamics behind the helmets. Now they house sophisticated electronics which controls an airbag system in the suits. It also measures all kinds of telemetry the rider is subjected to on or off (crashing) the bike. The airbag will reset as most racers will return to the race after a crash if the bike isn’t damaged.

I probably should have explained that Friday and Saturday activities lead up to the Sunday race day. And we had a great day! First half was cool and breezy but it really warmed up for the afternoon. Took our camp chairs today as we found out yesterday that Texas ground is hard.

We have really enjoyed our time at Circuit of the Americas and thrilled to finally make another MotoGP weekend. The time really flew by. We are back on the road tomorrow and heading into the Texas Hill Country. We’ll be camping the next few nights but I think I will have reception to continue posting. Until tomorrow.