MotoGP Returns to Circuit of the Americas with Vinales Leading FP1
Kosport Magazine – 04/23/2024
After a three-week break, MotoGP is back in action at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The last round in Argentina was cancelled due to a lack of government funding, making this weekend’s race even more highly anticipated.
But that’s not the only big news in the MotoGP world. It was recently announced that US media giant Liberty had acquired Dorna Sports in a deal worth €4.2 billion. This adds even more excitement to the first round since the acquisition.
The Circuit of the Americas has undergone some changes since MotoGP’s last visit, with a partial resurfacing of the track. This has resulted in lap times being over two seconds slower than the all-time record set by Francesco Bagnaia in 20213.
In the first practice session, it was Maverick Vinales who set the pace with a time of 2m03.294s. This was after a final time attack on fresh medium Michelin tires. Vinales also revealed that the gearbox issue that caused him to miss the Portuguese GP was due to human error.
Hot on Vinales’ heels was championship leader Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati, just 0.149 seconds behind. Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta, who scored his first podium in Portugal, completed the top three.
But it was seven-time COTA winner Marc Marquez who stole the show, finishing in eighth place on the Gresini Ducati. As the field got used to the partially resurfaced track, lap times were far from representative. But as the session went on, the times started to drop.
At the halfway mark, Marquez was leading the pack with a time of 2m04.499s. But with 17 minutes to go, Martin took over with a time of 2m04.297s. However, it was KTM’s Jack Miller who set the fastest time of 2m04.210s, followed by his teammate Acosta with a time of 2m03.802s.
But it was Vinales who ultimately came out on top, setting a time of 2m03.294s on fresh tires in the final minutes of the session. Martin put up a good fight on his final flying lap, but came up just short, slotting in between Vinales and Acosta.
Enea Bastianini, winner at COTA in 2022, finished in fourth place on the factory team Ducati, followed by VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Brad Binder. Franco Morbidelli had a strong morning on the sister Pramac Ducati, finishing in seventh place.
Marquez, who elected not to switch to fresh tires late in the session, finished in eighth place. Miller and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top 10, with Bagnaia in 11th place after running the same tires all session.
Last year’s Americas GP winner Alex Rins was the top Yamaha in 13th place, just ahead of his teammate Fabio Quartararo. Quartararo comes to America with a fresh two-year contract with Yamaha in his back pocket.
Honda’s Luca Marini led the charge for the manufacturer in 15th place, followed by his teammate Joan Mir. Unfortunately, a crash for Gresini’s Alex Marquez left him in 20th place.
With the first practice session complete, it’s clear that this weekend’s race at the Circuit of the Americas is going to be an exciting one. Stay tuned for more updates from Kosport Magazine.
