CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS WELCOMES MOTOGP New track for World Championship at round two, where the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar team hopes to continue as CRT top dog The MotoGP riders this week head to another circuit with an enormous potential for thrilling top speeds. At the new Circuit of the Americas they will have a 1200 metre home straight -the longest on the MotoGP calendar- on which to open the throttle of their powerful machines. Only a few riders tested at the US track during the winter, so it will be a surprise for most. Designed by Hermann Tilke, the Circuit of the Americas is one of a select group of tracks over 5km in length, and one of the few shared with Formula 1 -alongside Montmelo, Silverstone and Sepang. The USA now hosts three events, at the Circuit of the Americas, Laguna Seca and Indianapolis, placing the country second for most races behind Spain (with four). The recent race in Qatar’s set the scene for what should be a fantastic season of action. In almost a mirror image of last season, the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders were again the best CRT competitors at the opening round in Losail. Aleix Espargaró imposed himself on the CRT standings throughout the entire weekend, clocking similar times to the MotoGP riders in practice and qualifying. On the Sunday he finished as best CRT rider in the race. Randy De Puniet took longer to find a good feeling with his bike, but in the warm-up session he showed great improvement and in the first half of the race he was a tough rival for teammate Espargaró. The Frenchman finished as second best CRT rider. Both POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders head to Circuit of the Americas determined to continue as frontrunners. Aleix Espargaró: “I can’t wait to start the GP of the Americas, at a circuit that will be new to everyone -or at least for the CRT riders. I like the feeling of arriving at a new track, at which you must find your reference points. We will have to take it easy in the first practice to avoid any nasty surprises, but hopefully we can continue from where we left off at Qatar. I am very satisfied with the manner in which we started the championship. The only thing we could have improved was the start of the race. During the race I found it hard to match my times from practice. I believe that we must work with a full tank of fuel in order to match up the practice pace with that of the start of the race. We are only one GP into the season and we are already adapting well to the ART 2013, which is a good sign that we are doing things right.” Randy De Puniet: “I look forward to getting to the Circuit of the Americas and getting back riding again. I have seen footage of the F1 race there and it seems like a really interesting track. Riding there will be a new experience for everyone, except for the factory riders. All the CRT guys will be debuting there, so we will all start with the same conditions. In general I tend to be a rider who quickly adapts to any environment, so I am calm. I’m sure it will be an exciting weekend. In Qatar we started out a little lost, we struggled to find a good feel, but in the end we picked things up. Only a small mechanical problem prevented us from fighting with Aleix right up until the last lap. I hope that next weekend we can again fight to be the best CRT.” More, from a press release issued by MAPFRE Aspar Moto2 Team: MAPFRE ASPAR RIDERS PREPARED FOR NEW TRACK AND LONGEST STRAIGHT ON THE CALENDAR Nico Terol and Jordi Torres ready for maiden outing at the Circuit of the Americas, which features a 1,200 metre long straight Recent World Championship seasons have started with a race overseas -Qatar- and then returned to Europe. This season features two races outside of Europe to kick off the campaign. The all-new GP of the Americas, to be held in Austin, Texas, is the debuting USA round that replaces the Portuguese GP. It is one of seven tracks on the calendar exceeding five thousand meters in length (5513 metres) and, along with Silverstone and Sepang is one of the three totaling over 5500 metres. The Moto2 riders travel to the United States knowing that everybody will be starting from zero in terms of track knowledge. This may very well see some surprises sprung in the intermediate class. MAPFRE Aspar riders Jordi Torres and Nico Terol placed eleventh and fourteenth, respectively, in the opening race of the season. It was a positive showing from the duo, considering that it was the first event of the year, although neither are willing to settle for anything less than the best. They now go Stateside with the intention of improving and adapting to the Circuit of the Americas at the Moto2 class’ first outing at the track. Nico Terol: “I love riding in the USA and I have fond memories of my visits there. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for example, I usually take good results. In practice at Qatar we saw that we are quick and we have increasingly got the bike set up better and better, but in the race we didn’t get the result we expected. However, we know that we can be at the front and this weekend we will draw on all our inner strength to improve our performance in the race. I’ve been playing the F1 game on the Playstation to learn the track. Marc Márquez spoke to me too and he said that the Circuit of the Americas is quite demanding, has a section of linked corners similar to Silverstone and a lot of braking. It looks like a very complete circuit, I’m sure that I will like it and that I can have a good race there. With the confidence that we have acquired, we just need to have the calm start to a race that will make everything easier.” Jordi Torres: “I have great enthusiasm and desire to get to the Circuit of the Americas. I am curious to see what it is like for us. It is good for us to be at a new track for everyone, as there will not be a disadvantage in that respect like we had at Losail -a circuit I had never been to before. I have a good feeling about this, I’m very excited and I want to scout the circuit as soon as possible. I have seen several videos and played video games and, based on that, the Circuit of the Americas seems very complicated, but I’ve seen a couple of segments that I think will suit me very well. Also, it seems to be very nice to ride and has a huge straight. We have to set up the bike as well as possible in order to not lose out to the other riders too much. I think that in Qatar we did a great job, improving every step of the way. I hope to continue this in Austin and get a better result in the race on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by MAPFRE Aspar Moto3 Team: MOTO3 CLASS STEPS INTO THE UNKNOWN AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS Jonas Folger confident of challenging for victory, whilst Eric Granado will work to make quick adaptation to the new circuit Hermann Tilke has again made his mark on the MotoGP calendar, designing the Circuit of the Americas that will this weekend host its first MotoGP World Championship event. Like all of the German designer’s creations, the Austin track features a lavish layout with a long straight. In fact, the straight is now the longest in the series, relegating that at Mugello to second. Only a small