Austin hosts the Texan Racing-Rodeo

After the Portuguese Grand Prix three weeks ago, the quartet of riders from the German LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team had enough time to prepare for the next blockbuster of the still young racing season, where the hunt for more world championship points enters its third round at the Circuit of the Americas.

This coming weekend, the Motorcycle World Championship will make a stop at the highly demanding Circuit of the Americas, or COTA for short, just outside the Texan metropolis of Austin. The 5.513 km long track, which was designed by the famous German race track architect Hermann Tilke, ensures impressive races every year thanks to its more than 40 metres of elevation, 1200 m long straights and anti-clockwise course.

Thanks to an intensive training programme, Dutchman Collin Veijer and his Japanese team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki feel well prepared and hopeful that they will also be able to fight for high points positions in the American spectacle. Veijer finished thirteenth in Texas in his rookie year, while Suzuki did not finish the race in 2023. In order to be optimally prepared for the 14-lap race on Sunday at 18:00 (CEST), Pirelli is supplying a specially designed rubber compound for the Austin Grand Prix to relieve the heavily demanded rear tyre. 

The Circuit of The Americas is not only a great challenge for the Moto3 riders and machines, as the spectacular race track is also rather demanding for the Moto2 category, which is why the exclusive tyre supplier from Italy is coming up with a special compound for the intermediate class as well. Neither Darryn Binder nor the new regular rider in the Memmingen racing team, Senna Agius, can wait to find out whether the harder developed SC3 variant can withstand the demanding, non-homogeneous tarmac. For the 18-year-old youngster from Australia, this will be his first appearance in America. Meanwhile, Binder hopes to put his serious crash in 2023, in which he suffered several fractures in his right hand after a violent highsider in the third Moto2 practice session, behind him. 

German-speaking fans will have to take into account the seven-hour time difference to Central Europe in order not to miss a second of the live action, which begins on Friday at 16:00 (CEST) with the Moto3 free practice session.

Schedule (according to CEST)

Friday, 12th of April
16:00 - 16:35 Moto3 free practice
16:50 - 17:30 Moto2 Free Practice
17:45 - 18:30 MotoGP Free Practice 1

20:15 - 20:50 Moto3 Practice 1
21:05 - 21:45 Moto2 Practice 1
22:00 - 23:00 MotoGP Practice

Saturday, 13th of April
15:40 - 16:10 Moto3 Practice 2
16:25 - 16:55 Moto2 Practice 2
17:10 - 17:40 MotoGP Free Practice 2
17:50 - 18:05 MotoGP Q1
18:15 - 18:30 MotoGP Q2

19:50 - 20:05 Moto3 Q1
20:15 - 20:30 Moto3 Q2
20:45 - 21:00 Moto2 Q1
21:10 - 21:25 Moto2 Q2
22:00 MotoGP Sprint (10 laps)

Sunday, 14th of April
16:40-16:50 MotoGP Warm-up
18:00 Moto3 race (14 laps)
19:15 Moto2 race (16 laps)
21:00 MotoGP race (20 laps)