MotoGP Austin J1, the condition of the track is once again debated: "the meeting of the safety commission will be very long, those responsible must listen to us more" warns Pecco Bagnaia

In 2021, the entire MotoGP was legitimately offended by the state of the Austin track, bumpy as hell and, in 2022, the riders had the satisfaction of discovering asphalt redone in certain critical places. But the return in 2023 has brought back the criticism, which is not a surprise when we know that this site was built on a swamp. Inevitably, the natural undulations of the ground cause the bitumen to work, which has therefore suffered from one year to the next. And it rumbles among pilots who are less and less docile…

To keep his Grand Prix of the Americas, Texas made efforts after the storm of recriminations suffered during the 2021 edition. A boycott for 2022 was in the pipeline, but the corrective actions were rewarded. A reprieve, because, for this edition in Texas, the criticisms are emerging again... Here is an exhaustive list of drivers who regretted discovering an Austin track that was once again degraded.

« We are now entering an area where bumps become dangerous ", declared Friday alex rins on motorsport magazine, who has already won all three world championship events in Austin. “ I really like the track, but we see that most of the falls occur in places where the tarmac is very bad. Turns 11 and 12 in particular are worse. The tarmac is massively damaged and the bumps are much worse than last year. We need to discuss it in the security committee ". There were a total of nine crashes in MotoGP on Friday, including five in turn 12, as Kidneys mentioned it, at the end of the long straight.

When the rodeo hits too hard! 😵 #AmericasGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/kctvQjItrk

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 15, 2023

**« The work done on the Austin track probably wasn't meant for us bikers »**

One of the victims of the fall was Jack Miller. " Turns 11 and 12 are pretty bad “, he confirmed. “ There is almost no grip there.. The front wheel starts to slip as soon as you turn. And it's in a bend where you brake from 350 km/h up to first gear. It's anything but easy ». Francis Bagnaia agrees. “ The safety committee meeting is going to be very long “, he announced Friday afternoon. “ In some places the track surface is completely destroyed, for example in turns 1, 11 and 12. The track is in worse condition than last year. Managers need to listen to us more », even warns the world champion. bagnaia was also annoyed by this: “ We have four different types of asphalt here. It's just impossible. It's manageable in the dry, but it will be extremely difficult in the rain ».

The leader of the world championship Marco Bezzecchi, who also crashed in turn 12 on Friday, was not to be outdone: “ the work done on the track probably wasn't meant for us bikers. The asphalt has been leveled in places far from our lines. This is anything but ideal, as the track is very physically demanding anyway. These motocross jumps are the crowning glory. We will have to plan the weekend well to be in good shape on Sunday ».

Difficulties which, however, do not appear when reading the extremely fast times. The leader George Martin was only 139 thousandths of a second away from his record lap during last year's qualifying on Friday. How to explain it? Francis Bagnaia respond : " we are incredibly fast because the track is much cleaner than last year ».