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Marc Marquez’s second bout of diplopia, or double vision, inside the space of six months has been resolved favorably. The Repsol Honda team today announced he would make his return in Austin, after being given the go ahead by his doctors.

The news was not a complete surprise. Marquez had posted earlier on Tuesday that he had been at Alcarras, riding a Honda CBR600RR, as a test of his eyesight.

It has been four years since anyone lapped the Circuit of The Americas quite so rapidly. In 2018 and 2019, nobody, not even Marc Marquez, managed to get under the 2’03s.

So it is a testament to how much faster the MotoGP riders are going that two riders managed it on Saturday in Austin. And this, despite the fact that the track has become so much more bumpy in the past couple of years.

So bumpy, in fact, that it appears as if the circuit has been issued an ultimatum: resurfaces the section from the exit of Turn 1 all the way through Turn 10, or MotoGP is not coming back.

Pol Espargaro summed up the complex emotions of almost the entire grid (possibly bar Jack Miller, but more of that later) at the end of an eventful first day of practice at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

“First of all we need to say that it’s super nice to come here to America, to be able to race here,” the Repsol Honda rider said. “Already this is something super good after so long in Europe.”

“And to see the American fans is super nice, they are super excited and it’s nice. Saying that, I think we are in a professional MotoGP championship that, we need a minimum of quality in the tracks, about safety, run off area.”

Then came the ‘but’. “We must say that the track is not at the level of a MotoGP championship, sure. First of all, there are parts where the asphalt is super bad.”

For the first time in two years, MotoGP is headed for a flyaway race which isn’t in Qatar.

After a long period of uncertainty, and facing a certain amount of opposition from inside the Grand Prix paddock, the series is heading to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

After having 12 of the first 14 races all inside the same timezone (give or take an hour), a flyaway race feels like something of a novelty.

The novelty will not be quite as great as hoped for all those traveling to Austin.

Maverick Viñales has elected not to race at the US round of MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

The Spaniard has decided to take the time to come to terms with the death of his cousin, Dean Berta Viñales, as a result of a crash in the WorldSSP300 race at Jerez on Saturday.

Dean Berta Viñales rode in the team run by Maverick’s father, Angel, and which carries Maverick’s logo.

The Grand Prix of the Americas, which had been moved to November 13-15th because of the coronavirus outbreak, has now been canceled.

The news comes from the track’s Instagram account, which states that the Austin round will return in 2021, on April 16-18th.

The cancelation of this year’s American round is of little surprise, as the COVID-19 situation in the United States grows more dire with each passing day, especially in Texas.

Ever since the opening round at Qatar, the schedule for the 2020 MotoGP Championship has been in limbo. And for American fans, this hasn meant a tremendous amount of uncertainty regarding the grand prix round held outside of Austin, Texas.

Though we are seemingly no closer to knowing if and when the Americas GP will take place, American fans have now been at least provided a timeline on when we will know: the end of July.

There is perhaps no greater tribute in sports than the retiring of an athlete’s number, and that honor will be put upon the late Nicky Hayden at this year’s Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

As such, the iconic number for the Kentucky Kid will forever be his, as no other grand prix racer will be allowed to run the number “69” on their race bikes in competition after the event.

The move is a continuing tribute to Hayden, who tragically passed away in 2017 during a cycling accident.

Nicky Hayden was made a “MotoGP Legend” (the sport’s version of a Hall of Fame) in 2015, and last year the Circuit of the Americas named Turn 18 “Hayden Hill” in his honor.