number of MotoGP riders have ridden at the track, and for the Moto3 competitors it will be completely new. In Qatar, preseason suspicions were confirmed when four of the riders tipped for success -Folger, Rins, Salom and Viñales- all impressed over the weekend. This time, they will have to adapt quickly to a new challenge. MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger finished fifth in Qatar, after spending the entire weekend amongst the top positions. Regardless of the final outcome of the race, the competitive nature of the German rider over the four days is what has inspired the team the most. Folger is rapidly becoming one of the riders to beat in Moto3, right at the start of the campaign. He is known for his chameleonic attitude and his ability to adapt to any circumstances. This virtue could prove to be very useful this weekend, when all riders will be on unfamiliar ground. Teammate Eric Granado, must also adapt swiftly to the American track. The young MAPFRE Aspar Team rider had a discreet start in Losail but is ready to keep on working and learning in the Moto3 class. Jonas Folger: “I think this race will be very interesting, at a totally new circuit which looks very good. It’s an unknown for everyone, so it will be interesting to see how each rider will adapt. I’ve seen some pictures and several videos, but I can’t say that I have a lot of information about the Circuit of the Americas. It seems very tricky, besides having a very long straight. We will try our best to adapt to it as quickly as possible. In Qatar we did a great job, but during the race the engine did not perform as well as it should have. So this weekend we will continue working to improve this, in order not to suffer on the long straight. I am convinced that I will enjoy the track -I think it will be very fun.” Eric Granado: “The Circuit of the Americas is new to everyone and we have to get used to it as quickly as possible. It is a very long track and, from what I’ve seen, features fast corners alternating with very tight ones. For some time I have been using the F1 simulator in order to study the layout, but now I can’t wait to try it in person. It looks as cool a circuit as it does a demanding one. I am convinced that I will be fine though. With it being new to everyone this time, we will not start at a disadvantage like in Qatar -a circuit with which I was unfamiliar. Since returning from Doha I’ve been training in the gym and riding supermoto and motocross. I head to Texas eager to continue to work hard.” More, from a press release issued by Blusens Avintia MotoGP Team: Barberá and Aoyama want to make it in “The Americas” Avintia Blusens MotoGP riders expect to be very competitive on the Austin track The MotoGP World Championship kicked off at the Grand Prix of Qatar and now the Avintia Blusens team has travelled to “The Americas” for the second race of the season, newly incorporated into this year calendar and held in Austin -Texas-. Both riders will face a totally unknown track, which is difficult and technical, but they hope to be very competitive, among other reasons, because all the teams will start working with the same information and without having raced on it before. Héctor and Hiroshi returned from Qatar having scored points and Barberá being third among the CRTs, but both riders want more. And the team is convinced of achieving it. Although the differences with the official CRTs are still significant, Héctor does not hide that he intends to leave Austin as the best CRT, taking advantage of the greater equality that can provide the fact of riding on a new track for everyone. Meanwhile, Hiroshi is more cautious but he does not deny that his intention is to improve the Qatar result and fight with the first ones to be able to be on the CRTs podium. 8 – Héctor Barberá: “We will race on a circuit that is new for all the riders of the category and this can be of help for us. Our rivals have data and last year experience on all the tracks, but we do not, so it should be taken into account. In Austin we will all start from zero and I am convinced that the differences will be shortened. At every circuit we have to make readjustments of the electronics, the suspensions etc., and this time the other riders will also have to do it. So here it will be different. I am very encouraged and sure of doing a good GP and proving that they should keep us in mind for the victory. We do not have to wait for more races. We can achieve it now.” 7 – Hiroshi Aoyama: “Running on a new track is always exciting but also difficult. I do not think that it is an easy track, so I hope to ride as much as possible to adapt well to it. The opening race of 2013 in Qatar was not bad but we need to improve in Austin. We have new things to be tested and I am sure that if they work well, we will be competitive. Our goal is to be very close to the Aprilia men because if we are there, it will mean that we have improved, being among the first ones.” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens Moto2 Team: The Blusens Avintia Moto2 team highly motivated for the new Grand Prix of The Americas Elías and Smith wish to discover the track and adapt quickly to it After the first round in Qatar, the World Championship is underway and the Blusens Avintia Moto2 team has travelled to Texas with renewed energy and the conviction to be in the front positions. It is true that Toni’s result in Qatar was not optimum, but he spent a lot of time testing things that at the GP of The Americas will not have to be tested and he will have more time to focus on his riding. Elías is strong and sure of doing a good GP and he wants to discover the new American track, hoping to adapt quickly to it. His teammate Kyle Smith arrives in Austin highly motivated after running his first GP in Qatar with good pace and solvency. This year Kyle has to find out all the circuits and the fact that the American one is new for everyone can help him to be closer to the group of the points. In any case, the team and the riders are exultant and can not wait to start. 24 – Toni Elías: “I am eager to arrive in Austin. We will race on a new circuit for all of us and this motivates me. There are important brakings and at those points I feel very comfortable. We will see it. At the first GP of the season, things did not go as well as we had hoped. However, we are sure of reaching the positions that we deserve. In Qatar we did a lot of tests and in the race we had some problems that did not allow us to compete as we wanted. But I think it was positive and I prefer having this type of experiences at the beginning of the season. We learned things, we saw what we could reach and now we are more prepared and motivated.” 9 – Kyle Smith: “Everyone is talking about this new track and the difficulty that involves the fact that we have not ridden there before. For me it does not change anything because I do not know any of the tracks! So it may be good for us. This time all the riders will use the practice sessions to know the layout of the track and its “tricks”. I am in high spirits after my first race in the World Championship and in Austin I hope to improve. Although I still have a lot to learn, the fact that the other riders will be also discovering the track at the same time can help me to be closer to them.”