Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Circuit

Browsing
MotoGP

MotoGP Will Race in Austria, Starting in 2016?

By 1 Comment

MotoGP looks set to head to Austria from 2016. Today, Red Bull co-founder Dieter Mateschitz and Dorna reached an agreement to host an Austrian round of the series at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The agreement is merely preliminary, and subject to the track gaining FIM homologating the track and granting it a license to stage a MotoGP race.

The Red Bull Ring – previously known as the A1 Ring, before being bought by Mateschitz – has been upgraded and this year hosted both a round of Formula 1 and a round of the Red Bull Air Race. It was also the scene of the last Austrian Grand Prix, held back in 1997. The race was dropped after that year due to poor spectator attendance.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Video: Take a Lap Around Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo

By 10 Comments

This weekend marks the return of Grand Prix Motorcycle racing to the South American continent, and the MotoGP paddock is slowly making its long and arduous journey to the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo.

Revamped in 2012, the MotoGP Championship had to pushback its 2013 plans, amid construction concerns and issues with a certain petroleum company having a beef with the Argentinean government.

That being said, MotoGP machines are in Argentina now (we hope), and will be on the circuit come Friday. We’ve already introduced to you the design of the Termas de Río Hondo circuit, now take a lap around the nearly three-mile circuit with former Grand Prix Champion Franco Uncini.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Introducing the Termas De Rio Hondo Circuit of Argentina

By 5 Comments

The Argentinian round of MotoGP will be the first time a major racing series has visited the Termas de Rio Hondo, the brand new circuit in northern Argentina. As the track is still so new, the circuit designers – Dromo Racetrack Design from Italy – have produced some background material containing key facts about the circuit.

Alongside the list of facts, there are also a couple of interesting infographics giving a better idea of what the track is like. There is a track map showing the elevation change on the circuit. But most interesting of all, is the map created using simulation software to estimate which corner will be taken in which gear, and what speeds will be reached.

As a primer to getting an idea of what to expect this weekend, these infographics are great place to start. Action starts in Argentina on Thursday.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Proposed Circuit of Wales Could Host MotoGP & WSBK

By 7 Comments

The prospects of both MotoGP and World Superbikes visiting Wales took a step closer yesterday. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and Events Managing Director Javier Alonso flew to the UK earlier this week for a series of meetings about the proposed Circuit of Wales, a new facility that is to be built near Ebbw Vale, in South Wales. The Dorna bosses met with several key figures involved in the project, including Lord Kinnock, former UK Labour Party leader and now ambassador for the circuit, and Welsh Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology, and Science Edwina Hart.

Ezpeleta and Alonso also met with media, including MCN and local news organizations. Ezpeleta expressed how impressed he had been with the plans for the facility, which include an FIM and FIA approved race track, a motocross track, a karting track, as well a technology park, hotel facilities, and a motor sports racing academy, aimed at providing training for young riders and drivers.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

A Lap Around Indy with the GP Tech CRT Bike

By 2 Comments

For the Indianapolis GP, race fans will delighted to see two American wild card entries on the grid, as both Attack Performance and GP Tech will likely be racing CRT bikes come Sunday afternoon. We have already gotten a chance to see Attack’s bike, as Steve Rapp piloted it around Laguna Seca for MotoGP’s first stop on American soil this season. Unfortunately for Rapp & Attack, they failed to qualify for the Red Bull US GP at Laguna Seca, missing the cut-off by just under seven-tenths of a second.

Meanwhile GP Tech, a veteran to wild cards at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has stepped up to the big show this year, with Aaron Yates on board the team’s Suzuki-powered CRT bike. Getting a chance to try the road course at Indy during the AMA tire test, GP Tech put some cameras on its roided-out GSX-R, and today brings us a lap of IMS from the perspective of a CRT. With both Attack and GP Tech expected to qualify later today, Sunday’s race fans should have a couple more familiar names to follow during the race. Check the lap out after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Circuit of the Americas Construction Suspended

By 10 Comments

Previously set to host Formula One in 2012 and MotoGP in 2013, the Circuit of the Americas promises to bring more premier motorsport racing to the United States of America. However, news coming out of Austin, Texas is that construction of the new GP-quality circuit has been halted because a contract between Formula One and Circuit of the Americas has not yet been conveyed to the race track according to the parties’ previously agreed upon timetable.

While it is not clear why the contract from Formula One has not been delivered to organizers of the Circuit of the Americas, the news that the construction at the circuit’s location, with its over 300 construction workers, has been halted could mean delays in having the venue ready for the 2012 Formula One season, which in turn could cause delays with MotoGP’s plans to run at the track a year after the premier car racing series. The Circuit of the Americas organizers say construction on the facility would resume once delivery of the Formula One Grand Prix race contract occurs.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

MotoGP Locksdown Motorland Aragon Through 2016

By 2 Comments

The planets must have aligned oddly in the past 24hrs, as there has been an over-abundance of news about motorcycle racing venues in the past day or so. In addition to the reports that Donington Park has gotten the go-ahead to host the WSBK European round at the end of this month, we’ve also gotten word that the Spanish track of Jerez has hit financial troubles, which could jeopardize the track on MotoGP’s calendar.

A contrast to that latter report, Dorna and Motorland Aragon (you know, that other Spanish track) have announced that Aragon will remain a permanent stop on the GP calendar through the year 2016. While MotoGP fans aren’t likely keen on hearing that Spain will account for nearly 25% of the stops on the GP calendar, the 2010 Aragon GP was immensely popular last year, attracting 70,000 spectators to the otherwise remote location.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Silverstone Launches New ‘Arena’ Circuit – Could be Fastest Track for MotoGP Riders

By 4 Comments

Silverstone has taken the wraps off its modified Grand Prix circuit, dubbed the “Arena”. The British track has poured in €4 million and spent the past five months renovating itself with an addition 2,500 feet of racing distance. With the modified circuit, engineers expect the Arena to have some of the fastest speeds in Formula One and MotoGP. Helping launch the new circuit was the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, who cut the ceremonial ribbon.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Hungary GP Might Be Cancelled

By No Comments

b

Motorcycle News is reporting that the , after funding problems have struck construction of the brand new Balatonring circuit. Rumors of the tracks financial problems have been circulating since the end of last year, but MCN is now claiming to have received information from “senior MotoGP officials”. MCN is also reporting that a move to the brand new Portimao circuit in Portugal was mooted, as a replacement for the Balatonring round, but that this was discounted because it would be too close to the official Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril in early October. Given the current calls for cost-cutting in MotoGP, the more popular choice might be for the round to be canceled altogether. Skipping a whole weekend would cut down on expenditure significantly.

 

Source: MotoGP Matters

Keep Reading
By