Texas lands MotoGP from 2013

Ten-year deal signed for new Circuit of the Americas™ in Austin includes the three classes of the MotoGP World Championship.

 

Dorna Sports, S.L., 3FourTexasMGP, LLC and Full Throttle Productions, LP are pleased to announce the historic signing of a ten-year contract bringing MotoGP to the new Circuit of the Americas™ facility in Austin, Texas, from 2013.
This agreement includes the three categories of the World Championship; the MotoGP class - the pinnacle of motorcycling - Moto2 and Moto3.
The addition of a ten-year MotoGP deal is coupled with the already scheduled ten-year deal to host the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™, for which the Circuit of the Americas™ in Austin, Texas is currently under construction.
Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, S.L. said: “We are delighted to be adding the Circuit of the Americas™ to the MotoGP calendar. It’s an honour to expand our Championship to Texas, which has a rich history of producing World Championship riders. We have had a wonderful and special relationship with Kevin (Schwantz) for 20 years and often talked about a mutual dream of increasing the popularity of MotoGP in the U.S. and raising our already successful worldwide profile. Now, with what Tavo Hellmund (Managing Partner of Full Throttle Productions) is doing in Austin, we have realised that situation and are looking forward to this new venture together. The ten-year agreement is a sign of our confidence and commitment to the future success of MotoGP racing in Austin.”
“For me this is a dream come true, that the MotoGP World Championship will be in my home state of Texas. I am such a believer in the sport and know how popular motorcycling is in Texas. I am sure that this will be a resounding long term success,” stated Mr. Kevin Schwantz, Manager of 3FourTexas MGP and LLC, and the 1993 FIM MotoGP World Champion.
Mr. Hellmund, who has worked hard to bring MotoGP to Texas, stated: “We are extremely pleased to add the best motorcycle World Championship to our annual schedule. This is a fantastic opportunity for the State of Texas and this region and I believe it is the first time in American Motorsports history that both the car and motorbike World Championships are held at the same facility annually. We are very proud of becoming the United States international facility for motorsports.”
“Kevin and I have been close friends for a long time and I enjoy a great relationship with Carmelo. I respect so much what they (Dorna) and the FIM have done for MotoGP globally. It’s going to be great for the State, the product is fantastic and you never know, we may even have a reigning Texan in Ben Spies as World Champion for our first event… that would be icing on the cake” concluded Mr. Hellmund.
Construction of the new facility is progressing well and is scheduled for completion sometime in mid 2012, in time for the first Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™.

Schwantz: Texas GP offers “exciting prospect”

The former 500cc World Champion has been a key figure in the signing of a ten-year deal to bring MotoGP to his home state from 2013, and discussed his enthusiasm at the announcement of the news.

 

