COTA takes steps to smooth out MotoGP's bumpy ride

When MotoGP bolted from Circuit of the Americas a year ago, the stars of the show fired a few parting shots tied to their bumpy rides, with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa even comparing one section to a “motocross” track.

The combination of six sports car weekends, Formula One and an unusually rough Central Texas winter that included more than a half-dozen freezes has pulled and tugged at the surface even more since last April.

COTA officials said they went to significant lengths to address the track’s growing number of bumps, adding that they are confident the surface will be much improved this week when MotoGP returns for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas.

“It’s smooth enough to ride around the track at 210 miles per hour,” COTA chairman Bobby Epstein told the American-Statesman on Wednesday.

The real test will come Friday morning when the rubber meets the road in practice. For now, officials with Dorna, the Barcelona-based commercial rights-holder for MotoGP, say they are guardedly optimistic.

Dorna CEO Carlos Ezpeleta and the FIM safety officer Franco Uncini, a former world champion rider, both said any final judgment will be withheld until riders speak to the safety commission Friday afternoon.

“The work looks good, and we appreciate the effort that COTA has made to improve the track,” Uncini said. “We must wait to get feedback from the riders, but we can see there is improvement from last year.”

COTA brought in industrial smoothing machines to grind down the bumps, concentrating on the area between turns 1 and 12. The track also contracted specialists to shave the bumps on multiple occasions.

“We worked with (organizing bodies) FIM and FIA to come up with a plan to address the bumps yet leave the surface in a condition that suited both cars and motorcycles,” said Katja Heim, COTA’s chief operating officer.

FIM has used a specific drum grinder on European tracks that left the surface with a texture that was immediately driveable.

“COTA purchased one of those European drums and had it shipped here so we could do the same thing,” Heim said.

Before the recent grinding project, former world champion Kevin Schwantz of Austin and Moto2 rider Joe Roberts, the only American currently on the grid, toured the track just more than two weeks ago.

“We took all their feedback and made the necessary changes,” Heim said.

After the European drum was deployed, Schwantz was brought back for more test rides. He reported a major improvement in the size and texture of the bumps and “felt the grip was nearly equal” in places where the track was ground to where it was left alone.

Roberts, a 20-year-old Californian, is eager to give the circuit a go at his first MotoGP race in Austin. He has competed on the track in the MotoAmerica series, which also will race here this weekend.

“It’s one of the toughest tracks we go to, and I know it’s gotten bumpier,” Roberts said. “Pavement can be weird. It stretches, it contracts. F1 cars put a lot of stress on the pavement. So can the heavy sports cars.

“America is car country. I grew up riding bumpy tracks. Road America, Road Atlanta. I’m not too pampered with the European smooth tracks yet. Now if it’s still really bumpy here next year, I might come back and start screaming,” he added, flashing a smile.

The stakes are significant. Austin is the only North American stop in this wildly popular international series, and MotoGP trails only F1 in drawing motorsports fans to COTA.

“It’s important we get this right,” Epstein said. “We feel good about what’s been done.”

RED BULL GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS

What: World’s premier motorcycle series

When: Friday-Sunday

Where: Circuit of the Americas

Tickets: Single-day tickets, $39-$109; three-day general admission, $99; three-day main grandstand seat, $149 and up; three-day flex pass, $199 and up

Note: Children 12 and younger will be admitted free with a ticketed adult.

It’s a festival: Throughout the weekend, musical acts will be playing at the grand plaza, the support paddock, the Ducati’s Island stage and the paddock lounge.

Friday schedule

9 a.m.-12:40 p.m. — First round of practices in all classes.

1:10-4:45 p.m. — Second round of practices in all classes.

5-5:15 p.m. — MotoAmerica Superbike pole qualifying.

6:40-7:30 p.m. — MotoGP rider autograph sessions.

Saturday schedule

9-11:40 a.m. — Third round of practices for MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3.

12:35-1:15 p.m. — Moto3 qualifying.

12:45-1:15 p.m. — MotoAmerica rider autograph session.

1:30-2 p.m. — Fourth round of practices for MotoGP.

2:10-2:50 p.m. — MotoGP qualifying 1 and 2.

3:05-3:50 p.m. — Moto2 qualifying.