Due to the cancellation of the Argentine GP, scheduled for April 7, teams do not have to race for two consecutive weekends. The world championship MotoGP resumes in Austin, Texas, the only remaining stage on the American continent. One of the particularities of this Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is the gap of 41 meters between the highest point, represented by the first turn whose slope is greater than 11%, and the lowest.
GP data
According to the technicians Brembo who work closely with all MotoGP riders, the 5,51 km Circuit of the Americas falls into the category of moderately demanding circuits for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 6, it got a difficulty index of 3 because in the first 10 turns, the drivers only use the brakes 3 times, and only once between turns 14 and 18.
On average, the brakes are used for 26% of the ride.
Weight doesn't matter
Along with Italy, the United States is the country that has had the most world champion riders in the premier category, with 6 in 500cc and one in MotoGP. However, in the last two years, no American rider has raced in MotoGP: the last one was Garrett gerloff, who raced at Assen (Netherlands) in 2021 replacing the injured Franco Morbidelli. The last American to compete in a full MotoGP championship was the late Nicky HaydenIn 2015.
More than sport bikes, Americans seem to prefer Baggers, cruiser motorcycles equipped with side bags and exaggerated windshields, with which they comfortably rack up miles and miles. Since 2021, the King of the Baggers championship has been organized, with motorcycles equipped with Brembo GP4-RR monobloc radial calipers, inspired by MotoGP calipers, acting on 330 mm diameter PISTABASSA discs. The RMC BilletGP master cylinder is also manufactured by Brembo, because even on these behemoths, drivers demand safety, reliability and performance.
The most difficult turn
The most challenging corner at the Circuit of the Americas for the braking system is Turn 12: MotoGP bikes go from 338 km/h to 65 km/h in 5,8 seconds, covering 293 meters as riders apply load 5,8 kg on the brake lever. The deceleration is 1,5 g, the Brembo brake fluid pressure reaches 12,5 bar and the temperature of the carbon discs rises to 690°C.
Marc's playground
The Circuit of the Americas is one of the favorite hunting grounds of Marc Marquez : it was on this track that in 2013 he became the youngest winner in 500-MotoGP, at 20 years and 63 days, riding a Honda equipped with Brembo brakes. The Spaniard remained undefeated at this venue until 2018 and returned to win in 2021. His average points at COTA is 20,5 points per GP, having raced there 9 times with just one retirement and a 6th place as worst result.