Following news on Tuesday of the addition of the Circuit of the Americas™ in Austin, Texas, to the MotoGP calendar from 2013, Kevin Schwantz spoke to motogp.com about the ten-year deal to bring the World Championship to his home state.
Discussing the new facility, which is currently under construction and is due for completion in mid-2012, the 1993 500cc World Champion’s enthusiasm was evident at the prospect of the new event.
“Having watched the development of this facility I am genuinely excited about it, and I think it’s going to be highly attractive,” Schwantz told motogp.com. “From a rider’s perspective, which is how I look at things, I think it’s going to be a great track. It’ll be really challenging, it’s going to be safe and it’s going to be a nice, long lap. As a rider you will have to work to be able to put good laps together in order to be able to stay at the front of the race. There are a lot of good things and for me it’s a very exciting prospect.”
The input of Schwantz has been central to helping develop the circuit as one suitable for motorcycle racing, as he continued to explain: “One of my good friends here in Texas, Tavo Hellmund, is the one who put this whole project together. He is one of the three owners of the facility and when talking with him about it he was speaking about F1 – I was thinking that from a safety perspective we needed to make sure we didn’t do anything that would alienate us from bringing bikes here.”
“When they got into the design process of it I got fairly hands on. I don’t do a lot of work on the project day-to-day, but I sat in on quite a few meetings with the guys from the design group to make sure that we leave enough run-off for bikes, that it is safe enough for motorcycles, and hopefully that’ll be something that everybody notices.”
The importance of a long-term vision for the GP will, in Schwantz’s opinion, aid the raising of MotoGP’s profile further in the US.
“It’s all about the riders. If they like and love the place and feel it’s safe, they will be the biggest advocates of it and will talk about it and like racing here, and that’s what will attract the people here,” he said. “We want to try and make the profile of MotoGP here in America just like it is in Spain and Italy. We want it to be one of the top two or three forms of sports over here.”
“As riders we also know how excited people can be about racing. We want to be able to put everything in place to make it an event that everybody wants to come to, and one which you simply can’t afford to miss. From a logistical standpoint we are going to have a track that’s less than 10 miles from the state capital, with the airport being halfway between the city and the track. There are a lot of things that have been really thought through that will make it that much more enjoyable for the fans and a greater fan experience.”
Schwantz’s work in aiding the promotion of the new event will continue in the lead-up to the debut GP in 2013. “It’s exactly what I’ve been doing in the past at any opportunity I’ve had, with both Laguna Seca and Indianapolis. If I’m needed to do anything while all the MotoGP guys are off racing and there’s help needed with the publicity I’m hands on and am happy to do it,” he said.
“What I want to do is to try and get our sport the recognition it deserves. Laguna Seca has Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and all those guys out there in California, and I do help there on occasions when I can, and it’ll be the same thing here in Texas. Home is close by, and I hope to be able to help promote everything that happens at the facility with motorsports in mind.”
“Having to travel only 20 minutes for my school to a site that’s a world class facility will be ideal,” he commented. “From the very beginning I knew what the facility would be like and for us something that hosts a World Championship level event and something close by here in Texas will be excellent.”

Bautista: “I want to return at Estoril but it's not yet 100% certain”

The Rizla Suzuki rider underwent a medical check on Tuesday in Madrid, which confirmed the positive progress of his recovery from injury.

 

Álvaro Bautista received a positive update on his recovery from a fractured femur when the Spanish rider underwent a medical check at the Hospital USP San José de Madrid on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr Ángel Villamor examined the Rizla Suzuki rider, who fractured his left femur in Qatar, and X-rays revealed good progress in his recovery process, something which has strengthened Bautista's determination to make his return at the Estoril round later this month.
“We've been looking at the X-rays they took of me this afternoon with Dr Villamor and it appears that the bone is forming well and there's less risk of it not healing well,” Bautista explained to motogp.com.
“We've passed the first stage, and that means I should be able to start to push on little by little and start getting stronger in the leg, because I have lost a lot of strength and with less fear I can start to move the bone and regain full feeling. That'll mean I can start exercising with a little resistance and start to speed up the recuperation process to be as quick as possible.”
Bautista has already been undertaking flexibility and mobility exercises, as well as completing sessions in a hyberbaric chamber. With the Portuguese GP arriving on the weekend of April 29th-May 1st, Bautista is eager to be fit in time to make his comeback.
“We still have 17 days before I need to get back on a bike. The doctor said everything is going reasonably quickly and that's my objective. I have two weeks in which to work and gain strength in the leg. Before travelling to Estoril I will have another consultation with the medical team, they'll do fresh X-rays to ensure everything's fine and the idea is to return in Portugal,” said a hopeful Bautista.
“It's still not 100% certain, but the only thing on my mind is returning and my aim is to do that in Estoril although it'll be a decision for the medical team. They've told me that if I continue at this pace there is a good chance, but there is still a lot of hard work ahead if I want to get back to a suitable physical condition for MotoGP.”

Pedrosa starts rehabilitation

The Repsol Honda rider will today (Tuesday) begin a first stage of passive exercises on his left shoulder, following an operation last week.

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa today (Tuesday) begins the second stage of his recovery in order to participate in the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal, which will be held at the Estoril circuit on May 1st.
Yesterday (Monday), Pedrosa had the first medical check up after the operation he underwent on April 5th at Teknon Medical Centre to decompress the left subclavian artery. The doctors who performed the intervention verified that the wound is healing properly, with no infection, and expect to remove the stitches next week.
Pedrosa, who has had five days of rest after the surgery, will today start rehabilitation, consisting with a first stage of passive exercises of the left shoulder with the help of a physiotherapist.