Today the track opened at 8am. We decided that we did not need to get there right when it opened given the previous day’s smaller crowds. We left the hotel around 8am. The morning temps were a bit chilly again at 54F. When we arrived at the track the parking lot was pretty empty and we were able to park up front as on Friday.
The official name for the race is MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas. It started with the first three Free Practice (FP) sessions that we watched from our seats at Turn 15. Funny thing, we went to our seats from yesterday, but the docent said we were in the wrong section! We were nine sections too far over to the right. The ticket reads T15-6 which means turn15, section 6, not section 15-16. We walked back and found our seats. They were actually even better of a view, more to the left facing the braking zone for turn 15 so we could see the riders head on. We could also see more of the back straight in the far left of the photo below. We picked our seats months ago, so we didn't remember the exact location in the stands.
This track, unlike Indy and Assen, checked for assigned seats both Friday and Saturday.
After the three classes had completed their FP3 sessions, we walked over to turn 6 and set up our chairs in the shadow of a crane truck being used as an elevated platform for a TV camera.
We watched the two qualifying sessions for Moto2 and MotoGP Free Practice 4 and both qualifying sessions. The wind had started to pick up at this point. It was the warmest day in the upper 80s with no cloud cover, so the wind was welcomed for the temps though it made tricky track conditions for the racers. We needed to check in for our track lap at around 4:30pm which was shortly after the last qualifying session for Moto3. We packed up our chairs and watched Moto3 qualifying from our seats at turn 15.
The qualifying sessions were really good. The races tomorrow should be a good show. Andrea Mingo is on pole for Moto3, Cameron Beaubier (an American) in on pole for Moto2, and for MotoGP, Jorge Martin is on pole. The crowds cheered loudly for Cameron.
After Moto3 qualifying, we made our way back to the bike and figured out where to check in for our track lap. We pre-registered online signing waivers, so we quickly got our wrist tags for the event. Rob convinced them to let us take the trailer on the track! He said since we drove it all the way from Virginia, it can handle this track. They kind of didn't really know what to do about the trailer and Rob said it's the same width of the bike. They looked at each other and said ok, as long as it can make turns. We thought that was funny! Since the bikes would not be lining up until 6pm, we moved the bike near the line-up location and hung out for the next hour and a half.
Around 6pm, they started to line everyone up. We got in line and over the next hour, we would crawl and wind our way through the parking lot traffic. They organized us out onto the main circuit road where we waited again for regular traffic. Many of the guys around us had sport bikes that radiated the heat from the engine right up at them. They also sit very close to the hot exhaust pipes which also add to their discomfort when sitting still in traffic. They were sweating and burning up sitting there. Rob's Goldwing doesn't have this issue, as the radiators are huge and the fans blows the hot air forward. Around 7pm, we finally got started on our parade lap that was escorted. We entered the track at turn 6. The Garmin GPS promptly told us we were going the wrong way! I guess Garmin doesn’t know that this track is counter-clockwise. Michele got video of the whole lap. Ask her and she'll show it to you!
It was a very leisurely pace that took us about 7 minutes to complete at 30 mph. The MotoGP riders lap this 4.3mile track in about 2’03” at speeds that get over 200 mph! It was really fun going around turns 12-15 where our seats are located. Rob commented at how much tighter some of the turns are than they appear from the seats. The track was also very clean, no debris along the sides. Before this year, this track had a lot of significant dips and bumps due to ground settlement issues below the surface. The riders complained last year that they would not be back unless it was entirely dug up and fixed. The track was improved and resurfaced in a long section. Rob said he didn't notice any bumps from the comfort of his Goldwing!
As we rode down the front straight past the Grandstands, the lady who would be singing the National Anthem on Sunday was practicing in the middle of the track. We all moved to the right, then started heading up that steep turn 1. Michele was surprised it wasn't nearly as steep going up it as it looked from the Grandstand area. The downhill side of turn 2 was super fun, but would be scary at racing speeds!
We got back to the hotel area at about 7:30pm. We decided to make a quick stop at the pizza place we ate at on Thursday to order a pizza and salad to go.
Today was a really long day but so fun. The wait in line for the track lap was worth it and riding the track was the highlight of our day. Tomorrow is race day!
